Does The Bucs Front Office Need To Adjust?
November 25th, 2025
Bucs GM Jason Licht
Interesting commentary from Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford yesterday.
Stafford is a regular guest on that annoying Jim Gray podcast, Let’s Go, which used to be co-hosted by Tom Brady.
Of course, Stafford came off a Sunday night game hammering the Buccaneers. He talked about how philosophies have changed within the Rams organization since they traded for him in 2021, a season in which the Rams won the Super Bowl.
“When I first got here, it was ‘F them [draft] picks.’ And now it’s, ‘how about them picks!’, you know what I mean? We are doing a hell of a job,” Stafford said. “And [Rams GM] Les [Snead] is doing a hell of a job of bringing in guys that, you know, they’re really good football players and they’re about the right stuff. I mean, there’s not a guy in our locker room that I can sit there and go, ‘you know, he’s not about what the Rams are about.’ Everybody’s bought in. Everybody is like-minded and [about] what it takes to be good and to be successful in this league.”
Much like Todd Bowles and Baker Mayfield have said about the Bucs, Stafford said the everyone in Los Angeles is in “lockstep” with the Rams GM on the type of player on the roster.
“You know, we didn’t have a first-round pick for a while after I got here,” Stafford continued. “And he’s made the most of of guys getting picked wherever. And it goes to show you, man, it really doesn’t matter where you get picked in this draft. You know, that’s just the beginning for a lot of these guys. And if those guys have the right mindset of ‘hey, it doesn’t matter where I get picked, I’m here to start my journey in the NFL.’ Great things can happen for them.”
Joe heard all this and started wondering about the Tampa Bay roster. (For those wondering, the Rams have had just two first-round draft picks in the last 10 drafts: Jared Goff and Jared Verse.)
A lot of fans think the Bus roster is a little soft and/or the coaching is a little soft.
Joe’s not sure. The Bucs have so many guys in the same “I Am That Man” mold, perhaps more variety or a slightly different blend is needed?
Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht has done a hell of a job with the roster. He doesn’t cover kickoffs, block for punters, play pillowy soft pass defense or decide who gets injured.
Still, after watching the Bucs borderline quit as a collective group on Sunday night, everything deserves scrutiny.
November 25th, 2025 at 8:06 am
injuries. and when you have serious injuries, you don’t try to trade/replace TALENT. that will cause a problem. and the injures cannot be understated.
November 25th, 2025 at 8:07 am
Licht is losing it. Bucs need to realize that they need hardened veterans in key positions. Not rookies and not third level backups. The only 1st string D lineman the Bucs have is Vea. Everyone else on the Dline is a backup. For that matter the entire defense needs to be overhauled starting with the so called DC.
November 25th, 2025 at 8:13 am
Yea get a real qb backup. Teddy is stoned out there.
November 25th, 2025 at 8:13 am
Front seven. They are ALL substandard except Vita, and he’s only got a couple years left. Hall was a bust, JTS was a bust, Braswell was a bust (I’ll be surprised if they let him finish out his rookie)
November 25th, 2025 at 8:13 am
we are in the middle of a 6th possible division championship and some people want to fire Bowles? Do you not remember the lost decade? that was hell. and the idea that we fired Gruden after he had us on the CUSP of the playoffs was asinine to me!
November 25th, 2025 at 8:14 am
EGO. The team is crashing and leadership is not taking any responsibility? Of course there needs to be a change, leadership is always the main reason
November 25th, 2025 at 8:17 am
We need Robert Saleh, as Head Coach! Go Bucs!!!
November 25th, 2025 at 8:17 am
Todd Bowles said last week that all three phases are close to clicking. Maybe this week!
November 25th, 2025 at 8:18 am
We have several problems. First is the injuries like Bucsondeck said we cannot understate how much those impact your team.
Which leads to the second issue, that I brought up during the offseason, our depth especially on the lines is lacking. The championship caliber teams have guys as backups that bring just as much as their starters.
Third issue on defense is that we lack a couple of players with real fight and nastiness in them. I believe the kids call it being a dawg now. LD is a great leader but he is not Sapp, Suh or JPP.
