TAMPA, Fla. -- On the first day of the offseason program Monday, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said he doesn't believe he's done enough to lead his team, and that has to change moving forward if they want to taste the playoffs.

What started as the desire to get some feedback at the Pro Bowl in January turned into three highly credible sources, who McCoy said shall remain nameless, all telling the five-time Pro Bowler in separate conversations that he needed to be more and to do more to affect the outcome of games.

Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has 42.5 sacks in 94 games, but wants to be more productive in the fourth quarter. Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire

"The gist of what it is is that I haven’t done enough to lead this team. Simple as that," McCoy said. "This team goes to the next level -- as much as you need a franchise quarterback, those things are great, [but] this organization, this team winning Super Bowls is built on defense. That guy in the middle is what makes everything roll. Of course they brought up 99 [Warren Sapp] to me numerous times. Any dominant defense had a dominant guy in the middle."

"I was just always taught when more than one person is seeing the same thing, there’s got to be some truth to it. Especially if what they’re saying is very credible," McCoy said. "I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching and self-evaluating -- me, personally. Moving forward, something’s got to give. I don’t what it’s going to be, how I’m going to do it, but if this team is going to go to the next level -- I’ve got to fix a lot of things."

Last offseason, he revealed that quarterback Jameis Winston approached him about changing his leadership style. He wasn't clear at the time exactly how Winston wanted him to change, but after practices, it seemed McCoy spent a lot more time helping younger teammates like Noah Spence. This time around, he revealed that he hasn't produced enough in the fourth quarter to impact games.

"The great ones make the plays in the fourth quarter," McCoy said. "The great ones make those big shots. The great ones make the plays when it’s necessary. If I want to be considered one of those guys when my career is over, that’s what has to be done. I haven’t been watching games or my film. I’ve been watching all of my fourth quarters. Where’s my energy level in the fourth quarter? Is my technique dropping in the fourth quarter? Am I making the plays that I need to make in the fourth quarter?"

Two games that jumped out to McCoy, where he felt his fourth-quarter performances weren't enough last season were the 26-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15 and the 31-24 loss to the New Orleans Saints the week after, which knocked the Bucs out of the playoffs. He did not produce a sack in either of those games.

He finished last season with 7.0 sacks in 15 games, third in the NFL among defensive tackles. Two of those sacks came in the fourth quarter or in overtime. Since 2010, he has 42.5 sacks with 12 coming in the fourth-quarter or overtime. That's not a bad figure when you look at his peers -- it's just not outstanding either.

Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who was selected one spot above McCoy in the 2010 NFL draft, has just as many fourth-quarter sacks as McCoy despite playing in 16 more games. Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins has 18.5 sacks in the fourth quarter and overtime, the most during that span. But Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald already has 8.5, and he's played in just 48 games compared to McCoy's 94.

But McCoy has made it clear he isn't chasing his peers. He's following the advice of Sapp, his mentor, who has always told him, "Chase the ghosts of the game." He also got some advice recently from Sapp's Pro Football Hall of Fame teammate, linebacker Derrick Brooks, who told him to pay attention to Sapp's on-field mannerisms and the play-clock.

Brooks told McCoy, "'I knew in the first quarter and in the fourth quarter, it was Sapp time,'" McCoy said. "(Brooks) knew that starting the game, it was time to go. He knew coming out in the second half, it always took him a second to get back going. But he always knew when he could take chances and when he couldn’t because he knew 'All right, 99 is about to turn it on,' because it was the fourth quarter."

The expectations have always been sky-high for McCoy, who was selected third-overall in the 2010 draft. The Bucs had finished 3-13 the season before, but the franchise was just a few seasons removed from the playoffs. Nobody had any idea that they'd be stuck in a perpetual rebuilding mode and suffering a nine-years-and-counting playoff drought with only two winning seasons -- including 9-7 last season -- since McCoy arrived.

It would be unfair to pin all of that on McCoy, but he said he's OK with it.

"This is what I’m here for," McCoy said. "This is what I truly believe God has made me to be, is to carry the load. I just have to figure out how to do it. All of the great ones do. And if I want to be considered one of those guys when my career is over, I have to figure it out. My knees hurt. I’ve played a lot of snaps, taken a lot of double teams. Time is ticking. I’ve got a lot of work to do in a short period of time."