Despite these early struggles, Tampa Bay is the first post-merger expansion team to clinch a division title, win a playoff game, and host a conference championship, all of which they accomplished by their fourth season in 1979.

With the maturation of quarterback Doug Williams and future four-time Pro Bowl tight end Jimmie Giles, the first 1,000-yard rushing season from running back Ricky Bell, and a smothering, league-leading, Star Studded defense led by future NFL Hall of Famer Lee Roy Selmon,[16] the Bucs kicked off the season with five consecutive victories, a performance that landed them on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

STP was wasted again the following week as the Bucs were shut out 14–0 by the Chicago Bears; and in O. J. Simpson's final home game in San Francisco, Tampa Bay lost its third straight attempt to clinch a division title against a 49ers team which came in with a 1–13 record.

Attendance also sagged; at one point the Buccaneers went parts of three whole seasons without having a home game televised locally, and when they did it was more attributed to a strong visiting team with a large following in the area, such as the Chicago Bears or Green Bay Packers.

But 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 Sam Wyche's draftees Brooks, Lynch, and Sapp.

[50] It has been brought to the Chicago Bears by Smith, Detroit Lions by Rod Marinelli, Kansas City Chiefs by Herman Edwards and to the Indianapolis Colts by Dungy himself, and copied by several other teams.

On the strength of the NFL's number 3 overall defense and a performance by rookie quarterback Shaun King, the Bucs finished the season with an 11–5 record and won their third NFC Central Division Championship.

[57] They beat the Washington Redskins 14–13 in the Divisional round, before losing to the eventual Super Bowl Champion St. Louis Rams in a low-scoring NFC Championship Game, 11–6.

[64][65][63] Dungy was fired by the Buccaneers following a 31–9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wildcard Round of 2001[66] and soon thereafter hired as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts,[67] while the Bucs mounted a search for his replacement that would include numerous names and rejections.

[75] Soon after the Super Bowl victory, a growing number of press reports indicated Gruden's lack of patience with general manager McKay, a major architect of the Bucs' rebuilding effort over the previous ten years.

[76] Johnson was eventually traded to the Dallas Cowboys for wide receiver Joey Galloway, who later in his career played for the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Washington Redskins.

The season ended abruptly, however, with a 17–10 loss in the Wild Card round, in a rematch with Washington that saw receiver Edell Shepherd drop the potential game-winning catch in the endzone.

They also acquired former players Warrick Dunn, who had spent the last 6 seasons with the Falcons, and Brian Griese, who was the starting quarterback for the team in 2005 until a knee injury sidelined him for the remainder of the year.

[113][114] Despite the effort, the team narrowly missed the playoffs, losing out on the wild card tiebreaker to the eventual Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay Packers.

[156][157] On March 9, 2017, the Buccaneers signed former Washington Redskins wide receiver DeSean Jackson,[158] defensive tackle Chris Baker,[159] former Cowboys safety J. J. Wilcox (traded to Pittsburgh Steelers),[160] former New York Jets kicker Nick Folk,[161] and veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

[181] The Buccaneers made arguably the biggest acquisition of the 2020 offseason when they acquired veteran quarterback Tom Brady, widely considered the greatest to ever play the position.

[206][207] Despite signing former All-Pro receiver Julio Jones, former Pro-Bowlers Akiem Hicks and Keanu Neal, and Brady's former teammates Shaq Mason and Logan Ryan, the Buccaneers struggled under Bowles in his first season as head coach.

Lee Roy Selmon was voted NFL Defensive Player of the Year, but they eventually fell 10 points short of the Super Bowl as the offense held them back in the NFC Championship game in a 9–0 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Kiffin's defenses were known as gang tacklers with tremendous team speed with a front four that could pressure the quarterback consistently, fast sideline-to-sideline linebackers, and a hard-hitting secondary that caused turnovers.

The Tampa Bay defense featured future Hall of Famers: Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, Warren Sapp, Ronde Barber, and Pro Bowlers, Hardy Nickerson, Simeon Rice, Shelton Quarles, Donnie Abraham, and Super Bowl XXXVII MVP Dexter Jackson.

The Buccaneers pass defense improved 29th to 7th, thanks in part to their young secondary, led by Carlton Davis, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Jordan Whitehead, Winfield Jr., Ross Cockrell, Herb Miller and Mike Edwards.

As other NFL clubs began replacing and upgrading their respective facilities, Buccaneers players and coaches stepped up their complaints about the constant aircraft noise, cramped offices, small locker rooms, infestations, and decrepit condition of One Buc Place.

For much of the team's existence, the Buccaneers held training camp on the University of Tampa campus, then at the expansive and better-equipped Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando (2002–2008).

Conveniently located across the street from Raymond James Stadium (on the former site of Tampa Bay Center), the state-of-the-art 145,000-square-foot (13,500 m2) facility on 33 acres (13 ha) is one of the largest in the NFL.

The life-size statues included players Mike Alstott, Ronde Barber, Derrick Brooks, Brad Johnson, John Lynch, Shelton Quarles, Simeon Rice, Warren Sapp, and head coach Jon Gruden.

[234] Local St. Petersburg Times sportswriter Hubert Mizell coined the somewhat belittling nickname "Bucco Bruce" in a February 1976 column, noting almost immediately the mascot's unintimidating and "cavalier" appearance.

The "Bucco Bruce" logo was replaced by a red wind-swept flag displaying a white pirate skull and crossed sabres which is a modified Jolly Roger (similar to the one commonly associated with Calico Jack).

[270] During the 2020 season, the Buccaneers finished with a 6–0 record wearing their newer white jersey/pewter pants combination, including three postseason victories over New Orleans, Green Bay, and Kansas City, respectively.

[323][324][325][326][327][328] The Buccaneers have grown a fairly recent playoff rivalry with the Philadelphia Eagles beginning in the late 1970s, but reached new heights in competition during the new millennium as the two teams have met in the postseason four times since 2000.

Sports anchor Andy Hardy handled the play-by-play, and for one game in 1978, his broadcast partner was his friend, Florida State alumni, and movie actor Burt Reynolds.