Tampa Bay Buccaneers tickets are now on sale here at Front Row USA. Get your Tampa Bay Buccaneers tickets today and see if head coach, Jon Gruden, and QB, Jeff Garcia, can lead the team back into the Super Bowl this year!

A Brief History of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

    In 1974, the NFL awarded its 27th franchise to Tampa, Florida. It was originally awarded to Tom McCloskey. However, he was undergoing financial problems, so the NFL gave his franchise to Florida lawyer Hugh Culverhouse. He held a contest to name the new team; Tampa Bay Buccaneers was the winner. They started playing in 1976 at Tampa Stadium. Their first head coach was John McKay, with Steve Spurrier as their first QB. The Buccaneers became the only modern NFL team to have a winless season with a 0-14 first season record. They lost their first 26 games; however, they won the last two games of the 1977 season, getting their first win ever against the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans. Hank Stram, the Saints head coach, was fired for losing to the Buccaneers. In 1978, the Buccaneers improved to 5-11.

    In 1979, the Buccaneers had their first winning season. QB Doug Williams led the team to a 10-6 record and their first playoff appearance. They won the wild card game, but lost the NFC championship game to the Rams. The 1980 season was a disappointment to the Buccaneers; they only had a 5-10 record. However, they made it back to the Playoffs in 1981 and 1982. From 1983 to 1995, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered through 14 continuous losing seasons; going through 4 head coaches from 1985 to 1995. In 1994, Culverhouse died and Malcolm Glazer purchased the team in 1995. He hired Tony Dungy as the new head coach and arranged for a new stadium with Tampa.

    Tom Dungy started off slow, his first season, 1996, ended with a 6-10 record. However, in 1997 the team had a 10-6 record and made it into the Playoffs for the first time in 14 years. They lost the divisional game to the Packers. They missed the Playoffs in 1998; however, they made the Playoffs in 1999, 2000, and 2001; losing each time. Dungy was let go at the end of the 2001 season and he went to the Colts.

    After a long search, the Glazers picked Jon Gruden, head coach of the Oakland Raiders, as their new head coach. However, the Buccaneers paid heavily for him because he was still under his contract with the Raiders. In exchange for future draft picks and $8 million, he was released from his contract with the Raiders. Jon Gruden has been head coach since then. He led the Buccaneers to their best ever season in 2002 (a 12-4 record); and a win in Super Bowl XXXVII over his old team the Raiders. In 2003 and 2004 the Buccaneers stumbled and had losing seasons. In 2005, they made it back into the Playoffs with an 11-5 record; losing the wild card game to the Redskins. In 2006, the team was plagued by injuries; they ended up with a 4-12 record. 2007 saw the arrival of QB Jeff Garcia and some new defensive players. Their record improved to 9-7, however they lost the wild card game to the Giants, who went on to win the Super Bowl. So, get your Tampa Bay Buccaneers tickets now and see if they will make it all the way this year!