Bucs dismiss award winner

TAMPA -- Reggie Roberts is out as the Bucs director of communications after five seasons.

Roberts, 37, was vacationing when he was informed of his dismissal late Tuesday in a meeting with Bucs director of human resources Gene Magrini.

Team officials gave no reason for Roberts' departure and no replacement has been named.

Roberts came to Tampa Bay in 1997 from the NFL's headquarters in New York and quickly established himself as one of the league's top spokesmen.

After his first season with the Bucs, Roberts and his staff received the Pete Rozelle Award from the National Football Writers of America, presented annually to the league's best public relations/communications staff. The Bucs also were finalists two of the past three seasons.

"I still have a lot of friends who work there," Roberts said. "I've enjoyed five years with the Bucs. It's just time for me to move on."

Bucs vice presidents Joel and Bryan Glazer declined to comment on Roberts' departure.

Neither was present at the time of his dismissal and Bucs general manager Rich McKay is vacationing in Hawaii and unavailable for comment.

Roberts was the prominent spokesman for the organization, particularly at the end of the 2001 season, when owners fired Tony Dungy as coach and embarked on a bizarre, 35-day search for a replacement that ended with a trade with the Raiders for Jon Gruden.

In January, Roberts turned down an offer to join Jets coach Herman Edwards in New York as that team's vice president of communications.