The “Plight” of Mark Dominik

Upon the dismissal of Greg Schiano and Mark Dominik, there were many who disagreed with the decision. Some felt as though Greg Schiano should have been given an equal amount of time as his predecessor, Raheem Morris. There were also those who did not want to see Mark Dominik’s departure, seeing him as a victim of a head coach (or two) whose, as the Peter Principle states, levels of competence were inadequate for the position they had been promoted to.

Although the incompetence of Morris and Schiano cannot be overlooked, there is reason to believe that Dominik contributed heavily to his own firing as well. After reading this article by BucsNation.com, I did some research to look back at all of the drafts that took place while Dominik was GM of the Buccaneers. Let’s take a closer look:

2009 Draft

1.     Josh Freeman

2.     Traded to Cleveland for Kellen Winslow

3.     Roy Miller

4.     Kyle Moore

5.     Xavier Fulton

6.     Traded to Chicago

7.     Three 7^th-round picks

a.     E.J. Biggers

b.     Traded to Pittsburgh

c.      Sammie Stroughter

The Buccaneers 2009 draft was highlighted by QB Josh Freeman. Although many saw him as a project or unworthy of a first-round selection, the Buccaneers were in need of a franchise QB, and they went with Freeman. Freeman didn’t make his first start until midseason and led a winless Bucs team to a 31-28 win over the Green Bay Packers—their first of the season. Freeman’s tenure with the Bucs was up and down, including an excellent 2010 season and promising 2012 season sandwiching a down 2011. The wheels fell off in 2013 and, after starting 0-3, Greg Schiano decided to bench Freeman before ultimately releasing him.  Freeman was the last player of the 2009 draft remaining on the roster before his release.

2010 Draft

1.     Gerald McCoy

2.     Two picks

a.     Brian Price

b.     Arrelious Benn

3.     Myron Lewis

4.     Mike Williams

5.     Traded

6.     Brent Bowden

7.     Three picks

a.     Cody Grimm

b.     Dekoda Watson

c.      Erik Lorig

The following draft has turned out a little better for the Buccaneers, when looking at it today. Gerald McCoy has turned into a, if not the, premier defensive tackle in the entire league, as well as the face of the franchise. After two injury-marred seasons to begin his career, McCoy has put together back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons and was voted to the All-Pro team for his performance in the 2013-2014 season.

Both Brian Price and Arrelious Benn’s stories are well documented. Each player showed great potential, are were worthy of the selections that the Buccaneers used on them based on their college production, tape and measurable; however, their careers have been decimated by injuries. Price’s injury was something that had never been seen, while Benn’s injuries have been ongoing. Mike Williams provided great production for a fourth-round pick, coming just short of 1,000-yard seasons in two of his first three seasons, but off-field antics led to him being traded away for a next to nothing after Lovie Smith’s hiring. Cody Grimm and Dekoda Watson were good picks who, it can be argued, outperformed their draft spots, with Watson being one of the better special teams players in the league and Cody Grimm starting a number of games (and holding his own) during his rookie season.

2011 Draft

1.     Adrian Clayborn

2.     Da’Quan Bowers

3.     Mason Foster

4.     Luke Stocker

5.     Ahmad Black

6.     Allen Bradford

7.     Two picks

a.     Anhony Gaitor

b.     Daniel Hardy

This draft is still under review but, beyond Mason Foster, has underperformed so far. Adrian Clayborn has played well at times, but has been more “solid” than “spectacular,” which is not what you expect from such a high draft choice. Bowers has been disappointing so far, not being able to stay healthy and “put it all together” to this point.

2012 Draft

1.     Two picks

a.     Mark Barron

b.     Doug Martin

2.     Lavonte David

3.     Traded

4.     Traded

5.     Najee Goode

6.     Keith Tandy

7.     Two picks

a.     Michael Smith

b.     Drake Dunsmore

I believe that this draft was the best of Dominik’s tenure. Although it is still under evaluation, the first three selections have shown great potential in their first two years in the league. Barron has shown flashes of playmaking ability as an in-the-box safety, a pass defender and as a blitzer. Martin had a great rookie year, finishing with almost 2,000 all-purpose yards and 12 TDs. Lavonte David has, in two years, become the best 4-3 WLB in the league.

2013 Draft

1.     Traded

2.     Johnthan Banks

3.     Mike Glennon

4.     Two picks

a.     Akeem Spence

b.     William Gholston

5.     Steven Means

6.     Mike James

7.     Traded

Again, this draft cannot be properly evaluated yet, but several selections have shown potential in their short careers. Banks had some good moments as a rookie after being thrown to the fire. Glennon performed exceptionally after he took over as the starter, despite the terrible offensive ranking that the Buccaneers with. James filled in for Doug Martin for several games and put together some strong rushing performances, Gholston came on strong at the end of the season and Spence started 14 of 16 games.

Overall

Two inept head coaches and what seemed to be the owners’ confusion about their strategy on how to build the team marred Dominik’s tenure as a GM; however, looking back at the drafts that he oversaw, he definitely contributed to the hot seat that he was sitting on. The first two drafts can both be reasonably given poor grades, with the 2010 draft maybe being bumped up to a C- or D due to McCoy’s production, leadership and dominance in the last two seasons, Mike Williams’ production before being traded, and Watson’s special teams prowess. The 2011 draft has provided two solid players in Foster and Clayborn but nothing more, and the other two drafts are still under evaluation.

As fans, it’s difficult to know just what the GM’s job is with any given team, but if drafting talent was a responsibility of Dominik rather than the head coaches, he was deserving of the criticism he received. While he was responsible for drafting several players who will serve as the nucleus of the team under Lovie Smith, the misses on early draft picks like Brian Price and Arrelious Benn, mixed in with some questionable transactions, played a major role in his termination. 

Here’s hoping that Jason Licht doesn’t have a similar fate.