Tampa Bay Football History Network - 1994 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

1994 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

In the college draft, the Buccaneers were looking for help on offense. They got it when Fresno State quarterback Trent Dilfer was still available for the team's sixth overall selection. Dilfer had an outstanding college career and it was the third time a quarterback had been drafted with the Bucs number one pick. They also picked up University of Florida running back Errict Rhett in the second round. It was hoped that Rhett could fill the void left by Reggie Cobb signing with Green Bay. While this appeared to be a very good draft for Tampa Bay, their history of failed number one picks reared its head prior to the start of the preseason. Broderick Thomas, who was the team's number one pick and number six overall in 1989, was released during training camp. The Bucs again failed to get any value out of a number one selection. However, there was plenty of enthusiasm that this was the year the Buccaneers would turn it around. Sam Wyche said, "We think we are a pretty good football team."

On Thursday August 26, 1994, the only owner the Buccaneers had ever known died after a long battle with lung cancer at the age of 75. Hugh Culverhouse will always be remembered for never winning the championship he so dearly wanted. On Tuesday August 30, the team owner was laid to rest, as the Buccaneers prepared to open the season at Chicago. He was eulogized as a strong civic leader who donated millions to charity. Later, a less favorable picture of infidelities and deception would be painted. His widow, Joy Culverhouse, said during a court battle over control of the estate, "I'd like to dig him up just so I could shoot him."

No history of the Buccaneers would be complete without mentioning the "Doug Williams curse." Before the 1983 season, team management and the quarterback were embroiled in a salary dispute. Williams, who ended up signing with the United States Football League, was bitter over the negotiations. This lead to the legend of the curse. The fact that the Bucs had averaged just four wins a season, from 1983 to 1993, only kept the myth alive. In 1991, after opening the season with five straight losses, a local radio station tried to exercise the curse. They had some voodoo witch doctor chanting and burning old jerseys in the Tampa Stadium parking lot. The Bucs did win that afternoon, but it was only one of three victories that season. Hugh Culverhouse was always blamed for letting Williams go and many felt his penny-pinching ways had kept the team down for so long. With his passing, fans hoped the team was rid of the Doug Williams curse.

The day after the Culverhouse funeral, the three man trust assigned to manage the late owner's affairs met with the local media. Steve Story, the front man for the trust, commented "I cannot predict the future of the Buccaneers franchise. That is dependent on many factors which can only be determined as events progress." As the season began, the future of the team was the subject of wide spread speculation.

A team record 21 play scoring drive, which could only yield a field goal, was indicative of the Buccaneers' troubles at Soldier Field on opening day. The team's inability to convert, or stop, the big play lead to a 21-9 Chicago victory. Sam Wyche remained optimistic. "This is a good Tampa Bay football team. We're going to have a good season."

The smallest crowd ever to witness a Tampa Bay home opener, 36,631, came out for the game between the Bucs and Colts. For the visitors, rookie running back Marshall Fault ran for 104 yards and totaled another 82 yards on seven pass receptions. The Bucs scored touchdowns on drives of 80, 84 and 90 yards with Craig Erickson throwing for 313 yards and three scores. Erickson hit Charles Wilson and Jackie Harris on long TD passes, and tossed a short scoring pass to Courtney Hawkins. After the 24-10 victory over Indianapolis, Sam Wyche stated "We had the heartbreak of Week 1 and the excitement of Week 2. We choose the latter from here on out."

After the game, there was an announcement from the head of the trust running the team in the wake of the death of Hugh Culverhouse. Steve Story stated, "The decision has been made that the team is not for sale. This stance is not just for this season, but the foreseeable future as well."

A pair of Morten Anderson field goals gave New Orleans a 6-0 lead after the first quarter in Tampa. Craig Erickson (17 of 32 for 176 yards) threw a second quarter touchdown pass to Jackie Harris, then another Anderson field goal put the Saints in front at the half. The second half was scoreless and the Bucs lost 9-7.

At Green Bay, Brett Favre (30 of 39 for 306 yards) threw three touchdown passes and the Packers totaled 401 yards. Rookie Trent Dilfer (5 of 10 for 73 yards) saw action in relief of Craig Erickson (7 of 20 for 124 yards with an INT). Three Bucs turnovers lead to 13 points in a 30-3 Green Bay victory. Speaking of the team, Sam Wyche said "Listen, we're not out of anything. This is not a bad football team." On Dilfer, he remarked "I think Trent is absolutely ready to take charge when he's called on."

