1995 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1995 7–9 5th NFC Central Sam Wyche Rich McKay Malcolm Glazer MLB Hardy Nickerson Tampa Stadium Did not qualify Buccaneers seasons The 1995 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's 20th season in the National Football League (NFL). The season began with the team trying to improve on a 6–10 season in 1994, a season in which the team won 4 straight games at the end of the year, and four of their final five. They did so by one game, finishing 7-9 and recording their most wins since going 9-7 in 1981; it was also the first time that they had not lost ten or more games in a full season since then. However, the improvement was not enough for Sam Wyche, the team's head coach, to keep his job; he was fired at the end of the year after four seasons. This was the first season that the Buccaneers were under the ownership of the Glazer family; Malcolm Glazer purchased the team in January from the estate of Hugh Culverhouse, the team's founder. Overview There had been rumors as far back as the end of the 1993 season that ownership would move the team after funding to improve Tampa Stadium was not obtained,4 NFL Clubs Might Be Interested in Considering Move to St. Louis St. Louis Post Dispatch December 3, 1993 4D but a referendum kept the Bucs in Tampa for 1995. The possibility of moving the Buccaneers to Cleveland, Ohio was an undercurrent throughout the 1995 season once Art Modell’s relocation of the Browns to Baltimore was announced.Buccaneers’ Officials Ready to Move Team Soon, Says Vikings’ President Akron Beacon Journal December 19, 1995 The Buccaneers selected two future Hall of Famers in the draft. With their first selection at number twelve, they selected Miami defensive tackle Warren Sapp. Then, they traded two second round picks to the Dallas Cowboys for pick number twenty-eight, with which they selected Florida State linebacker Derrick Brooks. In addition to this, the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined former Buccaneer Lee Roy Selmon into its ranks. Bucs’ head coach Sam Wyche gained some notoriety for saying "Five dash Two" to reporters during a press conference after the seventh game of the season, referring to the team's 5–2 record at the time. Tampa Bay had won 9 of its previous 12 games, going back to the end of the 1994 season, and many observers felt they had become a sleeper NFC playoff contender. However, the good luck and victory string soon ran out, and the team would go 2–7 for the remainder of the season. Following the week seven overtime win over Minnesota, Tampa Bay lost three in a row before beating expansion Jacksonville, only after Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin decided to go for a 2-point conversion when scoring a last-minute touchdown. It failed and the Bucs won 17–16, giving them a sweep of that season's new expansion teams, as they had beaten Carolina 17–10 in week 5. Two more losses followed, and the 6–7 Buccaneers had a prime time ESPN Sunday Night Football game against the Green Bay Packers, who were playing without future Hall of Fame defensive end Reggie White due to injury. Tampa Bay pulled out an overtime win over the eventual NFC Central champion Packers to make their record 7–7, ensuring that their streak of 10-loss seasons—dating back to the 1983 season—would end. The Buccaneers had remained in playoff contention through fourteen games for the first time in a 16-game season since 1981, when they won their second division championship in three seasons under coach John McKay and quarterback Doug Williams. (the Buccaneers qualified for the expanded playoff tournament during the strike-shortened 1982 season, their last postseason appearance until 1997). The Bucs, however, lost to the Chicago Bears by 21 points at Soldier Field in the penultimate game of the season, ending their playoff hopes. In the season finale at home against a surging Detroit Lions team who were riding a six-game winning streak, Tampa lost decisively in a nationally televised Saturday game. The game became infamous due to a sideline argument between Wyche and quarterback Trent Dilfer; it was later revealed that Wyche planned to pull Dilfer for young backup quarterback Casey Weldon regardless of how the game was going, triggering Dilfer's furious reaction and also angering teammates of the very respected if inconsistent starter. The Buccaneers' overall passing attack in 1995 was anemic: they passed for the fifth-fewest yards in the league, had the second-worst team passer rating (60.3), and set an NFL record for fewest team touchdown passes (5) in a 16-game season, and didn't have a single passing touchdown for the months of October and November.https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1995/ Pro-Football-Reference.com 1995 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics Rumors also swirled that Wyche, knowing he would be let go by new owners without a winning record after a 5–2 start, ordered the team to wear orange jerseys and orange pants for the season finale (which at the time, would have been a first to wear the same colored top and bottom other than white), but after several players refused to wear it, the idea was scrapped. At another point, Wyche even played a prank on his team, inviting Fox analyst Jimmy Johnson to barge in on a team meeting and pretend that he was taking over as the new head coach. At the time, Johnson was interested in getting back into coaching, with Tampa Bay rumored as a possible destination. With Wyche knowing he was on the "hot seat", he took advantage of Johnson