The PewterReport.com Roundtable features the opinions of the PR staff as it tackles a topic related to the Tampa Bay Bucs each week.

This week’s topic: Why did the Bucs keep Jason Licht as GM?

Scott Reynolds: Licht Was Solid In 2018 With Personnel
The Ford’s Garage Pewter Poll question on PewterReport.com this week asked if the Bucs made the right decision to retain general manager Jason Licht for the 2019 season. With over 1,300 votes cast, 45 percent of the participants in the poll said “yes,” while 38 percent said “no,” with 17 percent were “undecided.” So Licht didn’t even achieve 50 percent when it came to fans approving that he stays on as general manager. The 55 percent that either didn’t approve or were undecided didn’t think he did enough to warrant running the team for one more year, so why did the Glazers think differently and decide to keep Licht around to hire the Bucs’ next head coach? That’s what we’re going to tackle in this week’s Pewter Report Roundtable.

We all know that the NFL is a “What have you done for me lately?” league. Look no further than Arizona firing head coach Steve Wilks after just one season on the job. I think the Glazers looked at what Licht has not only done since arriving as the general manager in 2014, but more importantly, what he did in 2018 when deciding what to do with him moving forward.

Licht did enough in the free agency period to warrant sticking around with the trade for defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, who became the first Buccaneer to record double-digit sacks since Simeon Rice in 2005. That, combined with a solid free agent haul that included adding center Ryan Jensen, defensive tackle Beau Allen and defensive end Vinny Curry, helped Licht’s cause. Throw in the fact that Licht and director of football administration Mike Greenberg were successful in locking up some key offensive stars in wide receiver Mike Evans, guard Ali Marpet and tight end Cameron Brate. Evans had his best year and is a Pro Bowl alternate, while Marpet played at a Pro Bowl level.

Bucs DT Vita Vea and GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Licht’s 2018 draft didn’t make as an immediate impact as his 2017 class did with tight end O.J. Howard, free safety Justin Evans and wide receiver Chris Godwin, but by the end of the year it looked solid. The big reason was the emergence of first-round pick defensive tackle Vita Vea, who finished his rookie season with three sacks and 28 tackles in 13 games, which was exactly the same amount of sacks and tackles that both Warren Sapp and Gerald McCoy produced during their rookie years. Running back Ronald Jones looks like a bust after very little production as a rookie and not showing much promise, and the same could be said of cornerback M.J. Stewart – another second-round pick. But cornerback Carlton Davis, another second-rounder, started for most of the season and showed a good deal or promise, as did fourth-round strong safety Jordan Whitehead.

The 2018 draft class wasn’t spectacular, but it doesn’t look as bad as the 2016 class might turn out to be if cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III and defensive end Noah Spence don’t come on in 2019. Throw in the fact that Licht was able to get some in-season help with the likes of waiver-wire claim Carl Nassib, in addition to the signings of linebacker Kevin Minter and safety Andrew Adams, who led the Bucs with four interceptions, along with kicker Cairo Santos, and you can understand why the Glazers liked the personnel moves Licht made in 2018. Even Koetter said on the way out of the door that talent wasn’t an issue for the Bucs this year.

Mark Cook: Ownership Needs The Help
It is one thing to conduct a search for a new head coach, but to go into an offseason without a coach and a general manager? That doesn’t seem to be a very enviable position for any NFL ownership group to be in. That isn’t to say the Glazers aren’t capable. They might be. They just haven’t been overly successful in their pursuit of either in the past.

The Glazers have their hands in a number of businesses, including ownership of the EPL soccer team Manchester United. Good or bad, they aren’t “Jerry Jones” type of owners. They don’t meddle, they shy away from the television cameras and aren’t interested in becoming the face of NFL ownership. Personally I think that is good, but it also maybe means they aren’t as plugged into the NFL scene as some other owners around the league are. I can’t say that with 100 percent certainly. Why? Because of what I just mentioned. The media only gets about 15 minutes of face time with them once a year at the NFL Owners Meetings.

Bucs GM Jason Licht and the Glazers – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Simply put, the Glazers need Jason Licht to spearhead the coaching search. Whether it is because of their own personal time constraints, a lack of confidence in themselves to make the right choice, or whatever, they weren’t prepared to handle both a head coaching hire and a general manager hire on their own.

Personally I believe Licht had done enough to warrant one more season. And I know half of you reading this think I am crazy. That’s okay. At least half my family feel the same way about me.

Coaches make mistakes, owners makes mistakes and general managers make mistakes. But at the end of the day, do they have more hits than misses? You could argue Licht’s overall record as GM points to more misses, but even the harshest Licht critics would probably say this team had more talent than a 5-11 team two years in a row. So was it coaching or the front office? Both share in the blame in my opinion. But I am one who most certainly believes this team should have won more games over the last two years and would lean towards coaching as the culprit.

Licht is under contract for another year. Jameis Winston is in the fold for at least one more year with his fifth-year option. Those two are married to each other – fair or not. If Winston is shipped off next season then Licht will be packing his bags also. But what if Winston lights it up, the Bucs make the playoffs and he is signed to a new long-term deal before the 2020 season? Had the Glazers replaced Licht this year, the 2019 Bucs team making the playoffs would be doing so with players mainly acquired by Licht. So would have firing him been fair?

The Glazers are rolling the dice for sure. They are gambling Licht hires the right guy and things get turned around quickly. I’d love to know if it was because they still 100 percent they believe in Licht, or was it out of necessity and fear of trying to hire two crucial pieces of an NFL organization? Who knows? But I guess I can try and get that question in during my 15 minutes with them in March.

Trevor Sikkema: Licht Is The Right GM For 2019
I already explained this in greater detail in my Cover 3 this week, but I really do think Jason Licht is the right man for the Buccaneers general manager job in 2019, specifically with hiring Tampa Bay’s next head coach.

If you remember, Licht didn’t hire Lovie Smith in 2014. It was actually the other way around and Smith worked with the Glazers to hire Licht. I’m not sure of the exact percentage of success for moves like that, but I bet it’s not very good. Then Licht really had to fire Smith and replace him with Dirk Koetter. He could’ve looked elsewhere, and while I do think he believed in Koetter, it made too much sense to keep the same offensive coach for Jameis Winston to ensure some consistency.

Well, that didn’t happen.

Bucs GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Trevor Sikkema/PR

It didn’t happen because there was a disconnect between the players Licht wanted to bring in and the preference of some of the coaches on staff (not all Koetter). I think that disconnect played a big role in the disappointing records over the last two years. A new head coach with the correct chemistry with the front office can hopefully get this Bucs team turned around quick. I was talking to a Bucs fan the other day and they said the Bucs are “microwave ready” as opposed to “oven bake ready” when it comes to winning, and I really liked that analogy.

The Glazers also likely did not want to be behind the eight-ball when it came to hiring a coach, and if they had to search for an interview new GMs, they were going to be left out in the cold with some of the head coaches they wanted – likely their top choices. Timing is everything and with eight NFL head coach openings, hiring the right guy quickly is like playing musical chairs.

Licht is staying because of timing, and I think it’s the right move. He has one more year left on his extension, as does the QB he drafted first overall in 2015, Jameis Winston, with his fifth-year option. The Glazers did the right thing by bringing Licht back on a prove-it situation with a new head coach all while gauging the progress of Jameis Winston.