Fourth issue is that we don’t have that one guy on defense really at any position who is a game wrecker. While we have a good defense we don’t have a guy who can impose his will and change the game.
Fifth issue is Bowels being both HC and DC. He thinks he is a defensive genius so he regularly makes bad HC decisions because he thinks as DC that his unit is the best in the team and will execute his vision. He does this even in games where his defense has been terrible.
November 25th, 2025 at 8:22 am
@BUCSONDECK24
We won’t win the Superbowl with Bowles, time and time again he has proven that when the pressure is on he makes the wrong decisions.
For the past two years we have won the worst division in football by the skin of our teeth in the last 2 minutes of game 17.
Don’t be content with mediocrity, don’t be so scared of failure that you’re afraid to try.
November 25th, 2025 at 8:23 am
BUCSONDECK –
There is a huge difference between Bowles situation and Gruden’s
1) the NFC south during Gruden’s tenure was competitive. Bowles backs into the playoffs every year because the other three teams in the division are raging dumpster fires. Carolina may finally be rising above it, unless Tepper gets impatient again.
2) Bowles has far more talent at his disposal than Gruden did. Start at QB. WR. Defense. Gruden had an aging roster and his big mistake was adding more aging vets to extend the window Dungy and his stubbornness had squandered the same way Bowles is now.
Apples to oranges. If you want continued medocrity or worse if/when the rest of the division gets their act together, Bowles is your guy.
Time to move on.
November 25th, 2025 at 8:25 am
“HeavyE Says:
November 25th, 2025 at 8:17 am
We need Robert Saleh, as Head Coach! Go Bucs!!!”
Absolutely NOT. No more defensive head coaches.
November 25th, 2025 at 8:25 am
Usfbucs is spot on with his 5th issue. Bowles calling the D plays is a big problem and since he is HC he also probably dictates strategy for the O because he is so certain he can dial up the right plays and hence he gets the Bucs to punt on 4th down when they go for it and basically not just pulls his D down but the rest of the team as well. Dude’s style of coaching has gotten old and stale. It is time for change.
November 25th, 2025 at 8:27 am
Is it a lack of talent, poor development/coaching or a combination of both?
The amount of premium picks that aren’t working out is a huge problem.
November 25th, 2025 at 8:34 am
Everyone has injuries.
No pass rushers is inexcusable. Year after year it’s the same problem. It’s funny that Rice will be inducted into the ring of honor on a day where we will be in a dog fight with a bottom feeder, Arizona.
November 25th, 2025 at 8:34 am
Joe … ‘A lot of fans think the Bucs roster is a little soft and/or the coaching is a little soft.’
That’s wonderfully politically correct Joe, but ‘litle soft’ is a huge understatement.
Bucs have lost 5 games, to 5 very good teams, all with winning records to date … by a COMBINED SCORE of 161 to 96. So our defense has surrendered an average of slightly over 32 PPG, while our offense has scored slightly over 19 PPG in those 5 losses.
‘A little soft’? Nah. Reality is that several of those teams could’ve doubled their points had they chose to. We weren’t a ‘little soft’ Joe, we were ‘marshmellow fluff’ soft. Our defense’s new nickname should be CHARMIN ULTRA.
November 25th, 2025 at 8:35 am
The lone playoff victory produced by the defensive guru was against a Philly team that was on a 1-5 streak going into the playoffs and without their top two WRs.
Does that sound familiar to anyone?????
Beyond that we have never shown any ability to make a SB under the Bowles regime.
After last year’s bed sh@tting versus the Redskins at home I would have thought Bowles was on a prove it last season in 2025.
Instead Bud Licht decided to double down and extend Toad Bowels. That alone proves he has lost his fast ball.
November 25th, 2025 at 8:39 am
Time to move on from Bowles. I would honestly rather have Gruden at this point. The guy will torch every player that doesn’t perform and will eventually burn down the house. He will piss off ownership, the fans, and the players, but he will get the Bucs to the SB, before he destroys everything. lol. Bowles accepts failure. I want a coach that doesn’t.
November 25th, 2025 at 8:40 am
I love licht but he needs to say F them picks and go get Myles Garrett or Max Crosby. Bring in Simeon Rice to coach the pass rush. We need a successful 4 man pass rush plain and simple.
