Y!:: Meet the New General Manager.
Lifelong Buccaneers fan Anthony Fernandez takes questions from the media.
Friday, July 23rd, 2011
Jim Flynn, Yahoo Sports!
Anthony Fernandez::
MFL |
TWR |
RZL |
TNL
MFL GM of the Year ('07)
RZL Coach of the Year ('12)
RZL Coach of the Year ('14)
RZL Super Bowl IX Champion ('14)
RZL Outstanding Contributor ('14)
TWR Sportswriter of the Year ('14-'17)
TWR GM of the Year ('17)
(A week ago, the GRIDIRON Buccaneers organization hired a new General Manager. Earlier today that new General Manager, and avid Bucs FAN, Anthony Fernandez finally made himself available to the media for a brief Q&A. Here are a few excerpts from the press conference.)
GM Anthony Fernandez’ opening statement—
Hello everyone, thanks for coming out. First off I want to say it is an honor to be here. I am a lifelong Bucs fan and I look forward to getting to work on the task at hand. I apologize for the delay in setting up this press conference, but it was a time consuming couple days with taking over this job in the middle of a free agent period, as well as ongoing roster evaluation, getting to know my peers, and becoming accustomed to league rules. It has taken some time, and I am still settling in, but I think you will all see a lot of me around here. Moving forward, I look forward to getting to work with some of you that are already familiar with me, as well as some others who I have the privilege to now meet. I will now open it up to any questions.
GM Anthony Fernandez on his past General Managing experience--
At the still-young age of 26, I have now been GMing for about five years. I had a lengthy tenure managing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the now-retired MFL, a league where I worked under League Commissioner Craig Parker and sat in on numerous league councils and committees. After my tenure there, I went on a hiatus from GMing before reemerging as the General Manager of the Minnesota Vikings in the now-retired TWR, a league where I also participated in many committee activities under League Commissioner Hal Schoenberg. Towards the end of my time there, there was a strong sentiment that the league was nearing its expiration date, so when RZL Commissioner Ricky Lung approached me about an opportunity to GM the RZL Tampa Bay Buccaneers, I jumped at the shot. That is where I have called home for the last four seasons, working hard to turn around a team that had zero previous winning seasons, and it all paid off as we just won Super Bowl IX. I am a very active member of the RZL community and serve as a member of their Media and Broadcasting crew. I have also recently taken residence in TNL as the General Manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but with a turbulent offseason, I have yet to play a single game there yet. This is a unique opportunity for me here in Gridiron, as I have limited experience with Madden ’08, and I look forward to trying to build a winner in Tampa Bay.
GM Anthony Fernandez on the status of the roster he inherits in Tampa--
While the roster is still pretty young, I think we have something strong to build on in Tampa. I think quarterback is the most important position in a league like this, and I firmly believe we are set at that position with
QB Josh Freeman. I also think there are some talented young players on the defensive side of the ball here that will allow me to build a winner in the next three seasons. While I have had some success immediately turning a team around, that is rarely the norm and I expect this to be a process that will take a little bit of time. That does not mean that we are not going to be trying to win games, it just means we are taking a realistic approach and will try to build a winner as quick as possible.
GM Anthony Fernandez on his philosophy for building a franchise--
Well for those that know me, they can attest to the fact I am not afraid to explore every avenue while attempting to help the franchise win games. I think that any successful team is good at four things:: Trading, Signing, Drafting, and Developing. Moving forward, we will attempt to do that here in beautiful Tampa, Florida. I think this will be a unique experience for me, as the trading restrictions in GRIDIRON are tighter than any league I have been in since my days in the MFL. If (and when) I turn it around here, it will be nice to know that it will be recognized for my coaching and game planning, and not my trading.
GM Anthony Fernandez on the new free agent additions and other roster moves--
The roster needed quite a few spots filled when I arrived, so we had to spend some money. With $20M in cap space, we brought in some players that we think can help us win this season. Some of the contracts are costly, but we structured the contracts in a way that we are just maximizing our “dead money” in the upcoming season without actually committing to anything long term. We will be able to sit down with recently signed players like
HB Darren Sproles,
WR Lee Evans and
CB Jabari Greer and reevaluate to determine if there is a place for them in Tampa long-term. Among other moves, we also shipped starting
LT Donald Penn to Atlanta for a conditional 2012 Draft Pick. We are still filling out the roster and will have an Official Press Release on that in the near future.
GM Anthony Fernandez on what the fans can expect in the future--
The fans can expect a winner. It may not be overnight, but Tampa will be built into a legitimate threat to win the NFC South every season. We are going to work hard to bring in quality players via free agency and trades, to draft well, and to develop. The two keys to winning Division Championships are to win your home games, and to win your Division games. We will begin working towards that right away, and I am eager to get to work. On that note, I am going to get back to work. Thank you all again for coming out, and I look forward to working with, and defeating each of you in the future. If there are any additional questions, I will respond in this thread at my first opportunity.
ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS??
Jim Flynn covers the GRIDIRON for Yahoo! Sports.
#26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