After two losses, the Bucs faced a critical game against the Lions. A loss would have dropped the team to 1-4, apparently out of contention, a victory would put the Bucs back in the hunt with a 2-3 record. When Vernon Turner ran a first quarter punt back for a touchdown, to give the Bucs a 10-0 lead, the Tampa Stadium crowd witnessed the first kick return for a score in franchise history. No punt, or kickoff, all 1,789 the Buccaneers had received in their nineteen year history, had ever been returned for a touchdown before Turner high-stepped his way along the sideline for the 80 yard score. It was also a game where rookie Errict Rhett scored on a 1 yard run in the third quarter for his first pro touchdown. Even with Barry Sanders rushing for 166 yards, including an 85 yard run, the longest ever against a Bucs defense, the Buccaneers won 24-14.

Craig "Ironhead" Heyward scored on two short touchdown runs and the Falcons lead 24-0. Jeff George (23 of 35 for 269 yards with 2 INTs) threw for two Atlanta touchdowns at the Georgia Dome. Craig Erickson (18 of 30 for 172 yards with a TD) started, Trent Dilfer (6 of 11 for 81 yards) threw three interceptions and Casey Weldon (6 of 6 for 58 yards) saw action in the Bucs 34- 13 defeat.

Sam Wyche decided to give rookie quarterback Trent Dilfer his first NFL start on October 23 at San Francisco. Dilfer completed just 7 of 23 passes for 45 yards, with one interception, as the 49ers built a 34-0 lead after three quarters. Craig Erickson (5 of 7 for 67 yards) did throw for a touchdown and two successful two-point conversions. Ricky Watters rushed for 103 yards with two scores and Steve Young completed 20 of 26 passes (255 yards with 1 TD) in a 41-16 San Francisco victory.

The Bucs turned the ball over five times the following week against Minnesota with Vikings cornerback Anthony Parker returning an interception 41 yards for a touchdown. Terry Allen ran for 113 yards and a score, Warren Moon threw a TD pass and Fuad Reveiz kicked five field goals. Craig Erickson did connect with Charles Wilson on a 62 yard touchdown and Trent Dilfer hit Courtney Hawkins from 3 yards out for his first career touchdown pass. Minnesota won the game in Tampa 36-13.

Trent Dilfer (13 of 25 for 159 yards) got his first Tampa Stadium start against Chicago and the Bucs trailed 6-3 at the half. Steve Walsh (19 of 32 for 205 yards with an INT) threw two second half touchdown passes to pace the Bears over the Bucs. The Buccaneers rushed for only 38 yards in a 20-6 defeat. The team had lost four in a row, fallen to 2-7 and appeared headed for another double-digit losing season.

On Wednesday November 9, there was an announcement that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were up for sale. Steve Story released a statement containing the following: "Since we last addressed the issue of ownership of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in September, circumstances have occurred to cause the trustees to re-evaluate the feasibility of continuing to operate the team in a trust arrangement. We are in a position where we will now explore and entertain legitimate offers to purchase the Buccaneers. If a new owner is to be in place, that party should have every opportunity to prepare for the 1995 season. We have said this before, and I want to repeat it now, all things being equal, we all want very much for the team to stay in Tampa. We all realize the sensitivity of this issue." Part of the reason for the announcement was that the Culverhouse family was not totally satisfied with the trust itself. The mounting loses and dwindling attendance also put the franchise in a position where it would lose money for the first time. While there seemed to be a desire to keep the team in Tampa Bay, everyone knew the rumor mill would be working overtime.

The following Sunday night the team traveled to Detroit for a nationally televised game against the Lions. The Bucs held Barry Sanders to 37 yards in the first half, then he exploded for 200 yards in the second half for a career high 237 yards. Errict Rhett, who ran for 112 yards for his first 100 yard game as a professional, praised Sanders after the 14-9 Tampa Bay defeat. "Not only can't I do the things he does, I can't describe what he does."

