The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed head coach Todd Bowles and General Manager Jason Licht to multi-year contract extensions the club announced on Thursday.
Under the Bowles/Licht regime, Tampa Bay has reached the playoffs in each of the last 5 NFL campaigns, including a Super Bowl victory in 2020, when Bowles was Defensive Coordinator under Bruce Arians.
“Jason and Todd’s excellent leadership and vision have been critical to our organizational success, and the winning culture they have established has us well positioned into the future,” said Buccaneers Owner/Co-Chairman Joel Glazer. “Jason has evolved into one of the top talent evaluators and general managers in the NFL, while Todd has led us to three consecutive division titles and is one of the league’s leading defensive minds. Under their guidance, we will continue building towards another championship.”
Licht’s shrewd draft choices have proven pivotal to the team’s success. Many assumed that when Tampa went “all in” to win a Super Bowl with Tom Brady at the helm, that there would be a period of rebuilding to follow. However the club hasn’t missed a beat over the last 5 seasons, winning the NFC South 4 straight years.
Of Licht’s 38 players selected between rounds 1 through 6 between 2019-2024, all 38 players were on NFL rosters during the 2024 season, creating a ridiculous 100% draft hit rate. And out of the 50 players who started a game for the Buccaneers over the past two seasons, 40 of them were either drafted by Licht or signed as undrafted rookies.
“I am very grateful to the Glazer Family for the trust and belief they have shown in what we are doing here,” said Licht. “Their commitment to providing the resources along with their dedication to fostering a winning culture throughout our entire building are the primary reasons for the great success we have enjoyed these past five seasons. I am also very excited to continue working alongside Todd well into the future as we continue our mission of finding and developing talented players and chasing additional championships for our great fans.”
The Bucs will kick off their preseason on August 9th with a 7:30pm ET matchup with the Tennessee Titans. This will then be followed by preseason affairs with Pittsburgh and Buffalo, before their regular season opener against the Atlanta Falcons on September 7th.
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