The Glazers have a reputation as cheap owners. As the Bucs have been near the bottom in payroll for years on end, that accusation is hard to dispute. The Bucs have certainly offered their own plausible reasons for why this is the case: they want to build through the draft and re-sign their own players, but they've been terrible at drafting in recent years leading to few re-signings and a low payroll. It makes perfect sense - but is that a real reason, or is it just an excuse?
It's impossible to know the answer to that question, but the public perception certainly isn't in favor of the Glazers. And that perception may be hurting them in the coaching search right now. Wade Phillips pulled out of the interviewing process for unclear reasons, while Jeff Fisher's name was mentioned early in the process - but Fisher turned out to be uninterested the job. So why is that? I'll let Peter King explain it (emphasis mine):
Fisher: "From day one, when I began this process after the season, I felt Miami and St. Louis were my best options. I did my research. I looked at every team that had an opening. I looked at the personnel on each team, I looked at the owners, I looked at the cap situations, and I narrowed it to two. Not Marvin. Me. Marvin didn't push me. I am convinced he was completely objective.''
Fisher went on to say at the start of the process he was interested in a team that had a good owner and good quarterback, and he felt St. Louis had the best combination of both.
I don't think you can make a legitimate argument that Sam Bradford is a better quarterback than Josh Freeman right now, despite Freeman's down year. His rookie season has been terribly overrated while he was absolutely abysmal this year. As in, worse than Jamarcus Russell bad. Yes, I'm comparing Sam Bradford to an all-time legendary bust of a quarterback, and Bradford does not come out looking good. That's how bad his numbers are, at least. And sure, he doesn't have a lot of talent around him - but you can use that same excuse for Freeman, and Freeman's numbers certainly look a lot prettier. Even the most hardened Freeman-hating, Bradford-supporting fan has to admit that right now, Bradford is not a better QB.
So if Bradford isn't a better QB, it just came down to ownership. Apparently, Jeff Fisher felt Stan Kroenke would give him a bigger chance of winning than the Glazers. Is that because he sees the Glazers as cheap, or is it because the Glazers wouldn't be likely to give him control over his own personnel? Whatever the reason, this must be a concern for the Bucs.
I don't really care that the Bucs didn't land Jeff Fisher. His resume doesn't excite me, and his demands of control over personnel as well as his choice for coordinators make me wary of hiring him. Brian Schottenheimer and Gregg Williams, really?
But that doesn't mean we can't take something from this episode, and it's that maybe the Glazers don't have a pretty reputation around the league either.
In slightly related news, the Bucs will be interviewing Rob Chudzinski tomorrow per Jason La Canfora. Had to get that in somewhere.