Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay received the NFL’s 27th franchise in 1974 and began play in 1976. Owner Hugh Culverhouse hired John McKay as the first head coach. The Buccaneers lost their first 26 games before earning a victory at New Orleans on December 11, 1977.⁠[1]

In their fourth season, the Buccaneers won the NFC Central and beat Philadelphia 24–17 in the playoffs before losing the NFC Championship Game to the Los Angeles RamsLos Angeles RamsThe Los Angeles Rams are an NFL professional American football team in the NFC West. They joined the NFL in Cleveland in 1937, later played in Los Angeles and St. Louis, and returned to the Los Angeles area in 2016. Their current home is SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Owned by Stan Kroenke and coached by Sean McVay, the Rams won the 1945 and 1951 NFL titles and Super Bowls XXXIV and LVI.Open the full entry 9–0. Defensive end Lee Roy Selmon earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, while Doug WilliamsDoug WilliamsDoug Williams is a healthcare executive, investor, management adviser and author. A former executive vice president and chief operating officer of HMS Holdings, he is cofounder and board chair of Empactful Advisors and a general partner at Empactful Capital. He wrote Shift: A Playbook for Positive Change and has appeared on School of Hard Knocks.Open the full entry and Ricky Bell led the offense.⁠[1]

Tampa Bay won the NFC Central again at 9–7 in 1981 and made its third playoff appearance in the strike-shortened 1982 season. McKay retired after the 1984 season, ending a nine-year tenure.⁠[1]

Malcolm Glazer and his family acquired the Buccaneers in 1995. Joel and Bryan Glazer subsequently worked on local approval and development of a new stadium, and the family continued to oversee the franchise.⁠[2]

Tony Dungy became head coach in 1996 and, with defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, developed a Cover Two-based system widely known as the Tampa Two. The club ended a 15-year playoff drought in 1997, reached the NFC Championship Game in 1999 and returned to the playoffs in 2000 and 2001.⁠[3]

The Buccaneers moved into Raymond James Stadium in 1998 and came from behind to beat Chicago in their first home game there on September 20. The stadium remained their home through both subsequent Super Bowl championship eras.⁠[3][2]

In 2002, Tampa Bay acquired head coach Jon Gruden from Oakland in exchange for draft picks and cash. His first team went 12–4 and beat the Raiders 48–21 in Super Bowl XXXVII on January 26, 2003 for the franchise’s first title.⁠[2]

Tom BradyTom BradyTom Brady is an American retired football quarterback, sports broadcaster and investor. He played for the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, winning seven Super Bowls across twenty-three NFL seasons. His subsequent work includes sports broadcasting, team ownership and sports-related business ventures.Open the full entry joined before the 2020 season. On February 7, 2021, Tampa Bay beat Kansas City 31–9 in Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium, becoming the first team to win the Super Bowl on its own home field.⁠[2]

After serving as defensive coordinator from 2019 through 2021, Todd Bowles became head coach in 2022 and won the NFC South in each of his first three seasons. With Baker Mayfield joining in 2023, Tampa Bay beat Philadelphia 32–9 in that postseason’s Wild Card Round. The team went 10–7 in the 2024 regular season.⁠[4]

The Buccaneers began 2025 at 6–2 but finished 8–9 and second in the NFC South. A tiebreaker kept them from winning the division, ending their consecutive playoff run.⁠[4]

The Buccaneers play at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Tampa Bay refers to the broader bay area, while the home stadium is in the city of Tampa.⁠[5][2]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Official website: https://www.buccaneers.com/ (opens in a new window) .⁠[6]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: X: https://twitter.com/Buccaneers (opens in a new window) .⁠[6]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: https://www.youtube.com/c/tbbuccaneers (opens in a new window) .⁠[6]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tampa-bay-buccaneers (opens in a new window) .⁠[6]