It's hard to win in the NFL, something the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are familiar with as a franchise. But it's even harder to win consistently, something the Buccaneers have become more accustomed to since claiming the franchise's second Super Bowl title following the 2020 NFL season.
While Tampa Bay has become a fixture in postseason football, it's also reached the level of competitiveness that winning a division many don't consider to be the strongest is no longer enough to impress the casual observer.
Yet, with all the success the Bucs have had despite losing a Hall of Fame quarterback and multiple time coach of the year, former defensive coordinator Mike Smith says the franchise is doing a bang-up job of trying to rebuild a new Super Bowl contender.
“I’m very familiar with the Tampa Bay organization, and they’ve done a great job in rebuilding their team after the Super Bowl win," Smith recently said in an interview with Betano. "It’s hard to keep a team together that wins the Super Bowl. We’ve seen a lot of changes with (Tom) Brady now sitting in the Fox broadcasting booth rather than playing, and they’ve done a great job to reform the roster to be competitive again."
Immediately following their Super Bowl LV win in Raymond James Stadium, Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht went to work in effort to retain all of that team's starters and most of its role players.
The result was an NFC South Division title — something Tampa Bay did not win in that Super Bowl year — and the team entered the playoffs as a favorite to make it to the big game again. Unfortunately, the Lost Angeles Rams stood in the way, and after another attempt to run it back with largely the same group, it was time to move on.
Many predicted that when Tom Brady exited the Bucs' landscape, the team itself would fall from relevancy. So when Licht made the decision to sign quarterback Baker Mayfield fresh off his ousting from the Cleveland Browns, departure from the Carolina Panthers and brief stint with the Rams in a 12-month span, many felt it was the sign of a desperate organization. It turns out, however, Brady wasn't the only quarterback that Licht had up his sleeve.
“It’s great to see Baker Mayfield doing so well and bounce back," Smith said. "He had a productive year in 2023, and I believe wholeheartedly that he is the best option for them to move forward."
Of course, the Buccaneers are no strangers to being underrated. Even embrace it in a lot of ways. And Smith says, that despite the status reputation of the NFC South, the division is actually one that should be respected, and the winner of it as well.
“The good thing about being in the NFC South is that it’s the most competitive division in football. It might not be the best, but it’s well balanced. New Orleans, Tampa Bay or Atlanta all have a shot at winning the NFC South.”
