Disrespected.
Sometimes, it’s too easy to spot the biases.
Take Patrick Daugherty of Rotoworld. He put out his annual general manager rankings and Joe smelled something funny right away.
Daugherty clearly isn’t a fan of Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht. Maybe because Licht doesn’t like some boring alt-rock band like REM or Dave Matthews that the hipsters seem to embrace.
Joe sensed, reading Daugherty’s list, that he dinged Licht not so much because of his resume, but Daugherty seems to think like a network TV exec in that Daugherty likes to hang with the cool kids.
And the Bucs simply are not a cool team currently.
All the general managers listed ahead of Licht are either running popular teams or teams that the high and mighty consider cool.
You know, like Saint Lamar Jackson. He’s basically a higher-paid Baker Mayfield who fantasy geeks absolutely drool over. So, of course, Crows shot-caller Eric DeCosta, who has never won a Super Bowl as a general manager, is better than Licht.
Because Saint Lamar Jackson is cool, DeCosta rules!
And yes, Joe is aware Rotoworld traffics in fantasy football.
(For the unaware, Joe has nothing against fantasy football but Joe’s fantasy has a much higher ceiling. Joe’s fantasy has nothing to do with football but everything to do with a secluded Caribbean island, a sultry brunette and bottles of high-end Kentucky bourbon.)
Here is what Daugherty typed about Licht — and he actually mocks Licht for signing Tom Brady if you can imagine.
12. Jason Licht, Bucs
Jason Licht has been on the job 12 years. The number of times he’s won more than 10 games without the greatest player in league history? Zero. In fact, Licht has one total playoff victory without Mr. Thomas Brady. Of course, it came three years ago immediately following TB12’s retirement. In fact, Licht has had his best non-Brady stretch since the GOAT hung up his cleats. The problem is, that “best stretch” has been nine, 10 and eight victories. Far from terrible. Also far from inspiring, especially in the sleepy NFC South. There isn’t much reason to expect any near-term revelations. The defense is old and in need of a talent infusion. Admittedly, Rueben Bain is a good start there. Baker Mayfield is a credible option at quarterback, but not a 5-10 year solution. Coach Todd Bowles is solid but not winning any Xs and Os battles. Mike Evans is gone, Chris Godwin is aging … you get the picture. Licht needs something big to happen. Maybe Bain can be that player for 2026. But with another Brady not walking through that door, Licht needs several Bains to emerge, not just one.
There you go! Licht is not “exciting” so therefore, meh, he’s not that good. The Bucs play in the “sleepy” NFC South. You know, the rest of the NFL stays at the club doing shots of tequila until 3 a.m. while the Bucs go home at 8 p.m., eat a KitKat, have a glass of oat milk and be in the sack before 10 p.m.
Joe’s going to run down the list of general managers here that Daugherty believes are better than Licht, with some brief comments.
No. 1 Howie Roseman, Eagles: He’s very good and what Joe loves about Howie is that he is uber aggressive. He sees a hole in his roster and he attacks it. Oh, and Howie believes in a pass rush.
No. 2 John Schneider, Seahawks: This guy would be No. 1 in Joe’s book. He doesn’t make noise like Howie does, but winning two Super Bowls with different coaches is elite.
No. 3 Les Snead, Rams: Like Howie, he’s uber aggressive. Snead sees a hole and attacks it. Need an edge rush? Snead doesn’t fart around. No such thing as hope with Snead. Can’t play? Go home, we’ll find someone who can play and will produce. Reaching for a quarterback this spring when you could have gotten just about anyone else to come in and produce right away was dumb, though.
No. 4 DeCosta, Crows: Daugherty slaps Licht around for the Bucs doing little since Brady retired. So please tell Joe what the Crows have done since they let Joe Flacco out the door?
No. 5 Brett Veach, Chiefs: You could argue Veach should be No. 2. Not much more to add here.
No. 6 Brian Gutekunst, Packers: What the hell have the Packers done under Gutekunst? Please, some one fill Joe in. Oh, he traded for Micah Parsons. That’s cool! So let Joe get this straight: Licht gets slapped around for riding Brady’s jock, how are the Packers doing with Gutekunst riding Parsons’ jock? But props to Gutekunst for going out and getting an elite pass rusher.
No. 7 Brad Holmes, Lions: He’s done a very nice job turning around one of the worst teams in the league for decades. And he believes in edge rushers and attacks the most important position on defense. But here again, what has Holmes done that Licht hasn’t? The Lions were actually better than the Bucs during the Lost Decade and Licht built the Bucs into a Super Bowl winner. Did the Lions recently play in a Super Bowl that Joe missed? Who did the Lions play in the playoffs last year?
No. 8 John Lynch, 49ers. Really, John Lynch? This is a joke, right? But San Francisco is cool and they’ve got a hip coach and runs a fun offense. So Lynch’s many draft strikeouts can be swept under the rug. (If Licht pulled the stunts Lynch has in the draft, people would drag Licht down MacDill Ave. behind a pickup.) Last Joe checked, when Lynch last put on a Super Bowl ring, he was playing for the Bucs. (Joe really likes Lynch but let’s not pretend Lynch is Bill Polian.)
No. 9 Nick Caserio, Texans: Caserio is doing a solid job in Houston. And once again, he sees an issue and he attacks it. Caserio believes in both an edge rush and a strong defensive line. Houston is going to just beat the snot out of offenses this year, you just watch. Hell, they beat up offenses last year. Look at the damage they did to the Bucs’ offensive line that the Bucs never recovered from. Joe has no issue at all with Caserio.
No. 10 George Paton, Broncos: C’mon, this isn’t serious. This guy Paton was going to get run and Sean Payton saved his job. If Paton sneezes the wrong way in front of Payton he’s liable to get canned. Payton is calling the shots here, let’s be real. Paton is nothing more than a yes man.
No. 11 Joe Hortiz, Chargers: Hortiz has done a nice job in the short time he’s been running the Chargers, but again, what have the Chargers done? Joe doesn’t recall the Chargers in an AFC title game in recent years, forget a Super Bowl. But the Chargers play in Los Angeles (cool!), have a fun coach like Jim Harbaugh (cool!), have a fantasy football dream quarterback Justin Herbert (cool!) who used to date super hot Taylor Bisciotti (cool!) and now beds insanely gorgeous actress/singer Madison Beer (way cool!). Oh, and the Chargers have awesome uniforms (cool!) and Kay Adams goes to their games (very cool!). So yeah, that makes Hortiz a better general manager than Licht.
Again, Joe maintains that Daugherty drew up this list mostly on a cool factor and a fantasy football impact as much, if not more so, than merit.