- Super Bowl Championships: 1
- Last Super Bowl Championship: Super Bowl 37
- Claim to Fame: In 1979, they became the first post-merger expansion team to win a division title, win a playoff game, and to host and play in a conference championship.
- Claim to Shame: The Bucs lost their first 26 games in the NFL, and suffered through 14 straight losing seasons from 1983-1996 – both NFL records
With the planned expansion of the NFL in 1970, Tampa Bay landed a franchise in 1976. Upon the teams first game, they held a team-naming contest for local residents.
The team chose the Buccaneers, as the term derives from the pirates who were said to inhabit the Florida coast line in the 17th century.
Looking for successful beginnings, the Bucs hired notorious USC coach John McKay to captain the ship. McKay signed a $3 million deal, after turning multiple NFL franchises down in the past.
Unfortunately, the task of building an NFL team from scratch proved too much for McKay, as his college schemes did not translate to the NFL game.
After brief periods of success in the late 70s and early 80s, the Bucs continued to struggle, pushing the club closer and closer to bankruptcy. Insert Tony Dungy, the saviour of the franchise. Dungy was hired by the Glazer family, who purchased the team in 1996, and soon led the team towards bigger and better things.
The Bucs would soon win their first Super Bowl title in 2002 under coach Jon Gruden.
Since being crowned Super Bowl champions, the Bucs celebratory cruise continues to be lost at sea. The team has been atrocious lately, recording a 5-11 record and a 6-9-1 record ATS in 2017.
In 2015, the Bucs drafted FSU product Jameis Winston with the first-overall pick. Winston was said to be NFL ready, and could provide immediate help. Although his play on the field has been respectable, his off-field behaviour has been less than acceptable.
Winston was suspended for the first three games of the 2018 season after being charged with sexual harassment of an Uber driver. The team actually started 2-0 thanks to a Ryan Fitzpatrick, a.k.a. “FitzMagic,” but would go 3-11 the rest of the way.
The defense was a far bigger problem than the offense, but Winston still didn’t turn into the top-tier QB the team was expecting when they drafted him first overall.
The 2019 Bucs have made significant changes on defense, led by first-round pick Devin White at linebacker. But turning a 5-11 team with a -68 point differential in a playoff contender is going to be a tall order.