November 25th, 2025 at 8:40 am
When your Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator is consistently coordinating the 26th ranked pass defense you can’t rely on him or his coaches to develop young players.
You need a mix of Vets and young players and as the young player grows you cut the vet loose.
Licht hangs onto to the Vets too long, remember bringing all the Super Bowl starters back? LOL
Fans get wrapped up in how many draft picks premium players are traded for but would you rather have a 2 or 3 high picks as bust or would you rather have an elite player?
Licht has gotta stop playing it safe. He really hasn’t built much here outside of a nice 2 year run with Brady. Licht has been here 12 years he’s had loads of time to fix it
November 25th, 2025 at 8:43 am
Adjustment? No, it needs to be flushed out onto MLK Blvd.
November 25th, 2025 at 8:47 am
Rams defensive coordinator if you want a defensive coach. Grandson of don shula and part of the mcvay tree. No head coaching rehires.
November 25th, 2025 at 8:48 am
Jason Licht and Todd Bowles have failed this team miserably. Those 2 are the cause of this debacle of a season. They both should be fired. Bowles should’ve been fired on Monday morning and Licht should be fired after the season.
November 25th, 2025 at 8:51 am
lol one of the better teams in the NfL share their strategy of saving picks and you losers still saying we need to give up picks for trades. Glad you girls are playing madden and not running this team.
Games are decided at the line of scrimmage. Our DL and OL have sucked this year. It’s obvious when QBs tear up our D because they have 10 seconds to throw. It’s obvious on offense when Baker gets 2 seconds to throw and the run game also can’t develop.
Fix that, and we have great players on both sides of the ball
November 25th, 2025 at 8:55 am
As to what DR said, our defense is the equivalent of a drunk chick at a frat party (AFTER her friend leaves with the quarterback)
November 25th, 2025 at 8:56 am
“A lot of fans think the Bus roster is a little soft and/or the coaching is a little soft“
Spot on.
November 25th, 2025 at 9:01 am
It is not the roster, it is the coaching staff!
The only roster error was not trading for a WR, while knowing McMillan had a serious injury Godwin was back down and ME13 was lost for the year.
Anyone serious about winning makes a move.
November 25th, 2025 at 9:05 am
Toilet Bowls Buccaneers’ defense is so soft, it couldn’t stop a sneeze, let alone a running back. Linebackers don’t hit—they politely **hand out directions to the end zone**. The defensive line? Less “wall of steel,” more **human piñata**—hit it once and the offense collects 70 yards of candy.
Quarterbacks don’t even bother reading coverages—they just **throw into wide-open territory and hope someone remembers this is supposed to be football**. Opposing offenses don’t drive down the field—they **hover, coast, and occasionally wave at the defense for fun**.
Calling this a defense is like calling **air a solid**. They don’t tackle. They don’t pressure. They don’t even exist when it counts. Watching them play is like watching a nature documentary about a species that forgot how to fight.
By the time the Bucs notice an offensive player, he’s already **posting a selfie from the end zone**. The only thing more invisible than this defense is their chance of making a stop.
November 25th, 2025 at 9:06 am
Did anyone care to look at the injury report for the Rams?
November 25th, 2025 at 9:07 am
Outside of Baker , Vea , Ebuka and David, this team lacks fire.
November 25th, 2025 at 9:09 am
If this team is going to be a serious playoff team Licht is going to have to change the way he is doing things now. Stop coveting draft picks. It is okay to trade some late round picks. It is better to get a proven asset than a shot in the dark. It’s okay to trade a second round pick, heck you have drafted the liked of JTS, Trask, and Braswell just to name a few. Get a proven commodity for crying out loud. Hey also don’t be an afraid to bring in a free agent that’s worth a flip either, proven commodity! Yes I know Licht loves his picks, but sometimes you need to put your ego aside. If just being ho-hum is good enough, keep doing what you’re doing. If you want another playoff win, things must change because this team isn’t good enough and it sure isn’t coached appropriately for the type of talent it has.
November 25th, 2025 at 9:13 am
Still waiting patiently for the Jason Licht Confidence Poll?
