The 1987 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's 12th season in the National Football League, the 12th playing their home games at Tampa Stadium, and the first under head coach Ray Perkins. It was a year of great change for the Buccaneers. Perkins had only needed three seasons (1979–1981) to build the New York Giants into a playoff team, and it was hoped that he would be able to repeat the feat with the Buccaneers. They improved over their 2–14 record from 1986 and finished 4–11.
The Buccaneers possessed the first overall pick in the NFL draft, and used it to select University of Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde. The Buccaneers appeared changed and won four games early in the season, but they notably lost large leads in later games and fell from playoff contention after midseason. The season was marked by a 1987 players' strike in which one week's games were canceled and regular play was interrupted for a month, while NFL owners fielded teams of replacement players.
Overview Perkins brought discipline to a team that had been described as "the country club of the NFL", and rebuilt the team with youth. Perkins claimed that the Buccaneers were more talented than the New York Giants team he had taken over in 1979, and selected a then-record 20 players in the 1987 NFL draft. He improved their conditioning program, and instituted three-a-day practices. Perkins's harsh style was in stark contrast to the laid-back approach of his predecessor Leeman Bennett, of whom it was said that his "idea of team discipline was everyone wearing the same color uniform on game day".Bricker, Charles (December 9, 1990). "Bad Decisions Haunting Culverhouse". The Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale) Conditioning improvements included emphasizing free weights over Nautilus machines, to improve explosiveness. Players were also given pay incentives to work out, although Perkins expressed surprise that players should need extra incentive to improve their conditioning. The improved conditioning paid off early in the season: their opening-week 48–10 win over the Atlanta Falcons ranked as the most Buccaneer points scored in a game, matched only in Super Bowl XXXVII 15 years later, until 2019, when the Buccaneers won 55–40 over the Los Angeles Rams. The team had a 1–1 record when the season was disrupted by the 1987 players' strike. Unlike in previous seasons, when players' strikes stopped all play, the owners formed teams of replacement players to play the scheduled games. The Buccaneers had a 3–2 record when regular play resumed, and nearly beat a Chicago Bears team only one season removed from its Super Bowl victory. The game had been preceded by much media speculation over whether Bears star quarterback Jim McMahon would play. It was the first week that McMahon was in the Bears' lineup since undergoing surgery after being dropped on his shoulder following a play the previous November, although Mike Tomczak remained the Bears' starter for the game.Hewitt, Brian (October 20, 1987). "Bears' McMahon may play in Tampa Stadium Sunday". St. Petersburg Times. The Buccaneers took a 20–0 lead and dominated the game for three quarters. Late in the third quarter, McMahon came off the bench and sparked the Bears to a 27–26 win, their biggest comeback in team history. Two weeks later, Tampa Bay had a 28–3 fourth-quarter lead over the St. Louis Cardinals. In what was at the time the second-biggest comeback in NFL history, the Cardinals scored 4 touchdowns to win the game. The Buccaneers did not win again for the rest of the season. It was rare for an NFL team to fall into a season-long losing streak following such a defensive collapse.Luttermoser, John (November 10, 1987). "Schedule only gets tougher on searching-for-clues Bucs". St. Petersburg Times. Once the Buccaneers were out of the playoff picture, Perkins began to prepare Testaverde for the next season. Testaverde's first start came on December 6 against the New Orleans Saints. His 369 yards on 22 completions set a record for an NFL debut, but his two early fumbles set up a Saints lead that the Buccaneers were not able to overcome. Tackle Ron Heller, dispirited by Coach Perkins's confrontational attitude and three-a-day practices that he believed were causing unnecessary injuries to the players, got into a fight with Perkins at halftime of this game that led to his being traded to the Seattle Seahawks. In return, the Buccaneers received defensive lineman Randy Edwards and a 1989 6th-round draft pick that was used to select linebacker Derrick Little. Neither made the Buccaneers' squad. Heller went on to play seven more solid seasons. The Buccaneers finished the season with a 4–11 record. Their 3–4 division record placed them ahead of the 4–11 Detroit Lions for fourth place in the NFC Central. Ron Holmes had eight quarterback sacks despite appearing in only ten games. Ervin Randle, who was named a UPI Second Team All-NFC linebacker, was the only Buccaneer to be singled out for postseason honors.
