The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The club joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team, along with the Seattle Seahawks, and played its first season in the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Prior to the 1977 season, Tampa Bay switched conferences and divisions with Seattle, becoming a member of the NFC Central division. The Seahawks eventually rejoined the NFC in 2002, leaving the Buccaneers as the only NFL team not to play in their original conference. As a result of the league's realignment prior to the 2002 season, the Buccaneers joined three former NFC West teams to form the NFC South. The club is owned by the Glazer family and plays its home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
John Harvey McKay was an American football coach. He was the head coach at the University of Southern California (USC) from 1960 to 1975 and of the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1976 to 1984. In sixteen seasons at USC, McKay compiled a record of 127–40–8 (.749) and won nine AAWU/Pac-8 conference titles. His teams made eight appearances in the Rose Bowl, with five wins. Four of his squads captured national titles.
Ricky Lynn Bell was an American professional football player who was a running back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). Bell played college football for the USC Trojans, gaining 1,875 yards rushing in his junior season. The first overall pick in the 1977 NFL Draft, Bell was inducted posthumously into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
Todd Darren McNair is an American football coach and former player who was most recently the running backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the running backs coach at the University of Southern California from 2004 to 2010, until the NCAA issued a one-year show-cause penalty against him as part of sanctions related to the ineligibility of one of his former players, Reggie Bush. McNair had a long-running lawsuit pending against the NCAA for libel, slander, breach of contract and four other alleged offenses. The lawsuit finally was settled through mediation after ten years.
James Curtis Wilder Sr. is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Redskins, and the Detroit Lions.
Kirby Keyes Wilson is an American football coach who was previously a running backs coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He coached for the New England Patriots, Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals and Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders. He was previously the head coach for the Pittsburgh Maulers of the United States Football League (USFL).
Skip Peete is an American football coach who is the running backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). Prior to the Buccaneers, he coached running backs for the Los Angeles Rams, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, and Oakland Raiders. He also has experience in college, coaching running backs for two years at UCLA, wide receivers at Michigan State and Rutgers, and both running backs and wide receivers at the University of Pittsburgh.
Raheem Morris is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams from 2021 to 2023 and served as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009 to 2011 and interim head coach of the Falcons in 2020. Morris also was an assistant coach for the Falcons, Washington Redskins, and the Buccaneers.
The 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's first season in the National Football League (NFL). The Buccaneers played their home games at Tampa Stadium and their inaugural head coach was John McKay. The Buccaneers gained infamy as the first team to play an entire 14-game season without winning or tying a single game. It remains one of only four winless seasons since the merger. The Buccaneers did not score until their third game and did not score a touchdown until their fourth. They lost by more than a touchdown eleven times. Colorful, maverick former USC coach McKay, whose wisecracking remarks occasionally agitated fans and the league, led the team. The only bright spot was future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Lee Roy Selmon, who made his rookie debut in an injury-plagued season.
The 1978 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's third season in the National Football League the third playing their home games at Tampa Stadium and the third under head coach John McKay. As their two 1977 victories had been in the last two games of the season, they entered the 1978 season with the longest active winning streak in the NFC Central.
The 1979 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's 4th season in the National Football League. All home games were played at Tampa Stadium. After having won just seven games in the previous three seasons combined, the 1979 Buccaneers won ten games for their first winning season. They finished as NFC Central division champions and won the first playoff game in franchise history.
Jerry Mark Golsteyn is a former American football player. Golsteyn played college football as quarterback at Northern Illinois University and was selected in the 12th round of the 1976 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. He played in eight National Football League (NFL) seasons, from 1977 to 1984 for five different teams, the Giants, the Baltimore Colts, the Detroit Lions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Los Angeles Raiders. Golsteyn also played a brief stint for the Orlando Americans in the American Football Association in 1981, becoming one of the few NFL-caliber players to play in that league. The fact that Golsteyn was a star in the league was occasionally used as a joke regarding the AFA's inability to sign marquee talent. He then played for the Orlando Renegades of the United States Football League (USFL) in 1985.
Glades Central Community High School is a high school located in Belle Glade, Florida. In the 2014–15 school year its enrollment numbered 992 students. It is known for having one of the best high school football teams in the nation, with more football players in the NFL and in the NCAA than any other high school. In fact the New York Times reported that Glades Central had produced more current National Football League players than any other high school in the country with 7 during the 2001 season. The Raiders have won six Florida High School football titles, tying for the second most in state history with Lakeland and University Christian. Their main rivals are the Pahokee Blue Devils. The Blue Devils play the Raiders each year in the so-called "Muck Bowl," one of the most famous high school rivalry games in the nation, which can draw up to 25,000 spectators each year. Glades Central has won 17 out of the 25 games since 1995.
Gordon Jones is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for five seasons for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams. He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers.
John Kenneth McKay is a former American football player, trial attorney, and executive with positions at the Alliance of American Football (AAF) and the University of Southern California. As a professional athlete, McKay played wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1976 to 1978.
Jimmy DeWayne DuBose is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons during the 1970s. DuBose played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL.
Gregory Keith Horton was a professional American football player who played offensive lineman for the Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Willie Brown was an American college and professional football player and coach. A star player for the University of Southern California, he went on to play three seasons in the National Football League (NFL). After his playing career, he served as a coach for the Trojans and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL.
Ronald Jones II is an American football running back who is a free agent. He played college football for the USC Trojans, where he finished his college career with over 3,600 rushing yards over three seasons before being selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft.
Ke'Shawn LaMont Vaughn is an American football running back who is a free agent. He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini and Vanderbilt Commodores.