November 25th, 2025 at 9:15 am
Licht has done a really good job, he deserves all the credit he’s got. Also, he deserves some of blame, cause he’s had misses as well. I love having draft picks as much as anyone but I know a window when I see one. I don’t care to burn a pick on a proven commodity unlike a 2nd rounder for a Braswell, Tryon, Hall. All 3 were reaches, Braswell doesn’t have the explosion, Hall is a tweener, Tryon skipped his senior year and never developed any skills other than pure athleticism. Licht needs to better his skillset at the edge rush and ILB position. Bowels needs to learn to adapt and develop. We are not far off but this team needs a dog, other than Tykee we don’t have a mean SOB on this team. I’m all about the good guy image but this game isn’t made 22 nice people on a field together.
November 25th, 2025 at 9:18 am
@Joe “Does The Bucs Front Office Need To Adjust?”
Like every other season, the front office will evaluate the players, coaches, and its own staff. But they will do it AFTER the season is over. They can’t do it during the season. At the beginning of the season, the Bucs looked like a team that could go deep into the playoffs, beating Seattle and San Francisco. But after this past weekend, they look like a team that might not make the playoffs. Neither the front office nor the fans know what they’re going to look like by the end of the season. If we can get Evans back, Kancey back, Bucky back, Dean back, Bredeson back, and Godwin can get back to 80% of how he was before his injury, the Bucs might be dangerous again. It seems like a long shot right now. But it’s a real possibility.
November 25th, 2025 at 9:19 am
I dont want to hear about injures. The 9ers was missing almost 3 all pros and they were able to still play solid defense. It’s a combination of coaching and players. Good coaching can get the best out of even backup players, that is something this coaching staff can not do
November 25th, 2025 at 9:28 am
If you have 12 Drafts you are going to get some picks right espec when picking in the top 13 year after year ..Licht needs to get it together this next season and get some fresh DL and LBs or he can go. He has yet to draft a Top DL other than Vea
November 25th, 2025 at 9:29 am
Licht has done a great job! Every good GM has a weakness though. If you’re only drafting NFL players with excellent character, then you’re missing out on the real hardcore alpha’s. The Ray Lewis types aren’t going to be high on Licht’s draft board, but they set the tone on the offensive and defensive fronts. For those fans that think this D is a little soft, well maybe it is!
November 25th, 2025 at 9:35 am
Injuries obviously caught up and put a damper on the offense. Hard to do anything when your guards are barely serviceable.
Lot of talent on defense, but they MUST get an edge rusher. Should have traded a first round pick and get Burns from the Giants or someone similar. They obviously can’t draft and develop an edge rusher so that first round pick is not more valuable than a proven commodity that can immediately change the defense.
Second issue on defense is the scheme. I would like to believe a solid, consistent edge rusher would decrease the blitzing, have more man coverage and people in coverage, but I don’t know if Todd Bowles is willing or able to change at this point.
November 25th, 2025 at 9:36 am
“If you’re only drafting NFL players with excellent character, then you’re missing out on the real hardcore alpha’s”
If they’re avoiding locker room cancers and guys with off the field red flags, I’m ok with this philosophy.
If they’re taking guys off the board because they’re aholes and nothing more, that’s different.
They have to draft guys that love football. Not selfish guys that are simply chasing the bag (Devin White) or morons who can’t lay off the hippie lettuce and stay on the right side of johnny law.
November 25th, 2025 at 9:49 am
They also have a hell of an outside pass rush. Just ask Wirfs.
November 25th, 2025 at 10:09 am
I’ll continue to give Licht credit for begging big brother Bruce Arians outta retirement. Arians forced Winston to sink or swim and when he sunk BA basically recruited Tom Brady through the media and again behind the scenes to seal the deal. Brady basically orchestrated the free agents ( Gronk, Brown and Fournette ) who Arians forced to sink or swim as well…and Fournette swam like never before the back half of the Super Bowl season. Those three were responsible for every non-kicking point in the Super Bowl win…now think about that for a moment.
Licht has the equivalent of tenure at Buc University…so he ain’t going anywhere. But he can no longer live off that fortuitous Super Bowl win…especially if this season continues to swirl the bowl(es).