1995 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs attacked the college draft and may have had the most active draft day in team history. That morning, before the draft even began, the team traded quarterback Craig Erickson to Indianapolis for the Colts' first pick in the next year's draft, along with a conditional fourth round pick. Erickson, who was 11-18 as the Bucs starting QB, would have been an unconditional free agent the following year, so the Bucs did get some value from him. This also effectively ended any quarterback controversy the team may have had and handed the starting quarterback job to Trent Dilfer in only his second season.

When the draft began the Buccaneers were holding the seventh selection, but quickly traded that pick to Philadelphia. The Bucs traded their number seven selection for the Eagles' number twelve pick and two second round picks. When it came time for the team to make that first round selection, the man they wanted was still available. They made University of Miami defensive tackle Warren Sapp, the 1994 Lombardi Trophy winner, the team's number one selection. The Bucs were not done dealing. They then traded two second round picks, one of their own and one of the picks acquired in the deal with the Eagles, for Dallas' first round pick, which was number 28 overall. The Bucs then made Florida State outside linebacker Derrick Brooks their second selection in the first round. The Bucs ended up drafting seven defensive players in their eight selections.

Before the season began, there was one order of business to take care of on July 29 in Canton, Ohio. That was the enshrinement of Lee Roy Selmon into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Brother Dewey Selmon, a one time Buccaneer teammate, gave the introductory speech. "All the traditions of the Hall of Fame, that it represents, I really feel that, yeah, Lee Roy Selmon belongs here." Brother Lee Roy then took the microphone. "I really appreciate Hugh Culverhouse, Coach John McKay and Ron Wolf, at the time, for making a tough decision. Because it was an expansion team back in 1976, I know they had to labor over who to select as their collegiate player. I didn't appreciate it that much, as a senior in college, but I've grown to appreciate that a whole lot more today. I thank them for selecting me to come to the great area of Tampa, Florida and play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers."

The Buccaneers opened their 20th NFL season on September 3 in Philadelphia, which was the first game for new Eagles head coach Ray Rhodes. On their first possession, a Gary Anderson field goal gave the home team a 3-0 lead. A 64 yard Trent Dilfer (11 of 19 for 215 yards with an interception) to Horace Copeland (5 catches for 155 yards) touchdown pass put the Bucs out front. They held a 7-6 lead after three quarters, then Dilfer connected with Jackie Harris on a scoring pass and Errict Rhett ran one in for a TD. The defense recorded five sacks of Randall Cunningham in a 21-6 opening day win. Sam Wyche said after game, "I'm supposed to have this nice square jaw, that this is another day at work, but we're happier than we could ever get right now. This was a great win."

The next week in Cleveland, Vinny Testaverde (17 of 27 for 256 yards) got some redemption against his former teammates. In the second quarter, Testaverde hit Keenan McCardell on touchdown passes, twice within a span of 58 seconds, and the Browns had a 19-0 halftime lead. Trent Dilfer suffered two interceptions and seven sacks, while a fourth quarter touchdown run by Errict Rhett provided the Bucs points in a 22-6 defeat. Testaverde stated, "Going against a team I played for for six years, it's a little extra special win for me." Dilfer knew, "The plane ride home's not going to be fun."

The home opener took place on September 18 before a sold out Tampa Stadium crowd of 71,507. It was "Lee Roy Selmon Pro Football Hall of Fame Day" and Selmon was awarded his Hall of Fame ring during a halftime ceremony. Chicago lead the game 9-3 at the half, but the Bucs self-destructed in the second half. Before it was over, seven turnovers, including four interceptions by Trent Dilfer, lead to an easy 25-6 victory by the Bears.

The following week Tampa Bay evened its record at 2-2 by beating Washington 14- 6. The game featured the first regular season action for high priced free agent Alvin Harper, who had been injured for the first three weeks. Harper scored on a controversial touchdown reception and was ejected from the game after bumping into one of the officials while they discussed the catch. Harper was given the TD, but was also given the boot. Errict Rhett rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown in the Bucs victory.

