According to ESPN, the Bucs will hire Alex Van Pelt to serve in that capacity and work with second-year quarterback Josh Freeman, which should free up Greg Olson to concentrate more on his offensive coordinator responsibilities.
Van Pelt, 39, has spent the past four seasons on Buffalo's coaching staff. He spent his first two seasons with Buffalo as an offensive quality control coach. In 2008, Van Pelt was promoted to quarterbacks coach. Van Pelt worked closely with QB Trent Edwards.
Last year, Van Pelt replaced Turk Schonert as the team's offensive coordinator before the season started. Buffalo's offense ranked 30th overall and 30th in passing offense in 2009.
At the end of the 2009 season, the Bills made several changes to their coaching staff, which had already been shaken up when head coach Dick Jauron was fired mid-season. Like several other Bills coaches, Van Pelt wasn't retained by the new regime.
An eighth-round pick in the 1993 NFL Draft, Van Pelt played quarterback in the NFL for Pittsburgh (1993), Kansas City (1993) and Buffalo (1994-03).
Although Van Pelt will reportedly join Tampa Bay's offensive coaching staff, Olson, who served as the team's QBs coach in 2008 and again in 2009 before being promoted to offensive coordinator following the firing of Jeff Jagodzinski, is expected to remain heavily involved in the quarterbacks room and Freeman's development.
Tampa Bay still is in search of a new wide receivers coach to replace Richard Mann, who had been with the Bucs since 2002 before the two sides decided to part ways at the end of the 2009 season. The team has interviewed several candidates, including former Bucs wide receiver Ike Hilliard.
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