Less than two months into the 1967 season the Buccaneers' players threatened to quit after not receiving their pay for two games. The players agreed to stay on with a $75-per-game pay cut, but demanded more of a say in team affairs in return. McCormick and four of his assistants quit afterwards.[2] Former Oakland Raiders player Joe Barbee was hired to coach the team on an interim basis.[3]
The financially troubled franchise was purchased in March 1968 and later renamed to the Sacramento Capitols. Under new head coach George Porter the team improved to 5–7 in 1968 and then 8–4 in 1969. The team made the COFL playoffs for the first and only time in 1969, where they lost 31–0 to the Las Vegas Cowboys. In July 1970, with the future of the COFL in doubt, the Capitols folded after selling less than half of the 3,000 season tickets needed to remain viable.[4]