On October 1, one of the league's new expansion teams posted its first victory. That same day the Buccaneers traveled to Clemson Memorial Stadium, affectionately known as "Death Valley," to play the Carolina Panthers. It was a game where former Florida State quarterback Casey Weldon replaced Trent Dilfer early in the second quarter, when Dilfer suffered a mild concussion. Weldon played well, completing 9 of 20 passes for 156 yards with no turnovers. However, turnovers were a problem for Carolina as they turned the ball over four times in Buc territory, once at the 1 yard line. Derrick Moore did become the first Carolina back to rush for over 100 yards in a game. Reggie Roby not only broke the Buccaneers record for punting with a 50.4 yard average, he had his first career pass completion. It took Casey Weldon's fourth quarter sneak into the end zone to pull out a 20-13 Bucs victory. After four losses, the new Jacksonville Jaguars won their first game that day in Houston 17-16.

The Bucs returned home to play Sam Wyche's old team. It was the first time he had faced the Cincinnati Bengals in a regular season match-up. Tampa Bay forced three fumbles and had three interceptions, while not turning the ball over once themselves. Casey Weldon again replaced Trent Dilfer, this time he was ineffective and seemed tired, and it came down to field goal by Michael Husted with just 29 seconds left in the game. At a rainy Tampa Stadium, Husted set team records for field goals (4) and attempts (6), and his a 53 yard kick gave the Bucs a 19-16 victory. Now 4-2, the Bucs claimed sole possession of first place in the NFC Central. Despite the winning record, Sam Wyche had a cantankerous relationship with the area media. After the Cincinnati victory he advised the local media, "As you write your ugly headlines, just don't misprint 4 dash 2."

Minnesota came to town the next week and, when Martin Mayhew returned a fumble 78 yards for a touchdown, the Bucs lead 14-3 in the second quarter. However, the Vikings came back and the game was tied at 17 after regulation. Minnesota's Fuad Reveiz missed a 53 yard field goal in the extra period, but Michael Husted was the hero for the second straight week. His 51 yard field goal, the second longest overtime field goal in NFL history, capped the Bucs fourth straight victory and keep them in first place.

Number one pick Warren Sapp scored his first pro touchdown on a 5 yard interception return against Atlanta and the Buccaneers had a 7-0 lead. Sapp also lined up in the backfield as a blocker for one of Errict Rhett's two touchdown runs. Rhett tied the team record by scoring a touchdown in five consecutive games. Jeff George (24 of 37 for 294 yards) was sacked four times, but he also threw three touchdown passes. Bert Emanuel (9 receptions for 121 yards) caught two of the TD passes, while Eric Mecalf (4 receptions for 106 yards) grabbed the other. The Tampa Bay winning streak came to an end on a fourth quarter field goal 24-21. Sam Wyche admitted, "We feel lousy and that's the way you feel when you're used to winning."

The following week Trent Dilfer scored his first pro touchdown, on a 21 yard run, in a game at the Astrodome. He also broke the team record for most consecutive passes without an interception, as he went 140 attempts before being intercepted by Oilers cornerback Cris Dishman on two straight pass attempts. The Bucs lost at Houston, with former Buc Chris Chandler at quarterback, 19-7.

Errict Rhett rushed for 144 yards and Jerry Ellison ran for two touchdowns at Detroit. Jason Hanson kicked the game winning field goal, as the Buccaneers lost to the Lions 27-24. Trent Dilfer (8 of 13 for 142 yards with an INT), who had a key fumble to set up the winning kick, took the blame for the loss. "I have a big responsibility and I get paid a lot of money to do it and do it well. I didn't do it well and I need to stand up and say the whole game's on me. I deserved the butt-chewing for it." The Bucs had lost three in a row and had fallen to 5-5.

