History of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jackson disliked Culverhouse because the Bucs flew him to Tampa for a physical and a visit at the team's expense during his senior year at Auburn and led him to believe that the NCAA and Southeastern Conference had approved the trip.
Wyche did not have immediate success in Tampa, and even his bold “five-dash-two” (indicating five wins and two losses) declaration in his final season with the Bucs proved premature.
However, Wyche deserves credit for drafting three key players who would later prove to be the core of the team's renewed success on defense – Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and John Lynch.
His son, Miami attorney Hugh Culverhouse, Jr., practically forced the trustees of his father's estate to sell the team, which cast doubt on the future of the Buccaneers in Tampa.
There was also talk of moving the Buccaneers to nearby Orlando,[13] but mayor Glenda Hood ruled out razing the Citrus Bowl to build an NFL stadium.
The team's performance dramatically improved when the Glazers hired Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Tony Dungy as head coach, jettisoned the old “creamsicle” uniforms, and convinced Hillsborough County voters to raise sales taxes to partially fund the construction of Raymond James Stadium.
However, in the second half of the season they finished 5–2, primarily due to the performance of a defense ranked seventh in the NFL led by Hardy Nickerson and the maturing of Wyche's draftees Brooks, Lynch and Sapp.
On the strength of the NFL's number one overall defense and a surprising performance by rookie QB Shaun King, the Bucs finished the season with an 11–5 record and won their third NFC Central championship.
They edged the Washington Redskins 14–13 in the Divisional round, before losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams in an unusually low-scoring NFC Championship Game, 11–6.
In spite of Dungy's success at coaching Tampa Bay into a winner, one of the consistent criticisms from the media and from fans—and later, from players including Warren Sapp—was that the defense was expected to shoulder too much of the responsibility for winning games.
Beyond fullback Mike Alstott and running back Warrick Dunn—who served as a one-two punch ground attack—and wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, the team was otherwise underwhelming on offense.
He was replaced by former Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Les Steckel in 2000, and the result was the Bucs' highest-scoring season ever, another 10–6 record, and another trip to the playoffs as a wild card.
Frustrated with the team's inability to reach the Super Bowl despite a league-dominating defense, Malcolm Glazer fired Dungy the following day—a decision that created more controversy among devoted players and fans.
Several potential candidates were offered the job, including University of Florida head coach Steve Spurrier, Bill Parcells and Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis.
While talks with the Raiders were secretly underway, the Glazers publicly pursued another respected offensive mind, San Francisco 49ers head coach Steve Mariucci.
Observers suggested that the Glazers' offer to Mariucci was merely a clever bargaining tactic: since Davis' large ego is well documented, it was very likely he wouldn't allow such a blockbuster trade to take place so near his turf.
Upon his arrival in Tampa, Gruden immediately went to work, acquiring former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Keenan McCardell, and running back Michael Pittman from the Arizona Cardinals.
McKay was a major architect of the Buccaneers rebuilding effort over the previous ten years, and he, like Gruden, had long-established ties to the Tampa Bay area.
In November, Keyshawn Johnson was deactivated by the team ten games into the season for his conduct, which included sideline arguments with Buccaneers coaches and players.
In December, the Glazers allowed McKay to leave the Buccaneers before the end of the regular season, and he promptly joined the Falcons as president and general manager.
The lone highlights of 2004 were the high-quality play of rookie wide receiver Michael Clayton and the return of Doug Williams, who joined the Buccaneers front office as a personnel executive.
With their 2005 campaign marking the Buccaneers' 30th season in the NFL, the team won their first four games before entering a midseason slump hampered by a season-ending injury to starting quarterback Brian Griese during a win over the Miami Dolphins.
The Bucs followed up with important wins over their NFC South division rivals, sweeping both the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons, as well as defeating the Panthers in a rare victory at Carolina.
Even with a tough loss against the Chicago Bears and a humiliating shutout against the New England Patriots, the Buccaneers finished 11–5 and won the NFC South by virtue of a tie-breaker over the Panthers.
There was more to the lost season than just injuries however, as most of the players put on injured reserve had been done so after the team's 0–3 start, and offensive shutouts in the first two games in which no touchdowns were scored by the Buccaneers.
They released three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Simeon Rice and starting middle linebacker Shelton Quarles, both of whom spent the majority of their career in Tampa Bay.
Many factors contributed to this, such as the problems faced by Atlanta, whose star quarterback Michael Vick had been arrested on dog fighting charges in the preseason, and the season-ending ACL tear suffered by New Orleans running back Deuce McAllister.
The final week of the season still held playoff hopes, although it would take a Buccaneers win over the Oakland Raiders coupled with a Dallas Cowboys loss.
With the Bucs losing by seven points, but no longer able to stop the clock with a timeout, Schiano ordered his defense to continue to aggressively tackle quarterback Eli Manning, who was taking a knee to end the game, in the hopes of causing a turnover.
The Bucs defeated division rivals New Orleans Saints and eliminated the top-seeded Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game to win their first conference title in 18 years.
