With training camp just ten days away, the Bucs have added to their coaching staff. On Wednesday, the team announced their Bill Walsh Coaching Fellows for the 2021 season, including Trai Essex, La’Roi Glover, Andre King, Heather Marini and former Bucs WR Louis Murphy Jr.

A former NFL OT, Essex spent eight seasons as an offensive tackle in the NFL. He played for the Pittsburgh Steelers for seven years and the Indianapolis Colts for one, all under current Buccaneers Head Coach Bruce Arians. Essex started just 26 games, but was a key reserve and valuable locker room presence in Pittsburgh.

Glover has by far the most impressive NFL resume of the five new additions. The six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle managed 83.5 career sacks, spending five years in New Orleans and four years in Dallas before a stint in St. Louis. Glover spent seven years with the Rams as a Director of Player Engagement before stops with the Jets and Rams as an assistant defensive line coach. The four-time All-Pro spent his time in New York under Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.

King has been a high school football coach and athletic director at Loganville Christian Academy (Georgie) since 2007. In 2019 he moved into a new role as Director of Community Engagement and Student-Athlete College Recruitment. A Florida native, King spent four seasons as a wide receiver with the Browns, three while Arians was an offensive coordinator there. Before playing college football, King spent time in several MLB farm systems, including the Tampa Bay Rays.

Marini hails from Brown University, where she served as the team’s quarterbacks coach in 2020. With that accomplishment, Marini became the first female position coach in Division I college football. She joined the university in 2019 as an offensive quality control coach, then quickly worked her way up to a positional role. Before that, Marini was a summer scouting specialist with the New York Jets while Bowles was the team’s head coach.

Murphy Jr. is coming home, as a former Florida Gator and a St. Petersburg, Florida native. Murphy spent eight years in the NFL, including three seasons with the Bucs. During his NFL career, Murphy caught 170 passes for 2,443 yards and 11 touchdowns. In 2020, Murphy served as Gibbs High School’s head football coach in St. Petersburg.

Information from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers news release was used in this report.