Overview
- The Buccaneers announced Wednesday that the 80-year-old longtime play-by-play announcer will step down at the end of the season.
- Tampa Bay is 7-9 and must beat Carolina on Saturday to keep postseason hopes alive, then needs Atlanta to lose or tie the Saints on Sunday to advance.
- Since joining the team in 1989, Deckerhoff has called more than 750 Buccaneers games and delivered over 1,100 "Touchdown, Tampa Bay!" calls, including both of the franchise’s Super Bowl wins.
- His 37-season run ranks third in NFL club radio longevity behind the Eagles’ Merrill Reese and the Cowboys’ Brad Sham, and he popularized phrases such as "Fire the Cannons!" and the Super Bowl XXXVII "dagger" call.
- Beyond the Bucs, he spent 42 years as the voice of Florida State and earned multiple Florida Sportscaster of the Year honors, the National Football Foundation’s 2013 Chris Schenkel Award, and induction into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame.