What about the GM?
This past offseason, the Buccaneers did the right thing extending the current contract of the youngest General Manager in the NFL. Dominik is starting to get noticed nationwide, including a recent article naming him the seventh best GM in the NFL today. It is an elite company in the top quarter of the league, including guys who have won Championships with teams they have created.
Clearly other people believe Dominik is on his way to achieving the same goal. While he already has a ring from 2002 when he was in the pro personnel department, it's not the same as build-your-own.
Eight teams, or a quarter of the NFL, changed general managers in 2008, with Tampa Bay's promotion of Dominik from within being one of them. The other seven and their rankings in the article linked above:
- Cleveland, who fired their GM less than one year after hiring him
- Denver, #28 (Brian Xanders)
- Detroit, #8 (Martin Mayhew)
- Jacksonville, #29 (Gene Smith)
- Kansas City, #12 (Scott Pioli)
- New England, #11 (Bill Bellicheck)
- Saint Louis, #21 (Billy Devaney)
It's been less than three seasons, and granted some of these men inherited a disaster. Some started ahead like New England. But fortunately Tampa Bay had someone already familiar with the way things work inside One Buccaneer Place, and Dominik has worked it to his advantage ever since.
Don't overlook Detroit and the high regard for their GM. They clearly found the right man as well.
It's a solid Top Five in the GM rankings above, and appears to be a very hard group to crack. To get there, Dominik will have to win a championship.
Seems that more and more people are believing that he will.
I have always hated Carolina, but had a hard time hating John Fox.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I was happy for him when he landed in Denver, and I am happy to see him winning with Tebow. He plays the hand of cards he is dealt, as best he can.
Though I want Tampa to win Sunday, I just can't see it happening.
In fact, with Cam Newton and Carolina's big backs, it may get downright ugly for us. There is a "race" in the NFC South, a race to see who avoids finishing last in the division. The way I see it, Saints win division, Atlanta second, Carolina third, and Tampa finishes last in the NFC South.
We took apart a 10 and 6 team from last year, fired both our O and D Line coaches, and allowed Caddy to walk, the emotional leader of our team.
We let Ruud get away, with no veteran replacement.
I see plenty of other rookies making an impact with their teams, players we COULD have had, had Mark Dominick done a little wheeling and dealing, or more homework.
He wastes our top pick on McCoy who insists on arm tackling, and is hurt because of it.
I am sorry, but where was the film study on Mc Coy, it is not like he just started doing this.
Last years draft was a huge one for us, we had a lot of picks, and a high one too.
Ask yourself Honestly, has Mark Dominick done a good job selecting talent for our future?
Let's all come out of denial, and I don't mean the River in Egypt, and face facts. We are not just getting beaten by better teams, we are often getting KILLED. Tampa is in serious trouble, in case no one noticed ?
The ship is sinking, and we need to fix it. Or, are we going to continue to allow Mark Dominick to waste another draft.
In retrospect, it is appearing it was a mistake and an insult to the fans in Tampa, to place our football team in the hands of a couple of inexperienced/unproven Kids. The Fans are speaking with their wallets, and attendance will only get worse.
Chris,
DeleteSorry it took so long to get this reviewed but I have been away for a few months. You're right, we were getting killed, and it got worse every week of the season.
I'm not sure, however, the criticism towards Dominik is fair. I believe the players he has drafted have better talent than the players he replaced. I believe he has a great eye finding talent in the castoffs from other teams.
What is dissappointing is that it's not carrying over to the field. To me, that's coaching, and the changes so far this offseason are the right ones.
Thanks for dropping your thoughts!