A game in Seattle was witnessed by the smallest non-strike crowd in Seahawks history (37,466). Seattle was ahead 14-0 in the first half, however, the Bucs had the lead late in the fourth quarter. Craig Erickson (22 of 32 for 212 yards with an INT) threw two touchdown passes to Courtney Hawkins and Seattle QB Rick Mirer (13 of 25 for 127 yards with an INT) also connected on two TD passes. When Mack Strong scored on a 7 yard touchdown run with 42 seconds left, the Seahawks won 22-21. The Bucs losing streak had reached six games.

The next week, Tampa Bay was a 14 point underdog at Minnesota, but the Bucs finally catch a break. Minnesota had scored a late touchdown, and added the two point conversion, to send the game into overtime tied at 17. Tampa Bay's Ed Brady recovered a fumbled punt return by Minnesota's Eric Guliford at the Vikings 22 yard line. On the next play, Michael Husted kicked a 22 yard field goal to break the Bucs losing streak at the 2:08 mark of the extra period.

On December 4, the Washington Redskins came to Tampa Stadium and the game got off to a rocky start for the Bucs. Andre Collins intercepted a Craig Erickson pass and returned it 92 yards for a touchdown, just 2:10 into the game. This was the longest interception return that any Buccaneers team had allowed, but Errict Rhett ended up being the hero of the game. Rhett had the best day for a Buccaneers rookie with 192 rushing yards and broke Jerry Eckwood's rookie rushing record for a season. The Buccaneers controlled the ball for a team record 42:14 and generated 464 yards of total offense. The Bucs defense held Washington to just 10 yards rushing, a team record and the fewest yards a Redskins team had rushed for in history. Craig Erickson slipped into the end zone on a quarterback sneak, with just 32 seconds left in the game, to give the franchise its first win against Washington. The 26-21 victory was the first time the team had won back to back games, since Sam Wyche's first two games as head coach.

After a scoreless first quarter in Tampa, the Bucs built a 17-7 halftime lead over Los Angeles. Craig Erickson hit Charles Wilson (4 receptions for 176 yards) on two scoring passes, including a 71 yarder, and Errict Rhett ran for 119 yards. Rams quarterback Chris Chandler also threw a pair of TD passes in the Buccaneers 24-14 triumph. Sam Wyche commented on the fact the Bucs had won three in a row for the first time since 1982. "We've arrived. We're not that far away anymore. That's gone. Those were the good old days. We can be a winning team." Wilson asked after the game "Why couldn't we do this in the beginning of the year?"

At Washington, Errict Rhett ran 1 yard for a second quarter touchdown and the Bucs trailed 14-10 going into the final fifteen minutes. Rhett's second TD run, from 3 yards out with 7:02 left in the game, gave the Bucs a 17-14 victory. It was the first time in franchise history that the Redskins had gone winless at home. The Bucs had a four game winning streak, the longest since the 1979 team won five in a row. Lawrence Dawsey, who caught 7 passes for 116 yards, commented "I wish we'd got on this roll earlier in the season. We could have made it to the big dance. Maybe next year."

The season closed on Christmas eve at Tampa Stadium with the 6-9 Buccaneers trying to equal the club record for consecutive wins, and avoid losing at least ten games for the twelfth straight year. Rumors that the team was headed to Baltimore were rampant. National newspapers were predicting Baltimore Orioles owner, Peter Angelos, would submit a bid of $200 million in an attempt to relocate the Bucs. There were local investors, including a group headed by New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, yet it was doubtful that they would match that price. Since the team had won four straight, and there was the possibility the game with the Packers could be the last pro football game at Tampa Stadium, tickets for the season finale were selling fast.

In a show of support for keeping the team in Tampa Bay, the game sold out with 65,076 in attendance. Unfortunately, three Brett Favre touchdown passes to Sterling Sharpe in the first half put the game out of reach early, with Green Bay posting a 34-19 victory. The only highlight for the Bucs was Errict Rhett going over the 1,000 yard mark in the fourth quarter. Rhett's 1,011 yards and seven touchdowns established Buccaneers rookie rushing records.

