| Tampa Bay owner Malcolm Glazer’s three sons
— Bryan, Joel and Edward — are all executive vice presidents of the team. Bryan
came up with the team’s recently designed logo, Joel is handling the design of the
team’s new state-of-the-art training facility and Edward contributed to the idea of
raising red "Buccaneer Battle Flags" around the stadium every time the
Bucs’ offense reaches the opponent’s red zone. The three sons may combine to
form a successful marketing staff, but they’re far from being a successful football
operations staff. Before joining the Bucs, none of the Glazer sons had any experience in
the world of football, yet they instantly inherited positions as the most influential
people in the Bucs’ organization.
After the way they have treated coaches around the league, don’t expect anyone to
be jumping at the opportunity to coach the Bucs. With each passing day, the Glazer sons
are hindering the likelihood that any head coach could be successful. NFL rules don’t
allow assistants to change teams after March 1. That leaves 15 days and counting for a
head coach to assemble his coaching staff. After the way they have treated Rich McKay, the
man they supposedly had entrusted with the football operations, they likely will be
searching for a new general manager as well.
The Glazer sons have overstepped their bounds, believing after some time in the
organization that they were fit to make football decisions, without having any idea how
decisions are made in the NFL.
The first mistake was firing Dungy, a man who had taken over a Bucs team in 1996 that
had posted an awful 43-111 mark in the 10 seasons prior to his arrival and led Tampa to
four playoff appearances in six years.
Like many impressionable, young business owners, the Glazer sons wanted a hot, popular
commodity. They thought they had the answer — two-time Super Bowl champion head coach
Bill Parcells. Parcells was set to bring in Jets assistant general manager Mike Tannenbaum
to be the general manager. In fact, the deal was so close to being done that Tannenbaum
was introducing himself to Tampa Bay players at Bucs headquarters. Then the NFL sent a
letter saying it was investigating tampering charges regarding Parcells’ alleged
recruitment of coaches already under contract with other teams. Parcells was on the
Hall-of-Fame ballot and did not want to disgrace his name.
The second blunder was eliminating the authority of general manager Rich McKay.
McKay was largely responsible for the Bucs’ success and had drafted one player in
six of the seven drafts from 1993-99 that had gone on to become a Pro Bowl player,
including SS John Lynch, DT Warren Sapp, LB Derrick Brooks, FB Mike Alstott and CB Donnie
Abraham. But the Glazer sons did not consult McKay on the decision to hire Parcells
because their intended target would demand full control of football operations, and they
were all but assured that he would be running the show soon. McKay was expendable.
Loyalty means nothing to the Glazer sons, who were excitedly drawing up plans of how
they were going to do good for daddy and bring in a premier head coach. So they had no
problem throwing McKay by the wayside or discarding Dungy.
The third mistake was being so focused on Parcells that they missed out on the
opportunity to keep ex-Florida coach Steve Spurrier in the state where his popularity
soars. Instead, Washington owner Daniel Snyder swooped in and signed Spurrier, who
reportedly would have been more content staying in Florida.
The fourth mistake was giving control over football operations back to McKay after the
Parcells debacle, a move the Glazers made in a state of confusion and not wanting to lose
their best remaining talent, and then undercutting McKay’s power. McKay knew it was
in the best interests of the team to act quickly and hire a top assistant.
McKay interviewed Norv Turner, but Turner was not fond of the way the situation was
being handled in Tampa and decided to take a more stable position as offensive coordinator
for old friend Dave Wannstedt in Miami.
McKay interviewed Baltimore defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis and was ready to
announce him as head coach. But Lewis had too many parallels to Dungy and the Glazer sons
were still pushing hard for Jon Gruden, also a native of Florida, and hoping to make a
deal with Raiders owner Al Davis to extricate Gruden from the one year remaining on his
contract.
After Lewis flew to Tampa Bay and was told he would not be hired, Baltimore head coach
Brian Billick was not happy that the Bucs allowed Lewis to believe he would get the
head-coaching job, explaining why the Bucs violated the protocol used throughout the
league.
"The thing I regret the most through this whole process is the sequencing —
for Marvin, the Ravens, and for my staff," Billick said. "Marvin had been put
through a lot by some individuals we’re not even talking about right now that I feel
more of a sense of anger at. There’s a certain way you conduct yourself,
organizationally. … We were subjected to a lot of consternation that way."
Thirty days after firing Dungy, the Bucs are still without a head coach, the last of
any NFL team without a leader. Tampa Bay Director of Communications Reggie Roberts said
there is no timetable for hiring Dungy's successor. If the Glazer sons do not act soon,
daddy may have to intervene and put them back in the stands, to be the star-struck
spectators they always should have been.
The best move Malcolm Glazer could make is to reassign his sons to one of his other
companies, or better yet, fire them and let them accomplish something on their own, so
they can gain an appreciation for the many people who have done just that, such as Dungy. |
