NFC Notes: Buccaneers, Cowboys, Dan Quinn, Mike McCarthy, Lions

“I think it’s important that we just look at the entire team, as well,” Licht said. “In the last couple of years, we’ve won a lot of games. It’s been a team effort and Tom would be the first to tell you that. Tom is an unbelievable quarterback — the best. We will have to make decisions and figure out what we think is the best decision moving forward for the Buccaneers, whether that’s someone in-house, whether that’s the draft, there are trades, there is free agency. We’ve been working on it right now. Today isn’t the day that I want to give out our plan of what we are going to do. It’s more celebrating Tom and what he has done for us, which has been very substantial to say the least. I have a lot of faith [and] I know Bruce does, as well. I know our coaching staff, my staff, and the entire building has a lot of faith in the players that we have on this team. We will continue to add. I think the experience they’ve had the last couple of years has made this team a lot better. There is no replacing — you are not going to find another Tom Brady, but you can find a good player and you can develop good players. Everyone will step up and they’ve learned throughout the last couple of years how to do that. I think just the experience that they’ve had the last couple of years playing with Tom Brady are lessons that are invaluable. We’re very excited about the future still. We’re very excited about the team that we have, and we will just continue to march forward.”

When it comes to an heir apparent, Licht commented several times on QB Kyle Trask, who won’t simply be handed the keys to the team.

“I don’t necessarily think we need to speed up the process with Kyle because I think we have him on a good track right now and he’s been well-coached and he’s had unbelievable resources to lean on to get to where he is right now, but we will see where that goes,” Licht said. “We don’t want to rush anybody, but I couldn’t think of a better experience for a young quarterback to spend his rookie year than with the greatest player of all time. We feel like we have a really good foundation on our team I think BA has already said that this isn’t a rebuild, this is a reload. I look at it a little bit as a remodel. We do not feel at all like we’re in a situation where we have to completely start from scratch with this roster whatsoever. We have a lot of good players and a lot of teams wish they were in our position. No one wants to be in a position where they don’t have a quarterback and we feel very fortunate. We’re not crowning Kyle as the heir apparent yet, but we feel very fortunate that we got him when we did last year because where he stacks up with quarterbacks in this year’s draft, [and] everybody’s going to have their own opinion, but I feel pretty good about where he stacks up with these quarterbacks. So, I feel like we made a good decision last year. I think we have him on a good track right now. He’s been well-coached and he’s had unbelievable resources to lean on to get to where he is right now. We’ll see where that goes. We don’t want to rush anybody, but I couldn’t think of a better experience for a young quarterback to spend his rookie year than with the greatest player of all time.”

Cowboys

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was enthusiastic when DC Dan Quinn decided to remain with the team instead of pursuing head coaching opportunities.

“All of us wanted Dan to stay, that was a key to our continuity here,” Jones said, via the Team’s Official Website.

Jones eluded to the fact that Quinn could eventually be the head coach in Dallas, depending on the circumstances in the future.

“He stays here because there always has been, with every coach, every one of those three coaches, have said they’d love to be the head coach of the Cowboys. Every one. Every one,” Jones said. “So my point is that has, in my mind, a lot of logic as to why they might not take a job now rather than one or wait and see how the cards go in the future.”

Jones doubled down on his statement, calling Quinn a very qualified candidate if he didn’t have a head coach already.

“He’s certainly qualified. He’s very qualified,” he said. “Yes, I would consider. If I didn’t have a coach, I would have been interviewing him for coach.”

Jones was very blunt when he asked if his statement would bother current HC Mike McCarthy.

“Mike knows that someday, somebody other than him will be the coach of the Cowboys,” he said.

Jones smirked when asked if he was worried about putting extra pressure on McCarthy.

“I don’t at all,” he said. “Mike’s good in his skin. I’m good in his skin with where we are.”

Lions

Lions GM Brad Holmes said it is a good thing that the quarterbacks in the Senior Bowl have different strengths and weaknesses. He and Detroit’s coaching staff will get a particularly good look at Liberty’s Malik Willis, North Carolina’s Sam Howell and Western Kentucky’s Bailey Zappe while coaching the American team. 

“They’re all different,” Holmes said, via Kyle Meinke. “They all offer different flavors and capabilities. You know, what was kind of cool about all three of those quarterbacks, especially on our roster, is that they’ve all kind of battled some kind of adversity and I thought that that was pretty cool.”