Tampa Bay finished the season with a 6-10 record, which placed them fifth in the division, and could not avoid losing at least ten games for the twelfth year in a row. Michael Husted set a team record with 35 field goal attempts and equaled the record for field goals with 23. Craig Erickson set a team record for lowest interception percentage (2.51%). While the Bucs set team records for fewest fumbles (18) and lowest number of fumbles lost (7), they also intercepted a team record low nine passes. Offensive tackle Paul Gruber was voted the team's Most Valuable Player by the local media. The community braced for an active off season.

On December 26, the first official offer to purchase the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was laid on the table by a group of local investors headed by Tom Shannon. The Shannon group included Outback Steakhouse executives Chris Sullivan and Bob Basham, along with several other local investors. While the terms of the proposal were not initially disclosed, it was an unconditional offer of $163.3 million that was set to expire on January 9. Steve Story said the following in a prepared statement: "Clearly we are happy to see a local group come forward with a meaningful offer. We expect the overall sale process to be accelerated at this point."

On January 5, the Culverhouse trust did give a vote of confidence to Sam Wyche. It was announced that, if the trust continued to operate the team, Sam Wyche would be retained as head coach. The trusties reasoned, "The distractions that the 1994 Buccaneers faced should not be underestimated. Coach Wyche did an admirable job keeping his team together and simply not allowing them to give up."

On the eve of the date set by the Shannon group for their offer to expire, Peter Angelos made his anticipated bid for the team. It was reportedly a two- tiered offer, $205 million if he could move the team to Baltimore, $170 million if he ended up operating the team in Tampa Bay. Angelos had made no secret of his intentions. He had said of the Bucs average attendance, "That simply isn't enough fan support to justify, it seems to me, the retention of an NFL franchise."

Monday January 9 was a hectic day at the offices of Steve Story. For a while it looked as if the Shannon group might be selected as new owners, but the trust ended up rejecting that offer. Steve Story said the following, "We received several offers in excess of their proposal and we are currently perusing those bids." Tom Shannon was left to comment, "Obviously, this NFL franchise is worth a lot more than we thought."

The trustees had received an offer of $192 million from Palm Beach financier Malcolm Glazer. Glazer said he would keep the Bucs in Tampa Bay for at least two years, however, he may move the team if a new stadium was not built to replace the aging Tampa Stadium. Glazer had tried to bring an expansion team to Baltimore in the past, so there was some concern. There was also another group with ties to Baltimore who submitted a bid in that same range. The three competing groups all had ties to Baltimore, but the Malcolm Glazer group appeared to be the best chance for keeping the Bucs in town.

There was also colorful Massachusetts businessman Socrates Babacas who kept saying that he was going to submit a bid of $190 million, build a privately financed stadium, hire Mike Ditka as head coach and go to the Super Bowl in two years. On Thursday January 12, George Steinbrenner submitted his long anticipated bid on the team. Steinbrenner, an area resident, was being hailed as the savior of the Bucs and the man to keep the team in Tampa Bay. However, with the weekend approaching, it seemed like his offer may have been too little, too late. It looked like a deal with Malcolm Glazer was eminent.

On Monday January 17, a press conference took place at the Westshore Marriott Hotel to announce the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had been sold, and at the highest price ever paid for a professional sports franchise. The Culverhouse trust had agreed to sell the team to Malcolm Glazer for $175 million, but the deal included several clauses that would make it a record setting price. An additional $10 million would be paid if Tampa Stadium was renovated, $17 million if a new stadium was built, or $35 million if the team was relocated in the next ten years. There was also a guarantee that the team would play the next two seasons in Tampa Bay.

The new owner tried to comfort those who thought the team would be moved. "The first thing I want to say is the Buc stops here. Tampa Bay is going to have this team forever, as far as the Glazers are concerned. I sure as heck would rather own a team in Tampa than I would in Baltimore."

Bryan Glazer, one of Malcolm Glazer's sons who would be involved the operation of the team, commented on the future of head coach Sam Wyche. "We do not foresee any changes in the future with coaching. We will spend the next couple of weeks getting to know Sam better."

On January 28, Lee Roy Selmon became the first Tampa Bay Buccaneer elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His surprise selection came on the eve of Super Bowl XXIX. The next day, former Bucs quarterback Steve Young was named the Most Valuable Player in the Super Bowl, as San Francisco beat San Diego 49-26.

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