Tampa Bay Buccaneers: New Coach Needs Solid Free Agency Commitment

There's something missing in this Tampa Bay Buccaneer coaching snipe hunt and no one has really talked about it in any great detail.

So rather than boring you with the ongoing list of who-has and who-hasn't sat in front of the Glazer clan and their henchman, Mark Dominik, there are a couple of very, very important items we need to get out in the open.

First and foremost, you will hope that no one will sign on the dotted line to try and restore law and order to this band of outlaws over there at One Buc Place until they get a firm commitment in the interview process from ownership that money will be spent freely and willingly in free agency.

After all, it wouldn't matter if the ghost of Vince Lombardi showed up if all he had to work with is the sorry band of under-performers from last season's roster.

Remember that great line from the Tom Selleck movie "Mr. Baseball?" As the Japanese manager watched Jack Elliot take battling practice, he simply declared "You have hole in swing."

The fact is that this Tampa Bay Buccaneer team has holes in the roster. A lot of them.

Here are just a few items we might suggest:

Item one:  A No. 1 receiver, one who can allow the new coach to move Mike Williams to the No. 2 receiver spot.

Item two: A  big-play tight end who can also block a lick. See "New England Patriots" for that one.

Item three: A running back who can help Josh Freeman. See "Darren Sproles-type guy."

Item four: A new center. Jeff Faine is overpaid and simply worn out physically.

Item five: A veteran linebacker who can show the rest of the linebackers how sorry they are.

Item six: A real safety.

And that's just for starters.

The Bucs can fill some of these holes in the 2012 NFL draft. But that's what the new guys should be. The rest should have the ability to push the heck out of the guys in front of them. There is no competition for jobs on this team and that's a huge problem.

That should just about cover that.

Without any real effort toward free agency, this team will have trouble winning six games this year no matter who the coach might be.

The second item is one you should consider closely.

Ask yourself: "How attractive is this job? Would it really attract great assistants in addition to the new head guy?"

Look at the comments telling us how great it would be to bring in all these great assistants from other teams. The fact is, would an assistant from a winning situation really want to come and simply be an assistant in this rebuilding project?

I think not.

This is not an easy sell. You have ownership that hates paying out big bucks, to either players and/or coaches.

You saw Jeff Fisher will earn $7 million-a-year in St. Louis.

Do you think the Glazer's would want to spend $7 million on the entire coaching staff?

Probably not.

So keep those two thoughts in mind as you watch this process.

And remember—without free agency, don't look for a lot of wins.

And without someone and something to lure a good staff, well, good luck.