The 2002 season was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 27th in the National Football League (NFL). It was one of the most successful seasons in franchise history, ending with a victory in Super Bowl XXXVII.
The season began with the team trying to improve on a 9–7 season and did so with a franchise-best 12–4 record. It was Jon Gruden's first season as the Buccaneers’ head coach. They won the Super Bowl for the first time in the team's history, beating the Oakland Raiders 48–21. This was Tampa Bay's only Super Bowl appearance and win until 2020, with the Super Bowl win also being their most recent playoff game win in the same span. The 2002 Buccaneers’ defense, which included four players who would eventually be elected the Pro Football Hall of Fame, allowed 196 points in the regular season (12.3 points per game), which is the fifth-lowest of any team in the 16-game season era from 1978 to 2021, and the second-lowest of any Super Bowl-winning team (after the 2000 Ravens). As such, the 2002 Buccaneers defense is remembered as among the greatest of all time. In 2019, the NFL ranked the 2002 Buccaneers as the 45th best NFL team of all time. As of 2025, this is the last time that a defense gave up less than 200 points in a season.
Summary
In January 2002, after losing in the wild card round to the Eagles for the second consecutive year, the Buccaneers fired head coach Tony Dungy.Flynn, 2002AP, 2002 After that they began a prolonged search for his replacement. Potential candidates included Gators head coach (and former Buccaneers quarterback) Steve Spurrier, former Giants head coach Bill Parcells, Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis, and Raiders head coach Jon Gruden. Parcells passed on the offer, while Spurrier took the job at Washington. Tampa Bay general manager Rich McKay threw his support behind Lewis but the Glazers were displeased with the selection of yet another defensive-minded coach that they overruled McKay and took control of the candidate search themselves. They made it clear that their top choice was Gruden; however, he was still under contract with the Raiders. While talks with the Raiders were secretly underway, the Glazers publicly pursued 49ers head coach Steve Mariucci. But shortly thereafter, Al Davis agreed to release Gruden to Tampa Bay, but the move was costly. Tampa Bay paid Oakland with two first-round draft picks (2002, 2003), two second-round picks (2002, 2004) and $8 million in cash payments.
Upon his arrival in Tampa Bay, Gruden immediately went to work, acquiring former Jaguars WR Keenan McCardell, and RB Michael Pittman from the Cardinals. The Buccaneers needed to improve their sluggish offense, as the league's sweeping realignment sent them to the new NFC South division, along with Atlanta, Carolina and New Orleans. The offense made slight improvements during the season, but the strength of the team was the defense. The 2002 Buccaneers became the first team to lead the league in total defense, points allowed, and interceptions since the 1985 Chicago Bears. They also held opposing quarterbacks to an unbelievable 48.4 passer rating for the season.
Led by their dominating defense, the 2002 Buccaneers achieved their most successful season to date. On opening day, Gruden's new offense struggled, and lost in overtime to new division rival Saints. The team then rattled off five straight wins, including a shutout against the Ravens, a Monday night victory against the Rams, and a 35–7 drubbing of the Bengals. The team's first big test came in Week 7 at Philadelphia. The Eagles handled the Bucs, and Tampa Bay lost to their nemesis head-to-head for the fourth straight meeting. Quarterback Brad Johnson was knocked out of the game with a rib injury, and would miss the next game. Rob Johnson started at quarterback in Week 8, and despite offensive futility, emerged with a 12–9 win. Brad Johnson was back in the lineup, and guided Tampa Bay to three straight wins (throwing nine touchdown passes and zero interceptions over the three games) to improve to 9–2 on the season.
With a first-round bye, and possibly the top seed in the NFC in reach, Tampa Bay sputtered a bit during the month of December. A loss at New Orleans meant Tampa Bay was swept by the Saints. Then injuries piled up in Week 15 at Detroit. Brad Johnson was eventually sidelined with a back injury, Anthony McFarland was lost for the season with a broken foot, and other players including John Lynch and Keyshawn Johnson were banged up. Tampa Bay pulled out the victory against the Lions, and secured a playoff berth, but were forced to start third-string QB Shaun King on Monday night against the Steelers in Week 16. Which a chance to clinch the division and secure a first-round bye, King and the Bucs had a rough night, and were beat 17–7. The season came down to Week 17 against the Bears. A win would give the Bucs the #2 seed, but with Brad Johnson still out, and King performing poorly against the Steelers, Gruden reluctantly went with Rob Johnson. A loss would drop them to the #3 seed. Though they never reached the endzone, they returned home with a 15–0 shutout victory, the franchise's first win with the temperature at kickoff under 40 °F.
Tampa Bay won the NFC South title with the team's best ever record, 12–4, and then defeated the 49ers in the divisional round in what became coach Steve Mariucci's last game with that franchise. In a surprising upset, Tampa Bay won their first NFC Championship on the road against the Eagles in the last NFL game ever played at Veterans Stadium. Cornerback Ronde Barber capped off the win by intercepting a Donovan McNabb pass and returning it 92 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
The Buccaneers went on to rout Gruden's former team, the Oakland Raiders, by a score of 48–21 in Super Bowl XXXVII. Gruden's familiarity with the Raiders’ players and playbook paid off, as John Lynch and other Buccaneer players recognized some of Oakland's formations and plays at crucial points in the game. The Bucs became the first team to win the Super Bowl without any picks in the first two rounds of the previous spring's draft, having traded these picks to the Oakland Raiders for the rights to acquire Gruden. At the time, Gruden made history by becoming the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl.
