like a deer". Buccaneers coach Ray Perkins said that "He plays like he is never out of the play. That is an intensity level I like". Floyd Peters was brought to the Bucs in 1991, and converted McCants from a linebacker to defensive end. Although McCants resisted the change, Peters convinced him that with time he could become a success story along the lines of Chris Doleman, another Peters conversion. Although privately unhappy he accepted the position, and tried to make the best of it, claiming "Teams won't take me lightly. I can tell you that...I can play any position on this football team, except maybe quarterback. When this season is over, I could be in the Pro Bowl. You don't know how hungry I am. It doesn't matter what position I'm playing. What matters is me." Although McCants was not fond of the move, he did have some success, as he led the Buccaneers in 1991 with 34 quarterback pressures and recorded 5 sacks, prompting Patrick Zier of the New York Times to remark "considering the circumstances, McCants first year was a success. . .despite having to learn an entirely new position". In December 1991, Coach Peters told the media "I think he's played a decent season. If you watch films, Keith is a producer." McCants continued to build upon his experience and was second on the Buccaneers in sacks (5) and quarterback pressures (21) in 1992. Eventually, Tampa Bay cut him during their 1993 training camp. Within 48 hours, he was picked up off waivers by the New England Patriots, where he was reunited once again with Ray Perkins, then New England's Offensive Coordinator. Regarding his cut from the Bucs and resigning, McCants remarked at the time "This is a lot off my shoulders...The rumors had been spreading for some time now concerning my future with Tampa." He played in a preseason game the day he was signed, against the Kansas City Chiefs, before being released. In 1993 while with the Houston Oilers, McCants stepped in to separate Buddy Ryan and Kevin Gilbride when Ryan punched Gilbride in the face following an Oilers fumble. That season, the Oilers would go on to finish first in the AFC Central Division, sending them to their seventh straight postseason, and McCants's first. When asked what it meant to go to the playoffs, McCants replied, "Let me tell you something, this is