Crucial offseason looms over Buccaneers ownership

The Glazer family may be entering their most crucial offseason since they took over control of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Manchester United have a lot of differences. The Red Devils are a top soccer name, and one of the powerhouse soccer clubs in Europe. The Bucs, on the other hand, have been known as an underachieving NFL franchise for the past decade.

One thing they have in common though is that they are both owned by the Glazer family. With the Bucs heading towards another disappointing finish and United in the middle of one themselves, this may be the most crucial offseason the family has had since owning both businesses.

One thing both teams have in common is a coaching crisis. Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, Manchester has had a revolving door of leaders. Same goes for Tampa Bay. The Bucs have not had a strong head coach since Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden was at the helm.

For the Bucs, Dungy and Gruden had a combined 103 losses throughout 12 seasons. Since 2009 Raheem Morris, Greg Schiano, Lovie Smith, and Dirk Kotter have combined for 95 losses and only 50 wins. Dungy and Gruden each had over 50 wins and 116 combined.

Since the famed Ferguson has left, United has employed plenty of managers. David Moyes lasted one season. Next, Louis Van Gaal was hired after he previously managed the Netherlands national team. Even though Van Gaal won the FA cup, it wasn’t enough for him to keep his job. Enter José Mourinho a decorated manager with championship pedigree. Mourinho would win the Europa league, but after a bad start to this year’s season, he was sacked just this month.

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This sets up the Glazer family to have its most crucial offseason on both sides of the pond. Both teams desperately need to get back to the top of their respective leagues. The Bucs have the second-longest playoff drought in the NFL, and the Red Devils are accustomed to being kings of England.

It all starts with choosing the right coach. As evident by the past few years the Glazers have not been doing an adequate job of that.

If the Bucs do indeed decide to stick with the current regime, all the pressure will be on next season. If the organization decides to find another head man, the question is what direction do they go in?

They have already gone the college route, the veteran head coach route, and the excellent coordinator route. Do the Bucs try to get a Mike McCarthy or Jim Caldwell, or if the Steelers do the impossible and depart from Mike Tomlin, should the Bucs snag him? Do they seek the college route again and try to get Lincoln Riley?

The Bucs will most likely look for an offensive-minded head coach in hopes of getting Jameis Winston to his full potential. However, they could try and find someone who can turn around one of the league’s worst defenses.

It’s clear the Glazers have some tall task at their hands this offseason. As they try to get both teams back to the top of their game, it will start and end with the decisions they make regarding who runs these respective franchises.