Offseason
Additions Subtractions P Tom Tupa (Jets) CB Donnie Abraham (Jets) TE Ken Dilger (Colts) LB Jamie Duncan (Rams) WR Keenan McCardell (Jaguars) WR Jacquez Green (Redskins) WR Joe Jurevicius (Giants) TE Dave Moore (Bills) QB Rob Johnson (Bills) P Mark Royals (Dolphins) RB Michael Pittman (Cardinals) G Randall McDaniel (retirement) TE Rickey Dudley (Browns) LB Jeff Gooch (Lions) DE Greg Spires (Browns) OT Roman Oben (Browns)
2002 expansion draft
+ Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected during the expansion draftRoundOverallNamePositionExpansion team—14Sean McDermottTight endHouston Texans
2002 NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 2002 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeMike AbramsPunterVirginiaBennie AlexanderCornerbackFloridaHoward DuncanGuardOklahomaMarkese FitzgeraldCornerbackMiami (FL)Zain GilmoreRunning backMissouriAndy HoganLong SnapperGeorgiaRyan NeceLinebackerUCLASterling RogersLinebackerSouthwest Texas StateCorey SmithDefensive endNC StateJustin SmithLinebackerIndianaGlenn SumterSafetyMemphisJamal WhiteLinebackerKentucky
Personnel Staff / Coaches
Final roster
Preseason During the offseason, the Buccaneers signed a new deal with Walt Disney World, and moved their Training Camp from the University of Tampa to Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex outside of Orlando.
During the first preseason game against the Miami Dolphins on Monday night August 12, which served as Jon Gruden's first coached game (albeit preseason), Frank Murphy took the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. It was the Buccaneers' fifth kick return touchdown in the preseason, however, at the time, the team had still never returned a kickoff for a touchdown in the regular season (and would do so not until 2007).
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Miami Dolphins W 14–10 1–0 Raymond James Stadium Recap 2 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 20–0 2–0 Alltel Stadium Recap 3 Washington Redskins L 10–40 2–1 Raymond James Stadium Recap 4 at Houston Texans W 17–13 3–1 Reliant Stadium Recap
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 8 New Orleans Saints L 20–26 0–1 Raymond James Stadium Recap 2 September 15 at Baltimore Ravens W 25–0 1–1 Ravens Stadium Recap 3 St. Louis Rams W 26–14 2–1 Raymond James Stadium Recap 4 September 29 at Cincinnati Bengals W 35–7 3–1 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 5 October 6 at Atlanta Falcons W 20–6 4–1 Georgia Dome Recap 6 October 13 Cleveland Browns W 17–3 5–1 Raymond James Stadium Recap 7 October 20 at Philadelphia Eagles L 10–20 5–2 Veterans Stadium Recap 8 October 27 at Carolina Panthers W 12–9 6–2 Ericsson Stadium Recap 9 November 3 Minnesota Vikings W 38–24 7–2 Raymond James Stadium Recap 10 Bye 11 November 17 Carolina Panthers W 23–10 8–2 Raymond James Stadium Recap 12 November 24 Green Bay Packers W 21–7 9–2 Raymond James Stadium Recap 13 December 1 at New Orleans Saints L 20–23 9–3 Louisiana Superdome Recap 14 December 8 Atlanta Falcons W 34–10 10–3 Raymond James Stadium Recap 15 December 15 at Detroit Lions W 23–20 11–3 Ford Field Recap 16 Pittsburgh Steelers L 7–17 11–4 Raymond James Stadium Recap 17 December 29 at Chicago Bears W 15–0 12–4 Memorial Stadium Recap
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. New Orleans Saints
Jon Gruden's era in Tampa Bay began at home against new division rival, the New Orleans Saints, a team they'd soundly beaten the year before. Though heralded for his offensive expertise, the Buccaneers offense sputtered and was anemic for the first three quarters. The Saints held a 20–10 lead late in the fourth quarter, while Tampa Bay's offense had only 161 yards through three periods, and quarterback Brad Johnson was sacked three times, on a hot, humid 90° afternoon.
With just under three minutes remaining, Brad Johnson led the Buccaneers on touchdown drive to narrow the score to 20–17. In the final two minutes, the offense finally performed, as Johnson drove the Buccaneers to the Saints 34-yard line. Tampa Bay faced 4th down with 23 seconds to go and counting, and no timeouts remaining. Martín Gramática hurried onto the field and kicked a game-tying field goal as time expired, and forced overtime.
Tied 20–20 in the overtime period, Tampa Bay received, and quickly drove to the Saints 39-yard line. With the choice of a field goal attempt of over 55 yards, Gruden elected to punt. The teams traded possession twice, and with just over 4 minutes remaining in the overtime, Tampa Bay was pinned back at their own 5-yard line. Tom Tupa attempted to punt on 4th down from the endzone, but Fred McAfee was unblocked. Tupa avoided the tackle, and attempted a desperation shovel pass to John Howell from his non-throwing arm. The ball was intercepted by James Allen, standing in the confines of the endzone, and the Saints were credited with a game-winning touchdown.
Week 2: at Baltimore Ravens
Tampa Bay rebounded in week 2 against the Baltimore Ravens. Karl Williams returned a punt 56 yards for a touchdown, and Martín Gramática scored three field goals. Derrick Brooks sealed the victory and secured the shutout with a 97-yard interception return touchdown with 1:06 to go.
Prior to the start of the game the Baltimore Ravens remembered Baltimore football legend Johnny Unitas in a variety of touching ways. Once the game began, Bucs passer Brad Johnson fashioned his own fitting tribute to the legendary quarterback.