Jerry Angelo - Early Career

Early Career

Angelo began his career in the NFL as a scout for both the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys in the early 1980s. Four years later he moved on to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team that had experienced brief success. An expansion team established in 1976, the Buccaneers lost the 1979 NFC Championship Game to the Los Angeles Rams. What followed were a chaotic series of player tragedies and setbacks that sent the team into a slump. A succession of coaches and numerous roster changes failed to revive the team throughout the 1980s. Angelo was associated with the appearance of front office divisions and management mistakes. By the late 1990s his 14-year tenure in Tampa Bay was perceived as successful, as the Buccanneers made the playoffs three times from 1997–2000. With new ownership of the franchise, Angelo moved on to the Chicago Bears.