From the 0-26 “Yuccaneers” to 2-time champions, Buccaneers celebrate 50 years with new docuseries
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers shed the “Yuccaneers” label decades ago.
They went from 0-26 to two-time Super Bowl champions and currently are four-time defending NFC South champs. They’re tied for first place entering a game against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night when they’ll be wearing their original creamsicle uniforms.
Long before Tom Brady turned the city into Tompa Bay and led the franchise to its second NFL title, the team traded Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young, let eventual Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams walk away and was spurned by Bo Jackson and Bill Parcells twice.
Those moments are among many of the franchise-altering decisions that are detailed in “Raise The Flags,” a new 10-part series that chronicles 50 years of Buccaneers football. The docuseries, which debuts on Amazon Prime Video on Thursday, gives viewers a thorough, behind-the-scenes look at the organization’s journey from expansion afterthought to championship contender.
It celebrates the good times and digs into some of the biggest lows, highlighting the triumphs and the missteps over five decades and two ownership groups.
“Raise The Flags” was commissioned and produced by Buccaneers co-owner Ed Glazer and directed by eight-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Trent Cooper, who is a lifelong Bucs fan.
“We tried to be as honest as we could,” Glazer told the AP. “A lot of people don’t always hear my family speak, so I think that’s going to be a first for a lot of people. But I think we try to take a real honest look at things that we’ve done well and mistakes that we’ve made as owners. You’re going to hear us talk about doing this for the first time ourselves going back 25 years ago. So we’re learning along the way, and there are mistakes that we made that things that we wouldn’t do again today, some bold moves we made that may not have worked out well that we may not make today.
“You get a little cautious as you get older. And there’s some bold moves we made that maybe we would regret making along the away also, right? I think one of them is letting some players go over the years that we would never let go today. Thinking that we could easily replace Hall of Fame players, and you can’t.”
The series features footage of Hugh Culverhouse, who paid $16 million for the expansion team. After his death, the family sold the team to Malcolm Glazer for a then-record $192 million in 1995.
One episode spotlights the first draft under the Glazers — before the sale of the team was even official — when general manager Rich McKay selected future Hall of Famers Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks in the first two rounds.
Another episode is devoted to the hiring of Tony Dungy, a pivotal moment in 1996 that reshaped the franchise’s culture and future, and eventually the difficult decision to fire him after the 2001 season.
“Tony was probably the most significant person ever in Buccaneer history,” Ed Glazer said. “When he came in ’95, obviously the first 20 years were not very successful. And Tony just brought stability to the team and it really almost carries to today. His leadership, his mentorship, the importance of the community, I mean all the things that he brought in that were so important to him still carry with us today. The players may be gone, but we’re still there and I think we learned a lot for Tony also of the importance of giving back and really mentoring young players. I think his legacy still carries on very strongly in Tampa.”
After Dungy’s dismissal, the Bucs pursued Parcells for a second time. A decade earlier, Culverhouse scheduled a press conference to announce Parcells was being hired only to say he changed his mind.
The Glazers had a contract with Parcells but he didn’t sign it. They considered Nick Saban but he wanted too much money. They had everyone thinking they were hiring Steve Mariucci while they worked out a megadeal to acquire Jon Gruden from the Raiders for two first-round picks, two second-rounders and $8 million.
Gruden led the Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl title in his first season after replacing Dungy. They wouldn’t win another one until Brady arrived in 2020.
And, they’re still winning with Baker Mayfield, though they’re still seeking that third ring.
“This series is loaded with stories lifelong fans have never heard,” Cooper said. “The things Steve Young went through as our quarterback in the mid-80s made me laugh out loud. The Keyshawn (Johnson) vs. Gruden falling out made me a bit uncomfortable. Listening to both of them so unfiltered was fantastic. How the Bucs actually landed Tom Brady, just fascinating.”
Brady, Dungy, Gruden, Sapp, Brooks, McKay, Bruce Arians, Mike Alstott and Ronde Barber are among 100 current and former players, coaches, executives, staff, and media personalities interviewed for the docuseries.
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