Offseason The hiring of Ray Perkins Ray Perkins replaced Leeman Bennett as the third head coach in Buccaneers history. Expectations had been that owner Hugh Culverhouse would hire popular ex-Tampa Bay Bandits coach Steve Spurrier, but Perkins was the only candidate interviewed. Perkins had been approached about the job two years earlier, but was not interested at the time. He was given the same title (Head Coach and Vice-President of Football Operations) as the previous two coaches. He brought along seven of his Alabama assistants: linebackers coach Sylvester Croom, assistant coach John Bobo, running backs coach Rodney Stokes, defensive line coach Mike DuBose, strength coach Kent Johnston, head trainer Chris Smith, and defensive coordinator Joe Kines, who had previously been Charley Pell's defensive coordinator with the Florida Gators. He rounded out his staff with Kansas City Chiefs secondary coach Doug Graber and receivers coach Richard Williamson, Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Herb Paterra, SMU defensive coordinator Bill Clay, and Atlanta Falcons offensive line coach Larry Beightol. Perkins also overhauled the scouting staff, firing most of them (including Jim Gruden, father of future Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden) shortly after the draft. No reason was given, but some observers, most outspokenly Boston Globe columnist Will McDonough, felt that the Buccaneers' office was staffed heavily with people whose main experience was in college football, and that the team suffered from a lack of NFL knowledge.Lowitt, Bruce. "The decline of the Bucs: Where did it all go wrong?" St. Petersburg Times. 16 Jan 1987 Recently fired Falcons coach Dan Henning turned down the offensive coordinator position, as he had been trying to rebuild the Falcons and did not want to relive that experience with another team. Perkins had previously been hired as head coach of the New York Giants on the basis of his experience working with a losing franchise (the New England Patriots) that needed turning around. Perkins coached the Giants back to the playoffs, leaving four years later to succeed coaching legend Bear Bryant at the University of Alabama. Ironically, irritation over the 1982 players' strike was a major factor in Perkins leaving the Giants, and became an issue he had to contend with again in 1987. Frustration with what he saw as overregulation by the NCAA played a part in Perkins's decision to return to the NFL. Along with $750,000 a year for five years, Perkins was given free rein to run the Buccaneers however he wanted. Some players were enthusiastic about the Perkins hire. "Coach Perkins will bring in a sense of pride here, and that's something we've been missing", said tackle Ron Heller. Others were upset with Perkins's military-style manner, saying that he "made playing football a miserable experience".Ford, Tom. "Losers". The Tampa Tribune. 27 December 1997
Perkins forced the Buccaneers to suffer in the broiling Florida sun by switching the home bench at Tampa Stadium from the west sideline to the east, opposite the press box. This was done to mimic Alabama, which occupied the sideline opposite the press box since Bear Bryant began coaching at his alma mater, and continued it when Perkins succeeded his mentor (also, the Giants, the team Perkins coached from 1979-82, have always occupied the sideline opposite the press box since moving to New Jersey in 1976). Perkins moved the Bucs back to the west side in 1990 (Alabama started occupying the west (press box) sideline at Bryant-Denny Stadium when Nick Saban became Crimson Tide coach in 2007).
NFL draft PickRoundPlayerPositionSchool11Vinny TestaverdeQuarterbackMiami (FL)362Ricky ReynoldsCornerbackWashington State502Winston MossLinebackerMiami (FL)512Don SmithRunning backMississippi State573Mark CarrierWide receiverNicholls State58SupplementalDan SileoDefensive tackleMiami (FL)854Don GrahamLinebackerPenn State874Ron HallTight endHawaii1064Bruce HillWide receiverArizona State1355Henry RollingLinebackerNevada1375Tony MayesDefensive backKentucky1466Steve BartaloRunning backColorado State1697Curt JarvisDefensive tackleAlabama1907Harry SwayneTackleRutgers1978Stan MataeleDefensive tackleArizona2249Joe ArmentroutRunning backWisconsin2469Greg DavisKickerCitadel25210Mike SimmondsGuardIndiana State28011Reggie TaylorRunning backCincinnati30812Scott CooperDefensive tackleKearney State313 12Mike ShulaQuarterbackAlabama = Pro Bowler= Hall of Famer
Draft trades The Buccaneers received a 2nd- and a 4th-round draft pick from the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for quarterback Steve Young, and a 2nd-round pick from the New England Patriots in exchange for guard Sean Farrell. They swapped 2nd-round picks with the Buffalo Bills, and also received a 4th-round pick in return. The Buccaneers' original 5th-round pick had been traded to the Patriots for a 6th-round pick the previous year. They received a 5th-round pick from New England in exchange for a 4th-round pick the following year, and a 5th-round pick from the Washington Redskins in exchange for the rights to quarterback Doug Williams. The Buccaneers' original 6th-round pick was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for center Dan Turk, but they received a 6th-round pick from the San Diego Chargers as part of an earlier deal for linebacker Andy Hawkins. The original 8th-round pick was traded to the New York Jets in exchange for tackle Marvin Powell. Cornerback John Holt had been traded to the Indianapolis Colts in 1986 for the Colts' 1987 8th-round pick. Linebacker Rick DiBernardo was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for a 12th-round pick. Dan Sileo was signed as a free agent after the NCAA ruled that he had used up his college eligibility, but the league voided the agreement and declared that he must enter a draft. A special draft was held in which the Buccaneers selected him with a 1988 third-round pick.
Vinny Testaverde Using their number one selection in the 1987 draft, the Buccaneers selected quarterback Vinny Testaverde, who had led the Miami Hurricanes to a 21–3 record in games he started. Looking to avoid a repeat of the previous year's disastrous selection of Bo Jackson, the Buccaneers signed Testaverde 16 days before the draft began. Owner Hugh Culverhouse wanted to take one last shot at building the Buccaneers into a successful franchise, and made sure that money would not be an issue in signing Testaverde. In training camp, Testaverde failed to win the starting job over veteran Steve DeBerg, who coach Perkins felt gave the team a better chance to win. But DeBerg was eventually displaced for the fourth time, having played for the San Francisco 49ers when Joe Montana was drafted, the Denver Broncos when John Elway was traded for, and the Buccaneers when Steve Young was signed.
Steve Young