Extreme Security
April 9th, 2016
Talk to Bucs general manager Jason Licht, and he’ll tell you Tampa Bay had its draft board skeleton looking damn good in December.
Bowl games happen. Juniors declare, and then the draft board is nearly done. Combine, pro days and interviews, that’s for very minor tweaking. Coaches dive into the evaluation process late in winter, and that changes the game a little.
But what stays the same in most organizations, per Hall of Fame general manager Bill Polian, is access to the team draft board.
Speaking on Sirius XM NFL Radio this week, the former Colts, Panthers and Bills GM spoke of how security guards and custodial staff were denied access to the room containing the draft board. In fact, he said, it was on lockdown, with multiple locks and keys only held by three members of his staff.
Digital copies of the draft board were not permitted. Only a written copy was made — and updated by hand — and kept in a safe in another room in case of an emergency.
Only his team’s highest-ranking decision-makers could ever see the board, Polian said. There was a profound lack of trust of those on his staff.
“The fact is that on draft day, you’re competing with the 31 other teams, and you wouldn’t think of handing another team your gameplan,” Polian said. So why would you in any way compromise the information that you have that might help you beat them to a player in the draft.”
Joe gets the sentiment, but it’s awfully paranoid.
Joe wonders what’s going on at One Buc Palace. Is Jason Licht using fingerprint technology for access to the draft war room? Is it swept regularly for bugs?
Joe plans to ask Licht on Thursday during the GM’s annual, pre-draft news conference.
April 9th, 2016 at 10:47 am
I can only imagine the locks in place during Schiano’s tenure…
April 9th, 2016 at 10:48 am
Hmmmmmmmmm….. Well it certainly wouldn’t hurt to keep it secret….. But heck if you make it up as you go no one will ever know what your gonna do!!!!
April 9th, 2016 at 10:49 am
Schiano only locked the thermostat.
April 9th, 2016 at 10:51 am
I think the best way to go is to keep it on a private server in Licht’s basement……then wipe it clean!!!
April 9th, 2016 at 10:59 am
You can’t be too careful with guys like Bill Belicheat running around out there.
April 9th, 2016 at 11:02 am
I fear the classified info on Licht’s private server, in his basement will not be wiped clean because the first 10 picks in 2016 and their order are going to blow everybody’s mind. What might happen in this draft could be a real thrill ride.
April 9th, 2016 at 11:03 am
You mean Schiano draft board was not the Rutgers roster?
April 9th, 2016 at 11:04 am
Licht has had two incredibly successful drafts.
To a team that has always sucked at drafting, since Sam Wyche left.
Whatever the man does- keeping doing it.
We actually are starting to look like a real NFL team again!!
April 9th, 2016 at 11:07 am
They might as well build underground bunker. (Incase of Emergency) lol
April 9th, 2016 at 12:10 pm
You turds act like Schiano is the only coach ever to want things the way he wants them…
April 9th, 2016 at 1:07 pm
Schiano’s board was kept in a safe alongside his pasta firmness research and thermostat setting calculations. You can’t be too careful with that stuff.
April 9th, 2016 at 1:54 pm
This is why I knew people were making stuff up when they said last year they knew for a fact that the Bucs were picking MM over Jameis because their brother/mother was a grounds keeper/secretary at OBP.
April 10th, 2016 at 7:01 am
Very true Howard Cosell, those guys would sell their mother for a peek at our playbook. Damn dirty Patriots
April 10th, 2016 at 11:44 am
TBBF don’t mention basements around here because then certain individuals whom seem to have been personally butthurt by the last coach who spent a year there before coming to the Bucs will be up here rehashing their horrible nightmares or the ones who cry he got a raw deal being fired after going 8-24 They simply can’t let go. They’re all like that pituful scorned female who can’t move on after their boyfriend dumped them!