Even though he spent four seasons in Tampa Bay, he was an afterthought to Chris Simms, Brian Griese or Jeff Garcia.

McCown thought he had left Tampa Bay in his rear-view mirror until the firing of Jon Gruden, who never had much use for him.

But new Bucs coach Raheem Morris and general manager Mark Dominik envision McCown as their quarterback of the future. That's why they signed the 27-year-old McCown to a two-year, $7.5 million contract that will guarantee him $5 million in 2009.

With assurances that he will compete for the starting job, McCown decided to forgo a chance to become a free agent Feb. 27.

"It was made clear to me over the process, over the weekend and today, that I was going to get a shot to compete to be the starter and the leader of this team and that's all I asked for and I'm excited for that chance," McCown said.

The signing of McCown also means the Bucs may not be interested in re-signing Garcia, who will be 39 and is set to become a free agent. Brian Griese and rookie Josh Johnson are the only other two quarterbacks under contract. Griese is scheduled to earn $1.8 million next season and has a $300,000 roster bonus.

McCown said he was unaware of which, if any quarterbacks, the Bucs planned for him to compete with next season.

"I was looking for somebody, be it Mark or Raheem -- and it turned out it was both -- to show that confidence in me, that they were willing to give me a chance, that they see the potential I have to be a starter and not just a guy to hold down the position but lead the team for a couple of years," McCown said. "That's what I was looking for, someone to show me that support, and once I saw that, it was a no brainer for me."

In many ways, McCown seemed miscast in Jon Gruden's version of the West Coast offense. Generally regarded as one of the best athletes on the team, he has a strong arm and can drive the football down the field.

But in four seasons with the Bucs, McCown played in just seven games with three starts -- all of them coming in 2007. For his career, he is 1-6 as a starter with a passer rating of 75.2.

In Tampa Bay, McCown completed 94 of 140 passes (67.1 percent) for 1,009 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions for a quarterback rating of 91.0. McCown's athleticism also enabled him to carry the ball 15 times for 132 yards, an 8.8-yard average.

McCown spent most of last season as the No. 2 quarterback. But when Garcia was unable to play in a critical game at Atlanta last December, Gruden bypassed McCown in favor of Griese, a decision that contributed to the Bucs' four-game losing streak to end the season.

"Very surprised. Very disappointed," McCown said of not playing against the Falcons. "But I'm not one, again, that would sit and throw my hands in the air and say, 'I quit,' or complain," McCown said. "That wasn't right at the time and to me that's not right ever. You go with the hand you were dealt. I know there were several of my teammates after the game, some of them captains on this team, that asked me, 'What was the deal? Why didn't you get to play?' I said, 'I don't know. Nobody really told me why.'"

McCown's contract is virtually identical to the deal Garcia signed in 2007. It includes a $2.5 million signing bonus and base salaries of $2.5 million in '09 and '10. Based on play time incentives, the contract could be valued as much as $14 million.

Under new offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski, McCown said he believes the Bucs will run a hybrid version of the West Coast offense with more emphasis on a downfield passing attack.

"There's no question in my mind, I'm ready to compete," McCown said. "I didn't bother to ask who, if anybody else, they were targeting (at quarterback). That didn't matter to me. I'm going to do everything I can to be the leader of this team and take us back to the playoffs. I think my teammates know that. I think everybody knows I just needed a chance."

McCown said he probably would not have returned had Gruden remained the Bucs' coach.

"If they wanted me back, I'm not sure how that would've worked out," McCown said. "I was going to see what other opportunities were there. Not to say I harbor bad feelings for Jon or Bruce (Allen). Coach Gruden was making the calls that he thought was right for the team. Certainly, I would've loved to help this team last year, but that wasn't the case."