On November 19, Tampa Stadium was filled with 71,629 fans for the first match- up between the Bucs and the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars. A highlight for the Jags was Pete Mitchell becoming the first Jacksonville receiver to go over 100 yards in a game. The visitors scored a touchdown with 37 seconds left in the game and Jacksonville head coach Tom Coughlin decided to go for the win and tried the two point conversion. When Jaguars quarterback Steve Beuerlein's pass was incomplete, the Bucs held on to win 17-16.

Trent Dilfer (28 of 49) passed for 312 yards, his first 300 yard day as a professional, and Jackie Harris caught ten passes for 127 yards against Green Bay. Errict Rhett did score a touchdown, but was held to 11 yards rushing. Brett Favre threw three touchdown passes, twice hitting Robert Brooks, in a 35- 13 Packers victory at a chilly Lambeau Field.

The next week at Minnesota, the Vikings lead 14-0 after the first quarter. Trent Dilfer was tossed out of the game for fighting, so Casey Weldon came on in relief. A fourth quarter touchdown pass to Alvin Harper was the first of Weldon's career. Cris Carter caught a pair of Warren Moon touchdown passes, and Buccaneer quarterbacks were sacked eight times, as Tampa Bay lost 31-17.

On December 10, Green Bay came to town to play a Sunday night game before 67,557 fans at Tampa Stadium. Errict Rhett rushed for 118 yards and Horace Copeland caught eight passes for 112 yards. The Packers lead 3-0 at the half and 10-7 in the fourth quarter. A 48 yard field Michael Husted field goal tied the game and Green Bay place kicker Chris Jacke missed a 45 yard attempt as regulation time ended. Husted's 47 yard field goal at the 11:14 mark of the overtime period gave the Bucs a 13-10 victory, evened their record at 7-7 and ended twelve seasons of double digit losses for Tampa Bay.

The next week, when the Bucs played in 34 degree weather at Chicago's Soldier Field, the winner of the game between 7-7 teams would remain in playoff contention. Trent Dilfer completed his first touchdown pass since the fourth week of the season, but he also had three interceptions and a fumble. Bears rookie running back Rashaan Salaam scored three touchdowns, as Chicago eliminated the Bucs from the playoff hunt 31-10.

The season closed against Detroit at Tampa Stadium before 50,049 fans on Saturday December 23. The highlight for the Buccaneers was a 75 yard run by Jerry Ellison, which tied James Wilder's record for the team's longest run from scrimmage. Unfortunately, there were more highlights for the Lions. Defensive end Tracy Scroggins returned a Trent Dilfer fumble 81 yards for a touchdown, the longest fumble return ever against the Bucs. Lions receiver Brett Perriman caught a 91 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Scott Mitchell, which was the longest pass play ever against a Bucs defense. Detroit posted a 37-10 victory.

While the Buccaneers' 7-9 record did break the streak of twelve straight seasons of double digit loses, it was the franchise's thirteenth consecutive losing season. The team posted its best record since the 1982 team went 5-4 and the most victories since the 1981 team went 9-7. The Bucs home record of 5-3 was the best since the 1984 team went 6-2 and the average home attendance of 59,193 was the highest since 1982. However, a promising 5-2 start had disintegrated into a 2-7 finish and a last place in the division.

Trent Dilfer became the first Bucs quarterback to start all 16 games since Doug Williams did it back in 1981, however, Dilfer was pulled from the game six times during the season. Dilfer's four touchdown passes tied a record, held by three other quarterbacks, for the fewest TD passes with at least 300 attempts. The Bucs scored a team record low five passing touchdowns. It did not help that a veteran offensive line allowed a team record 56 sacks. Errict Rhett rushed for over 1,000 yards for the second straight season, ending up with 1,207, the fifth best in the NFC and the fourth highest total in team history. Rhett's eleven rushing TDs, the second most in team history, helped the Bucs set a team record for rushing touchdowns scored (19). Reggie Roby set a new team record for punting average at 42.8, breaking Larry Swider's 1981 average of 42.7. Bobby Joe Edmonds broke the franchise mark with 1,147 kick return yards. The defense allowed team record highs for pass completions (346), passing yards (4,098) and average passing yards per game (256.1). Linebacker Hardy Nickerson was voted as the team's Most Valuable Player by the local media.

