Lovie Smith and Jason Licht’s first year in Tampa Bay didn’t go as planned, but they have a No. 1 overall draft pick to help turn things around.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Lovie Smith said that he and GM Jason Licht are in “total agreement” as to their ranking of the QBs in the 2015 NFL draft and have mutually decided who they plan to take with the No. 1 pick of the draft.
In a press conference on Monday, Smith dismissed the notion that the team may not be in agreement as to who they take as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft and stated that he and Licht are working hand-in-hand.
Lovie Smith asked if he and Jason Licht are in agreement on draft QBs: “Yes we are. We’re in total agreement.” Says whole organization is.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 20, 2015
Lovie Smith asked if he and Jason Licht are in agreement on draft QBs: “Yes we are. We’re in total agreement.” Says whole organization is.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 20, 2015
Smith was hired as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2014 after a nine-year run as head coach of the Chicago Bears from 2004 to 2012 that included three trips to the playoffs and an NFC Championship in 2006. Smith left Chicago with a career record of 81-63 and took a sabbatical from football in 2013.
Jason Licht was hired to replace former Buccaneers GM Mark Dominik after Dominik’s failure to find a suitable replacement for legendary head coach Jon Gruden. But Licht’s roster did not have a suitable QB, and neither 2nd-year QB Mike Glennon nor NFL veteran Josh McCown were able to win more than one game a piece. The Buccaneers finished the season 2-14 – their worst record since 1986 and were given the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft.
The Buccaneers are widely expected to draft Florida State QB Jameis Winston with the pick, but Winston’s behavioral issues when he was in college have made many NFL experts pause at declaring him a lock for the selection.
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