Derrick Brooks, a household name in the Tampa Bay are for his lengthy and productive career at linebacker with the Buccaneers, will be trying his hand as a professional sports executive. Brooks was named the new President of Football Operations of the Tampa Bay Storm, the city's Arena Football League squad. Brooks' former teammate in Tampa Bay, Jeff Gooch, was named Vice President of Football Operations. Do either have any experience working in the front office or in any sort of administrative or managerial experience? Not that I know of, but I could be wrong. Storm Chairman, Jeff Vinik announced the news on Tuesday:
↵↵↵"We are very pleased to welcome Derrick and Jeff to the TBSE family," said Vinik upon making the announcement today. "When we purchased the Storm, we made the same commitment to our fans that we did in purchasing the Tampa Bay Lightning. Our goals focus on winning football games while serving our fans and the Tampa Bay community in a world class manner. Derrick and Jeff, who are both well respected in the NFL and Tampa Bay communities, will lead our efforts on and off the field; they are a perfect fit for us."
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It's widely recognized how special of a leader and player Brooks was during his lengthy career with the Bucs. An 11-time Pro Bowler and the team's leading tackler in franchise history, Brooks currently sits on the Board of Trustees at his alma mater, Florida State. The future Hall of Famer is excited about the new challenge leading the Storm into a new era of on-field success and community support. The Storm have led the league in attendance in seven of their 24 years in existence, including in both '09 and '10. Off to an inauspicious 1-3 start to the new Arena League season, the Storm will perhaps jump-start their season in the wake of the exciting news.
↵↵↵"I look forward to the opportunity of working with Jeff Vinik and Tod Leiweke as we begin to shape the future of the Tampa Bay Storm," said Brooks upon accepting the new position. "Football is clearly a passion, and although I am not playing anymore, I look forward to leading from the front office. This is a great challenge and I’d like to thank Jeff Gooch for joining with me as Vice President of Football Operations. He will do a terrific job for us."
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