It was another turbulent season for the team off the field. Despite a promise to play in Tampa Bay for the first two seasons of ownership, the Glazer family was the subject of wide spread speculation involving relocation of the team. Throughout the summer and early part of the season, the Glazers were as high- profile as any political candidate. They would appear, so it seemed, before any group that asked them. A Personal Seat License campaign was initiated as a way to build a new state-of-the-art facility to replace Tampa Stadium. The Glazers were willing to pay a substantial amount of the construction costs, if somewhere near 50,000 seat deposits were pledged by area fans. After the campaign ended on November 21, with 32,557 seat reservations, the Glazers stated they were devastated by the results. The Glazers went into seclusion and the rumors were rampant. After Art Modell announced he was abandoning the Cleveland faithful, and moving the Browns to Baltimore for the 1996 season, the rumor was that the Bucs were headed to Cleveland. Other rumors had the Bucs moving to Los Angeles, Hartford, Orlando, or the Kissimmee area. For the second year in a row, area fans did not know if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would exist the following season.

One rumor, which was quickly confirmed, was the dismissal of head coach Sam Wyche. On December 27, just four days after the season finale, the team announced that Wyche would not return as head coach. Despite being the winningest coach in Buccaneers history, the team had finished in fifth place the last three seasons. Two names topped the fan's wish list for a replacement. The top preference was Steve Spurrier, who was the first quarterback for the Bucs, the one time head coach of the USFL Tampa Bay Bandits and current coach of the Florida Gators. The second choice was Jimmy Johnson, who had lead the Miami Hurricanes to the national championship, the Dallas Cowboys to two Super Bowl titles and was working as a commentator for FOX television. Spurrier and Johnson probably had the name recognition to sell enough tickets to guarantee that the Bucs would stay in Tampa Bay.

On January 9, Steve Spurrier held a news conference in Gainsville. The Bucs had offered Spurrier a very lucrative contract, reported to be $2 million per year and part ownership in the franchise, but he decided to stay at the University of Florida. "I'm all for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers," Spurrier stated. "I hope they stay there. I hope they get their stadium. That's a team I once tried to play for. If I was ever to coach in the NFL, Tampa Bay would be my first choice, if I had a choice. I guess through my years of coaching, ever since those days with the Bandits, 1983-84-85, I maybe had a little fascination of one day coaching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That is probably why there was a little bit of interest. But after thinking about it and meeting with them, I just believe that what's best for me, my family, the coaching staff and all concerned is to stay right here." Two days later, Jimmy Johnson signed a contract with the Miami Dolphins to replace the retired Don Shula as head coach. The Bucs would now have to pursue other candidates.

On January 22, the Bucs held a press conference at the Tampa Airport Marriott to announce they had hired a new head coach. Tony Dungy would become the sixth head coach in team history. The 40 year-old defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings became the fourth black head coach in NFL history and the youngest in Bucs history. He signed a six year contract, the longest deal the Bucs had ever offered a head coach. Dungy had fifteen years of coaching experience, but this was his first head coaching job. He played defensive back for the Steelers in Super Bowl XIII, before coaching assignments with the University of Minnesota, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Vikings.

At that press conference, Tony Dungy talked about his desire for the team to stay in Tampa and shared some thoughts on the future. "We all hope the team plays here in Tampa. I'm a traditionalist. I would prefer everything stays as is, but that's not really my concern as a coach. My concern is to get the ball team ready to play the best football it can play. Our goal is to come in here and win." Without any resolution in the on-going battle between local officials and team management on the stadium issue, it was difficult for fans to celebrate the announcement.

Related Links

1995 Buccaneers Results

1995 NFC Central Division Standings

1995 Buccaneers Draft

1995 Buccaneers Statistics

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