Clock Ticking On General Manager Hire

January 11th, 2014

In a sense, the Bucs are a rudderless ship.

Sure the Bucs have a head coach and his staff, but the office that former Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik previously occupied is empty. And free agency is not that far away. Neither is the combine, or the East-West Shrine and Senior bowl practices, all key ingredients to forming a draft plan.

Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune has reassuring news for Bucs fans who are beginning to gnaw on their fingernails wondering when Team Glazer will hire a general manager.

@RCummingsTBO: Going to venture a guess here and say the Bucs will have a new GM in place by the middle of next week at the latest. Maybe even by Monday

Per the typings of Kevin Patra of NFL.com, the Bucs have narrowed their candidates to four.

* Morocco Brown, Washington Redskins director of pro personnel, [interviewed Friday].

* Titans vice president of football operations Lake Dawson, [interview today]

* Falcons executive Lionel Vital, [interview today]

* New York Giants VP of player evaluation Marc Ross will interview Sunday.

Glancing at those names, if Joe were Team Glazer, he’d hire Vital. If he learned anything from the bold moves of Thomas Dimitroff, the Dixie Chicks general manager, then Vital could be a star in the making.

14 Responses to “Clock Ticking On General Manager Hire”

  1. stanglassman Says:

    No O-Line coach and No GM? What should we think about this PR? Please help us.

  2. Yar Says:

    If Lovie does have complete control over the roster then the GM is not that important. The GM will only be needed when the contracts are being negotiated and to manage the Cap. The Bucs have the scouts and personnel people in place to evaluate players so I am not worried at all about a GM. The Bucs are far from Rudderless.

  3. Brandon Says:

    According to a report I read, the GM will have complete control over who is selected in the draft. So that means that though Lovie may have say over his final roster, it sounds like the GM will have final say on who comes onto the roster.

    BTW, Vital has been everywhere. He was with the Ravens in some capacity as well… which means, even better with Dimitroff, he worked alongside Ozzie Newsome.

  4. The_Buc_Realist Says:

    After the “pop-star fiasco” I am glad that they are taking the GM and interview process very seriously. If they had done some screening before, Bucs fan might not have had to sit through 5 years of misery.

  5. Macabee Says:

    Another name that I’ve heard to be interviewed is Tom Gamble of the Eagles. I read his resume and it’s impressive. Contrary to what some people think, Lovie is not involved in the GM search, this is being done expressly by the Glazers. The Glazers have to like the person who is chosen and it’s seems they are taking the search seriously.

  6. Reshard Says:

    Not sure why everyone is so high on the guy from Atlanta. The falcons are thin at almost every position right now. They have no o line and no d line at all. They have one of worst defenses in the league right now. Ib be careful about getting anyone from Atlanta. That team likes the splash move not the move to build a deep team..

  7. BucfaninMi Says:

    Please. No one from the Giants anymore players or otherwise!! Go with Vital!!

  8. PhantomVash808 Says:

    I hope the Bucs land either Dawson or Gamble as GM.

  9. andres Says:

    Why is it taking so long to hire Mr. Derrick Brooks?

  10. Bucs4lyfe Says:

    way to go out on a limb there roy cummings

  11. Buc1987 Says:

    Why does it have to be a guy that we hope learned from someone else? Why can’t it just be a former GM? I guy that might or might not be any good is like rolling the dice. Okay whatever let’s roll the dice like always and hope for the best.

  12. Jon Says:

    Polian. Get someone with proven wins. Vital? Please name me a good free agent or pick since he’s been with falcons that didn’t include multiple draft picks.

  13. Pruritus Ani Says:

    No more experiments.. Get someone who has been successful before in the position.

  14. James Marlow Says:

    A GM can be overrated. We need to let Lovie “shop for the groceries.” Our new GM’s role can be to keep the cap numbers straight, player contracts, finances, free agents available, etc.. But not make the final draft or roster decision
    ! Keep the business types in a business role! Let the head coach manage rosters. Of course it is way more complicated that this, but my point is … Let Lovie have final say on players.