Tampa
Bay Buccaneers Big And Bold Fleece Throw Blanket
Tampa
Bay Buccaneers - Team History
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, professional football team and one of five teams
in the Central Division of the National Football Conference (NFC)
of the National Football League (NFL). Under the league’s realignment
plan, which will take affect in 2002, the Buccaneers will play in
the South Division of the NFC. The Buccaneers play at Raymond James
Stadium in Tampa, Florida, and wear uniforms of red, silver, and white.
The Buccaneers
joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team. Former University of
Southern California (USC) head coach John McKay was hired to pilot
the club, but Tampa Bay’s first season was a dismal one. The
club became the first team in NFL history to lose all 14 regular-season
games, suffering five shutouts and fielding the conference’s
worst offense and defense. The Buccaneers’ losing streak grew
to a league-record 26 consecutive games as the club lost the first
12 games of its second season.
Tampa Bay improved
in 1978, winning five games behind running backs Ricky Bell and
Anthony Davis, rookie quarterback Doug Williams, and brothers Lee
Roy and Dewey Selmon, who played defensive end and linebacker, respectively.
A year later, in 1979, the Buccaneers stunned the league, winning
their first five games en route to a first-place tie with the Chicago
Bears in the Central Division. Williams had an excellent season,
and Bell ran for more than 1,250 yards. The Selmon brothers led
a top-rated defense, and McKay was named coach of the year. In the
playoffs Tampa Bay upset the Philadelphia Eagles before falling
to the Los Angeles Rams (now St. Louis Rams) in the NFC Championship
Game.
After an injury-plagued
1980 season, Tampa Bay qualified for the playoffs in 1981 and 1982
behind Williams, who continued to be one of the best quarterbacks
in the NFC. Both years the Buccaneers lost in the first round of
the playoffs. Tampa Bay’s 5-4 win-loss record in the strike-shortened
1982 season was followed by a long series of losing seasons through
the mid-1990s, as the Buccaneers perennially ranked as one of the
NFL’s worst-performing teams.
In 1996 Tony
Dungy, a former defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings,
was hired as the Buccaneers’ head coach. He rebuilt the team
with young, talented players such as running backs Mike Alstott
and Warrick Dunn, quarterback Trent Dilfer, and cornerback Donnie
Abraham. Tampa Bay began the 1997 season with five consecutive wins
and finished the season with a 10-6 win-loss record, advancing to
the playoffs for the first time in 15 years. After defeating the
Detroit Lions in the first round, the Buccaneers lost to the Green
Bay Packers, the eventual NFC champions. After the 1999 season the
Buccaneers reached the NFC Championship game for the first time
since 1979, but lost to the Rams.
In the playoffs
following both the 2000 and 2001 seasons Tampa Bay lost in the first
round. Team officials then used money and draft picks to lure coach
Jon Gruden away from the Oakland Raiders. The move paid off as the
next year Gruden led the Buccaneers all the way to the Super Bowl,
where they beat the favored Raiders, 48-21.
2003 Super Bowl
XXXVII Defeated Oakland Raiders, 48-21
Fleck reportedly joining Schiano's staff P.J. Fleck will reportedly jump from college to the pros, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' wide receivers coach. Fleck, who resigned as Northern Illinois' offensive coordinator, agreed to take the Bucs' job, a source told...
<p>After watching him turn around a sad sack program at Rutgers into a Big East contender, the Bucs are betting Greg Schiano can have the same impact in Tampa Bay.</p>
<p>Schiano, 45, had been on the Bucs radar since the start of an exhaustive 24-day search for a head coach but they didn't meet until after Oregon's Chip Kelly agreed to become Tampa Bay's head coach before reversing course and remaining with the Ducks.</p>
<p>Although Schiano had turned down higher profile jobs at Michigan and the University of Miami in the past, and was a finalist for the Rams job before they hired Jeff Fisher, he said those other opportunities never felt quite right.</p>
<p>"So why Tampa and why now? There's been several opportunities ...
Madonna was on time for her Super Bowl press conference, thus putting her one step ahead of Osi Umenyiora. Shutdown Corner runs down the highlights. 1. Notice how Madonna drops her phony British accent for the press conference. She's truly … Continue reading →
The helmet-to-helmet shot knocked Tony Dorsett out cold in the second quarter of a 1984 Cowboys-Eagles game, the hardest hit he ever took during his Hall of Fame NFL career. "It was like a freight train hitting a Volkswagen," Dorsett says now. "Did they know it was a concussion?" he asks rhetorically during an interview with The Associated Press.
Many NFL legends have won the Super Bowl MVP. Joe Montana, John Elway, Tom Brady, and Terry Bradshaw have all laid claim to the prestigious award. But the Super Bowl MVP is also noteworthy for some surprising winners. These are winners who seemingly came out of nowhere to win the...
Hey Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans, you just got a great head coach in Greg Schiano. As a Rutgers graduate and longtime fan of the Scarlet Knights football team, let me assure you that Schiano is your man. You are very fortunate to have him.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been denied permission to interview Arizona Cardinals wide receivers coach John McNulty for their offensive coordinator position, according to an NFL.com report on Saturday. McNulty had served as new Buccaners coach Greg Schiano's offensive...
Greg Schiano couldn't resist the challenge of trying to transform the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into winners. The 45-year-old architect of a stunning college football turnaround at Rutgers was formally introduced Friday as the "right man" to the lead the NFL's youngest team to playoff contention -- and beyond.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will name Greg Schiano as their new head coach, according to numerous reports. Schiano is the Bucs choice after Oregon's Chip Kelly didn't get the job after the sides appeared to be finalizing a contract.
It took the better part of a month, but after an exhaustive and somewhat controversial search throughout January, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally have a new head coach. On Thursday, January 26, word leaked out that Greg Schiano of Rutgers will become the 9th head coach in the 36...
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will name Greg Schiano as their new head coach, according to an ESPN.com report. Schiano is the Bucs choice after Oregon's Chip Kelly didn't get the job after the sides appeared to be finalizing a contract.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, after coming oh-so-close to hiring Oregon's Chip Kelly, have apparently now landed on Greg Schiano of Rutgers. ESPN's Adam Schefter says Rutgers and Schiano are close to a deal. It seems like the choice of Schiano … Continue reading →
-- Ongoing discussions of the St. Louis Rams' stadium situation have a lot of people wondering if the team will be in a different location by 2015. The St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission has been discussing the financial permutations of … Continue reading →
Mike Sherman is getting a second interview for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coaching position, according to a report on ESPN.com. Sherman, the ex-Packers and former Texas A&M coach, may be the team's second choice after Oregon's Chip Kelly decided not to take the position...
