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Bucs Did The Right Thing By Moving On From Garcia

Associated Press file photo

Jeff Garcia insists he isn't finished, but the Bucs probably weren't the right team for him anymore.

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By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 16, 2009

Updated: 02/17/2009 06:00 am

Jeff Garcia was many things to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but mostly he represented their best chance to win a football game. Normally that earns you a bit of job security. As we all know though, this offseason isn't normal at One Buc.

So Garcia said Monday what everyone already had guessed - that the Bucs told his agent not to expect a contract for next season. It's no mystery why. For all the good things he did on the field - and he did plenty - it makes no sense to rebuild around a quarterback who is nearly seven years older than the head coach.

The move now can be dismissed as one of those things a rebuilding team does. It'll be something else next fall if the Bucs are 2-7 and floundering under Luke McCown or Josh Johnson, and the talk show hosts are screaming that they'd be 7-2 with Garcia. The Bucs had to do it anyway.

Maybe McCown or Johnson can't handle the job, but the Bucs have to find that out in actual games. Garcia was never the long-term answer at quarterback because he came here too late to be that guy.

Garcia will be 39 years old next week. You couldn't trust that his next headfirst charge into a linebacker wouldn't be his last. You remember that he missed key portions of both seasons here because his body broke down. But he also went to the Pro Bowl a year ago and directed the Bucs to a division championship.

The Bucs showed their gratitude by making goo-goo eyes at Brett Favre last summer. Had they pulled it off, they would have thanked Garcia for his service and then kicked his can out the door.

Garcia didn't help his image by going public with complaints about his contract last spring. The notion of a millionaire whining because he wanted more millions was a bit unseemly, shall we say, even if he did have a point. By "resting" him down the stretch of his first season here, the Bucs caused Garcia to miss some contract incentives (read: money).

Predictably, Garcia says he isn't finished. He can help the right team, either as a backup or spot starter. The Bucs just weren't the right team for him any more.

Every move being made at One Buc these days screams of building for the future - from hiring 32-year-old Raheem Morris as head coach, to giving McCown or Johnson a shot they never could have had with Garcia still around. It's the same logic the Packers used last year in turning the team over to Aaron Rodgers.

The Pack struggled, but Rodgers threw for 4,038 yards and there are no more questions about what to do about the most important position on the field. The Bucs need to be in that same position this time next season.

To move forward, they have to say goodbye to Garcia. It may cost them in the short term, but it's the only way to build something that can last for more than one season.

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