And So It Begins
January 13th, 2022
Vikings interested in Bucs’ VP.
The way the Bucs have drafted in recent years and the way they’ve found quality players on the street to fill holes, you just knew sooner or later some team would try to pluck away a front office suit not named “Jason Licht.”
And so the Vikings, per the fingers of NFL uber insider Adam Schefter, have requested permission to interview one of Licht’s top lieutenants, John Spytek, for their general manager position.
Vikings requested permission to interview Buccaneers’ Vice President of Player Personnel John Spytek for their GM job, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 13, 2022
Again, this is no surprise. Teams that win Super Bowls often have their coaching staffs and front offices raided. The NFL is nothing if not a copycat league. If one team has great success, everyone tries to copy it.
Just look at all the Bill Belicheat disciples who have gagged after leaving the Patriots’ cocoon. The NFL highway has its medians littered with roadkill that once worked for Belicheat. You’d think teams would learn to stay away from Belicheat’s men, but to this day, Belicheats groupies keep getting interviews.
When will they learn?
Honest question from Joe: is Licht the only former Belicheat apostle who won a Super Bowl away from New England? Scott Pioli had a little success in Kansas City before he got bounced. Thomas Dimitroff had success in Atlanta. So too did Bill O’Brien in Houston. Jon Robinson has crushed it with the Titans, but hasn’t been to a Super Bowl.
(Mike Vrabel only played for Belicheat, never coached or worked for him.)
January 13th, 2022 at 12:23 am
Deny the request! Make Spytek Senior Executive Presidential Overlord of Player Personnel. Pay him a few truckloads more per month of Glazercash and keep the band together. The Glazer Boys owe us that for destroying the team in early 2009, beginning with the Gruden firing.
January 13th, 2022 at 12:27 am
Vrabel is a good man.
He used to go on the Sunday night Sports Xtra in Boston.
There are some Belechek successes. And more will come once
The greats FROM NE retire as players (including on other teams now)
and go into coaching.
January 13th, 2022 at 12:40 am
I loved when Vrabel and Brady were throwing the smack at each other during the preseason scrimmage sessions. I do like Vrabel.
January 13th, 2022 at 12:41 am
Its incredible how much of an impact Brady has had on all these people’s lives. All those coaches and GMs with the Patriots and now the Bucs coaches and personnel guys. Its pretty awesome really.
January 13th, 2022 at 3:10 am
Nooooooo!
January 13th, 2022 at 3:39 am
Off topic and I know it’s late, but I just saw an article how AB said his exit wasn’t necessary or professional… Hindsight is 20/20
January 13th, 2022 at 3:46 am
Looking at ESPN’s list of potential hires for all the teams, and the buzz on Leftwich has really cooled, at least if you believe the list of likely hires they compile.
Would be pretty amazing if the Bucs escaped this year, again, without losing any top coaches.
January 13th, 2022 at 4:35 am
That’s part of promoting yourself by hardwork. I’m not a 49er’s fan but I love seeing former Buc Great John Lynch in the position he has worked up to. I’ve run my own business now for nearly 40 years and BELIEVE me good people are hard to find.
January 13th, 2022 at 5:07 am
Good people who work hard & have success in one job deserve the opportunities to move up to better positions. I’m glad the Bucs are smart enough to allow their quality assistants to interview elsewhere. If we didn’t, it’d almost surely impact their view of the Bucs’ organization and we probably wouldn’t want them working for us down the line.
I’m surprised Joe that no one mentioned Tony Dungy’s coaching tree. Many did quite few for a number of years after leaving here (Mike Tomlin, Jim Caldwell, Frank Reich, etc). To include some who were in the front office at the time, like Jerry Angelo, Tim Russell and Ruston Webster (although all 3 of those started here before Tony became HC).
January 13th, 2022 at 5:53 am
BBro. You aren’t kidding. Next to impossible these days.
January 13th, 2022 at 6:28 am
You have to want to be a GM badly to agree to live in Minnesota.
January 13th, 2022 at 7:50 am
Bbro, curious, if two managers came to see you during your busiest time of year, their request was to take some time off to interview for a better position, what would your response be?
January 13th, 2022 at 8:24 am
@DR, the Dungy tree may be mindfully overlooked locally due the deadwood Lovie branch.
January 13th, 2022 at 8:26 am
@Rod Munch
I read that Leftwich was the favorite in Jacksonville, and he very well may be ?
Trent Baalke is a certified Grade A Prick. Remember him ?
He ran off Jim Harbaugh back in San Francisco.
I would try to keep John Spytek. What a cool sounding last name!
January 13th, 2022 at 8:39 am
Listnmarfar. I’m sure those visits are scheduled around his current duties and I’m about sure they won’t be taking greyhound but more like a round trip in the same day. Too if these guys were good enough I’d find a way to keep them if funds allowed
January 13th, 2022 at 9:08 am
B RO, so you would let them interview? The organization has the option to deny all these requests.
January 13th, 2022 at 1:17 pm
Every year I’ve been wondering when someone was gonna take Spytek from us… Just like the Titans took Robinson several years ago!