page_title: History of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
section_title: 2014 and 2015: Lovie Smith and Jason Licht era
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers / A Coaching Carousel and Out of the Playoffs (2009 onwards) / 2014 and 2015: Lovie Smith and Jason Licht era
caption_attribution_description: English: Cleveland Browns vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
context_section_description: On January 1, 2014, Lovie Smith was hired as the new head coach of the Buccaneers, replacing Greg Schiano. Smith had previously spent 5 seasons with the Buccaneers from 1996 to 2001 coaching the linebackers under Tony Dungy. During his first news conference with the Bucs, Smith talked about restoring the quality of the team from the late 1990s and early 2000s: “There was a certain brand of football you expected from us”, Smith said. “You know we would be relentless. There was a brand of football that you got from us each week at Raymond James Stadium. It was hard for opponents to come in and win. We have gotten away from that a little bit, and it’s time ... for us to become a relevant team again."
  
  On January 21, 2014, Jason Licht was hired as the new general manager, replacing Mark Dominik. He was officially introduced at One Buc Place on January 23, 2014. In his first news conference, Licht talked about his philosophy:
  Our philosophy is going to be to build through the draft. That’s where we find our stars. That’s where we find the next generation. But also in the short term and long term we’re going to supplement our roster through free agency but we’re going to look for value. We’re going to spend wisely.
  Reflecting the team's fresh start, the Buccaneers began to wear new uniforms for the 2014 season.
  After signing veteran free agent Josh McCown and many more free agents, many analysts predicted that the Buccaneers could be the surprise team of the year and possibly make a playoff run. Those predictions soon went away after the Bucs began the season 0–3, including a 56–14 blowout against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday Night Football. McCown was injured in that game, and second year quarterback Mike Glennon was named the starter. His first start of the 2014 season ended with the Bucs earning their first victory of the season in Pittsburgh against the Steelers 27–24. The Bucs lost the next 4 games, two overtime loses against the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings, one blowout against the Baltimore Ravens and a 5-point loss against the Cleveland Browns. Going into week 10 at 1–8, McCown returned as the starter. Mathematically, the Bucs were still in playoff contention only being 3 games out of first place in the division. McCown's first game back ended with a 27–17 loss to the Falcons but won the following week in a 27–7 blowout against the struggling Washington Redskins. The Bucs would lose the next three games and were officially knocked out of playoff contention in week 14. The Bucs would finish 2–14, winning two fewer games than the previous season and securing the first-overall draft pick in the 2015 NFL draft.
  Despite the team's record, first-round draft pick wide receiver Mike Evans had more than 1,000 receiving yards and he became the youngest NFL player to record more than 200 receiving yards in a single game. Vincent Jackson also had more than 1,000 yards receiving, which represented Tampa Bay's first pair of 1,000 yard receivers in a season. Second-year CB Johnthan Banks led the team with 4 interceptions and had 50 tackles. Danny Lansanah flourished in the Tampa 2 system with 81 tackles, 1.5 QB sacks, and 3 interceptions, with 2 of those interceptions returned for touchdowns for the 2014 season. Jacquies Smith, who was signed from Buffalo after waiving rookie DE Scott Solomon a month into the season, had 17 combined tackles, 13 solo tackles, 6.5 sacks, and 1 forced fumble in only 8 starts for 2014.
  After the conclusion of the 2014 season, Tampa Bay hired Ben Steele to become the team's new offensive quality control coach as well as former Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator, Dirk Koetter, to be their new offensive coordinator after parting ways with QB coach and interim offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo. Having a 2–14 record, tied for worst in the NFL, Tampa gained the 1st overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft. They also made some headlines when they released QB Josh McCown on February 11, 2015 to save $5.25 million in cap space. With the first overall pick in the NFL draft, the Buccaneers selecte
caption: 2014 marked the first season under coach Lovie Smith.
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