TAMPA, Fla. -- New Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive line coach Brentson Buckner doesn't mind if Hall of Famer Warren Sapp wants to sound off on his unit. Sapp called the line's performance last season "disgraceful," and Buckner welcomes any feedback, even from a guy he used to trade barbs with back when he played for the Carolina Panthers.

Yes, there was a time when the two had a war of words: Buckner said former teammate Kris Jenkins was better than Sapp, and Sapp responded that he didn't "see any pineapples in his diet" (a reference to not making the Pro Bowl). But the Sapp-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive line was the group that Buckner and his teammates tried to emulate as they laid the foundation for their own organization.

"Me, Kris Jenkins, [defensive end] Mike Rucker and [defensive end] Julius Peppers -- as much as we disliked Warren Sapp, we admired what they did," said Buckner, who even drove to Tampa in 2002 on his own time for a closer look. It was when the Bucs pummeled the San Francisco 49ers 31-6 in the NFC divisional round of the playoffs before winning Super Bowl XXXVII.

Brentson Buckner had some testy encounters with Warren Sapp during their playing days, but Buckner has much respect for what the Sapp-led Bucs did on the field. Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire

"To see those guys run out of that tunnel on Sunday, you thought it was an earthquake," said Buckner, who sat in total awe of the crowd's response when the defensive line was introduced. "I remember calling Mike Rucker from the stands and was like, 'This is what we've got to be creating in Carolina. They're doing this with their front four. It's not their quarterback running out, it's not their star running back -- this is the defensive line being introduced.'"

Sapp had been the NFL defensive player of the year in 1999 and was able to obliterate any opponent in the fourth quarter. Defensive end Simeon Rice was devastating off the line of scrimmage, commanding double- and triple-teams and still racking up double-digit sacks eight times in his career. There also was big-bodied, punishing nose tackle Anthony "Booger" McFarland, who probably never got enough credit because of how good Sapp was. They all fed off one another and feasted on opponents.

"We wanted to model ourselves after them, but we also wanted to get to a point where we could stand toe-to-toe and be the better model," said Buckner, who helped lead the Panthers to an 11-5 record and a Super Bowl berth in 2003.

"I played in Pittsburgh. I came in when they hadn't won since the Steel Curtain. You should have heard some of the stuff that [Jack] Lambert and them would say about us," Buckner said, laughing.

"But I think that's more or so about the Buc pride. Him coming into this organization at the time it was for him, Derrick Brooks, Warrick Dunn and all those guys, when they came in and what they built it to -- I think it's just like anything, that you want to see your little brothers and you want to see your house still look good when you come by.

"And we all know that Sapp is very brash, but I think it's out of a good place. He wants what's right for Tampa Bay. He knows how special it can be. If you're a true competitor, you welcome that because Warren Sapp left Tampa Bay in a better place than the way he found it. Gerald McCoy should want to leave Tampa Bay a better place than [the way] he found it."

Considering that few current Bucs players were old enough to even remember what those old Bucs played like, and some have never watched film of them, Buckner's perspective is invaluable. He never donned pewter pants and a red jersey, but he understands the expectations of both the organization and the fans because he came to share them when he played. And they're the same expectations he'll employ in Tampa as a coach.

"The vision for this defensive line is to be mentally and physically tough. When you turn on that film, you're gonna see four guys recklessly attacking the guy in front of them like their lives depended on it," Buckner said. "And when they can't do it, the next guy behind them is gonna come in and do it. ... We're gonna hunt until the whistle blows. We don't want nobody to feel comfortable.

"We want to be vicious. We want our play to precede us as we walk into that stadium. ... We know that when the Bucs step on the field, it's gonna be a battle. We might not win them all, but your training room is gonna look like we did."