Licht extension displays who’s running the show for Buccaneers

The timing of general manager Jason Licht’s extension was suspect to say the least, and it displayed who is really in charge for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Jason Licht has been the general manager for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since 2014, and after a bumpy start to his tenure he was given an extension on Saturday for another four years, with a fifth-year option. One thing is now certain, if it was not already, is that head coach Bruce Arians is running the show for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This extension is on the heels of a report this offseason that Licht was kept only to avoid too much instability and turnover after the firing of former head coach Dirk Koetter. The timing is a bit suspect, leading to the obvious conclusion that Licht and Arians are now attached at the hip for the remainder of both of their times in Tampa Bay.

The nuance of Licht’s time with the Buccaneers to this point is quite difficult as he has found some studs in the draft like Kwon Alexander in the fourth round, Ali Marpet, and Chris Godwin. However the entire draft class of 2016 has left a stain on Licht’s reputation as an adequate drafter.

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In free agency, Licht’s decisions have been suspect as well as he has spent a large chunk of money on players like DeSean Jackson, Chris Baker, and Vinny Curry. However, this offseason (with the understanding that the Buccaneers had limited cap space to work with) the majority of contracts handed out were short term, low salary contracts on players on the up-and-coming, looking for a more significant opportunity.

It is not a shock that the Buccaneers all of a sudden become prudent in free agency, with the exception of the regrettable Donovan Smith contract extension, when Arians came to town. To pile on the sudden shift in spending philosophy, the 2019 NFL Draft made seemingly no sense given the haul the year before; all of this leads to the understanding that Arians now sits at the top of the food chain in Tampa.

The main reason the Buccaneers were able to lure Arians out of retirement after saying he would only consider the opening for the Cleveland Browns was because of his friendship with Licht. The two go back to their time in Arizona together when Arians was the head coach and Licht was the director of player personnel for the Cardinals.

When asked about the extension of Licht, Arians said this to the media:

"“It was huge for me, because I trust him. I respect him. He is the reason I am here” (Arians via Greg Auman)."

The extension came at the end of the summer, after Arians had the ability to see how he and Licht would work together in the new chain of command. Licht has passed Arians’ test as the second hand man that he needs moving forward, and was rewarded for his subordination.

This offseason has showed that Licht will not go over Arians’ head to make a personnel decision, and that is that kind of passive trust the head coach is looking for moving forward. Arians is the new sheriff in town as Licht has resigned himself to deputy for the Buccaneers for the foreseeable future.