The Bucs pride themselves on having players with high football IQs that also have leadership qualities. It’s no mistake that this team has been a close group, kept their core together, and have found success over the last five seasons.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles has been there for all five consecutive playoff appearances while being the head coach for the last three of them, which were all division titles. Bowles has been coaching for many years and have seen a number of cast and characters walk through the doors at the Advent Health Training Center.

There’s only so long that that all of these players will be in the NFL. That’s just the nature of the physicality of this business. After retirement, some players will decide that they want to coach football after, whether it be a the high school, college or professional level.

Todd Bowles Names 4 Bucs That Can Coach

Nobody on the Bucs has said out loud that they have future aspirations to coach, but if there were some that wanted to, who would make for the best coach? When Todd Bowles came on the Pewter Report Podcast, he was asked that question about who he could see eventually roaming the sidelines and named four of his players currently on the roster.

“I think Lavonte (David) can coach if he wants to coach,” Bowles began. “He’s very bright and he has a bright football mind on both sides of the ball.”

Bucs ILB Lavonte David – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Then Bowles went with an offensive player that wasn’t very expected.

“I think Kyle Trask would be a good football coach,” Bowles said. “Kyle has a very broad mind on both sides of the ball and he understands the game very well from that standpoint.”

His last two suggestions were once again on the defensive side.

“The other guy that’s a very sharp player, Anthony Nelson is very polished guy,” he said. “He can coach ball if wants to because he’s a very good technician and he understands what to do and how to relay it all the time.”

“Vita (Vea) if he wanted to really be a coach he could be a coach. He’s played offense in high school and he understands the game very well, so there’s a few guys that really step up and you can tell they can be coaches if they want to be.”

Bucs DT Vita Vea – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Breaking Down Bowles’ Suggestions

Bowles gave great insight into the specifics of why each player would fit as a coach. David has already been leading the team and the defense for several years. What makes him still a top level player after all these years is his ability to read the game and anticipate a play, entering the gap before it can even unfold. Since David wears the green dot, he’s also been responsible for making sure other players are in the right spot.

Trask was a very intriguing choice by Bowles but quarterbacks also have to see the game differently than others, too. He’s spent his career backing up Tom Brady and Baker Mayfield and the responsibilities of the second string quarterback requires a lot of game planning and break downs. That requires as much knowledge of the defense as it does for his responsibilities on the offense.

Bucs QB Kyle Trask – Photo by: USA Today

Nelson has also ben referred to as a “Steady Eddie” on this defense. He’s one the only remaining players on this roster that was on the Super Bowl team that isn’t an every game starter like David, Vea and others. That’s because Nelson seems to always be in the right place at the right time and can make a clutch play when it’s necessary.

That was no better exemplified than the fumble he forced on Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard in overtime as Carolina was setting up to kick the game winning field goal.

Bucs OLB Anthony Nelson – Photo by: USA Today

Vea may actually have the personality closest to Bowles in terms of sarcasm and sense of humor to. He’s a leader along the defensive line but it’s shown in a different way than other players. Bowles had mentioned that Vea played running back in high school, but let’s also remember that he lines up on the goal line for the Bucs’ offense and has a touchdown reception.

Here are Vea’s high school highlights as a running back.

Bowles was on the Pewter Report Podcast for an entire hour this week talking about several topics. Check out the epsidoe and subscribe to our YouTube channel.