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...to go to a different team that was 7-9 the year before?.

The team was *stacked* with under-utilized talent from being so poor for several years, but that 7-9 represents a new coaching staff beginning to pull it together from a pair of 5-11 seasons. The choice to go there wasn’t random - and then he brought Gronkowski Brown with him, and they added a cut rate Antonio Brown and Fornette.

This is how the NFL works: Losing teams get first shot at the best talent, and winning teams choose amongst what is left. It is supposed to cycle through every 4-5 years, especially with the salary cap causing teams to lose a portion of their best players when the second contract comes up. Right now, Tampa bay has a bunch of top-tier talent at reduced price, and has them locked up for the next couple of years - after which, things typically come apart. The same effect happened with Manning when he went to the Broncos - a team stacked with talent from being poor for several years, with some good drafts. Just missing a QB.

Only a few teams, like Pittsburgh, New England, Green Bay, and Seattle have stayed above the median despite these constraints - though Seattle has had to reload after losing so many top tier players when those initial contracts ran out.