being in town that day (to tape an interview for that Sunday's Fox NFL Sunday program) to conduct the ruse, and lighten the mood in the locker room.Johnson takes over as coach in Sam sham (Part 1) https://www.newspapers.com/article/tampa-bay-times/208825450/ St. Petersburg Times Don Banks 50 Newspapers.com September 7, 1995 October 22, 2026Johnson takes over as coach in Sam sham (Part 2) https://www.newspapers.com/article/tampa-bay-times/208825480/ St. Petersburg Times Don Banks 57 Newspapers.com September 7, 1995 October 22, 2026Sense of humor https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-florida-times-union/208825433/ The Florida Times-Union John Oehser 36 Newspapers.com September 10, 1995 October 22, 2026 New owner Malcolm Glazer decided Wyche's tenure as coach was done, and started the search for the next coach of the Buccaneers, a search that would bring in coach Tony Dungy, who would turn the Buccaneers into a perennial playoff team (a 54–42 record and four playoff appearances in six seasons with the Tampa Bay), and build the foundation for their first Super Bowl win in 2002. Offseason NFL draft 1995 NFL draft Pick Round Player Position School121Warren SappDefensive TackleMiami281Derrick BrooksLinebackerFlorida State432Melvin JohnsonSafetyKentucky1054Jerry WilsonSafetySaginaw Valley State1435Clifton AbrahamCornerbackFlorida State1796Wardell RouseLinebackerClemson2157Steve IngramOffensive TackleMaryland2277Jeff RodgersDefensive EndTexas A&I Transactions July 27: Tampa Bay signed linebacker Tommy Thigpenhttps://www.nfl.com/transactions/league/signings/1995/7 1995 NFL Transactions. Trades - July National Football League 2021-03-10 en Personnel Staff 1995 Tampa Bay Buccaneers staffFront office Owner/president – Malcolm Glazer General manager – Rich McKay Director of player personnel – Jerry Angelo Director of college scouting – Tim Ruskell Head coaches Head coach/director of football operations – Sam Wyche Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Turk Schonert Running backs – Kippy Brown Wide receivers – David Culley Tight ends – Mike Mularkey Offensive line – Bob Wylie Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Rusty Tillman Defensive line – Ken Clarke Defensive line – Tom Pratt Linebackers – Maxie Baughan Defensive backs – Johnnie Lynn Special teams coaches Special teams – George Stewart Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Brad Roll 2009 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Media Guide 44–46 http://www.buccaneers.com/team/mediaguide.aspx 2010-04-12 https://web.archive.org/web/20100315173010/http://www.buccaneers.com/team/mediaguide.aspx 2010-03-15 dead Roster 1995 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 53 5 4 12 Trent Dilfer 15 Todd Philcox 11 Casey Weldon 41 Bobby Joe Edmonds 37 Jerry Ellison 30 Fred Lester American football 32 Errict Rhett 88 Horace Copeland 80 Lawrence Dawsey 82 Alvin Harper 85 Courtney Hawkins American football 89 Marvin Marshall wide receiver y 87 Lamar Thomas 86 Tyji Armstrong 81 Jackie Harris 83 Dave Moore tight end 49 Cedric Saunders 62 Ian Beckles G 76 Scott Dill T 74 Paul Gruber T 65 Steve Ingram offensive lineman y T 61 Tony Mayberry C 70 Charles McRae G 69 Pete Pierson T 60 Jim Pyne G 67 Mike Sullivan offensive lineman C/G 72 Chidi Ahanotu DE 73 Brad Culpepper DT 75 Eric Curry DE 71 Santana Dotson DT 99 Warren Sapp y DT 91 Herman Smith gridiron football y DE 77 Mark Wheeler DT 55 Derrick Brooks y OLB 93 Demetrius DuBose OLB 51 Lonnie Marts OLB 56 Hardy Nickerson MLB 52 Wardell Rouse y OLB 54 Darnell Stephens y MLB 26 Clifton Abraham y CB 23 Tony Bouie y SS 28 Curtis Buckley CB 39 Charles Dimry CB 22 Thomas Everett FS 29 Kenneth Gant SS 25 Melvin Johnson American football y FS 35 Martin Mayhew CB 21 Mike McGruder CB 38 Todd Scott American football SS 45 Tony Stargell CB 53 Ed Brady American football LS  5 Michael Husted K  1 Reggie Roby P 44 John Booty S IR 27 Barney Bussey S IR 47 John Lynch American football S IR 95 Keith Powe DE IR 24 Jerry Wilson defensive back y S IR 68 Joel Crisman G 10 Kelly Holcomb y QB 33 Tiger McMillon y RB 57 Kerry Mock y LB 53 5 Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 3 at Philadelphia Eagles W 21–6 1–0 Veterans Stadium 66,266 2 September 10 at Cleveland Browns L 6–22 1–1 Cleveland Stadium 61,083 3 September 17 Chicago Bears L 6–25 1–2 Tampa Stadium 71,507 4 September 24 Washington Redskins W 14–6 2–2 Tampa Stadium 49,234"blacked" blacked out locally 5 October 1 at Carolina Panthers W 20–13 3–2 Memorial Stadium 50,076 6 October 8 Cincinnati Bengals W 19–16 4–2 Tampa Stadium 41,732"blacked" 7 October 15 Minnesota Vikings W 20–17 (OT) 5–2 Tampa Stadium 55,703"blacked" 8 October 22 Atlanta Falcons L 21–24 5–3 Tampa Stadium 66,135"blacked" 9 October 29 at Houston Oilers L 7–19 5–4 Astrodome 31,489 10 Bye 11 November 12 at Detroit Lions L 24–27 5–5 Pontiac Silverdome 60,644 12 November 19 Jacksonville Jaguars W 17–16 6–5 Tampa Stadium 71,629"blacked" 13 November 26 at Green Bay Packers L 13–35 6–6 Lambeau Field 59,218 14 December 3 at Minnesota Vikings L 17–31 6–7 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 52,879 15 December 10 Green Bay Packers W 13–10 (OT) 7–7 Tampa Stadium 67,557"blacked" 16 December 17 at Chicago Bears L 10–31 7–8 Soldier Field 49,475 17 December 23 Saturday Detroit Lions L 10–37 7–9 Tampa Stadium 50,049"blacked" Notes: Division opponents in bold text Standings Notes References External links Buccaneers on Pro Football Reference Tampa Bay Buccaneers season Tampa Bay Buccaneers Category:1990s in Tampa, Florida Category:Tampa Bay Buccaneers seasons