The Bucs have had their work cut out for them this offseason in making plenty of coaching moves. With the Glazers continuing to show strong support for head coach Todd Bowles, he has had to let several of his trusted assistant coaches go. Other coaches were shown the door or received new opportunities elsewhere.

Finally, there is more clarity on the entire coaching staff heading into 2026. The team announced many of the moves on Thursday afternoon. While much of it has been previously reported by Pewter Report, it included some unreported news about three intriguing coaching hires.

Bucs Make Several Coaching Hires And Departures Official

As part of the Bucs announcement, the team officially stated who is joining the coaching staff under Todd Bowles and who has earned promotions.

New Bucs pass game coordinator T.J. Yates – Photo by IMAGN Images – Mark J. Rebila

Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson was the biggest hire Bowles had to make, and Robinson has brought in some assistants coaches he has experience with under him. T.J. Yates is now the pass game coordinator, Ken Zampese will be the senior offensive assistant/pass game specialist, Chandler Whitmer becomes the quarterbacks coach, and Andrew Mitchell takes over as an assistant offensive line coach.

Yates replaces Kefense Hynson, who worked in the same role given his connection to former offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard. Mitchell comes in to replace Brian Picucci, who Jaguars head coach Liam Coen poached to head across the state. Whitmer will lead the quarterback room with Thad Lewis being let go, while Zampese will fill a more important role than assistant quarterbacks coach Jordan Somerville did before he left to become a college offensive coordinator.

On the defensive side of the football, Bowles had to replace cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross and defensive line coach Charlie Strong. In addition, safeties coach Nick Rapone elected to retire. Rather than bring in older coaches, a wave of youth has come.

Bucs safeties coach Tim Atkins – Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

As Pewter Report originally reported, the Bucs have promoted Tim Atkins to safeties coach and Rashad Johnson to cornerbacks coach. While each was an internal move, there is reason to be optimistic about what changes and refresh they can provide to their respective rooms.

Pewter Report also broke the story about the hiring of defensive line coach Marcus West. The 42-year-old West is the lone outside voice in a position coach role after spending time with the Bills.

Bucs Hire Todd Bowles Jr. To Coaching Staff Among Other Moves

As alluded to above, there is fresh news to report, too.

Chad Wade has been promoted to be the Bucs new head strength and conditioning coach, replacing Anthony Piroli. Wade has been as the assistant strength & conditioning coach with the team for the last 12 seasons. That makes him the second-longest tenured coach in franchise history, behind only former defensive coordinator and Ring of Honor member Monte Kiffin (1996-2008).

He joined the team following 18 years (1996-2013) at the University of Nebraska. During that time, Wade served as the assistant strength coach and strength coach for the men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as helping to coordinate workouts for the football team.

Luke Smith will be taking over for Keith Tandy as the assistant special teams coach. Smith is the nephew of new special teams coordinator Danny Smith, serving under his uncle with the Steelers as a quality control coach in 2025. Before that, he spent nine years at Duquesne, serving as a defensive assistant (2016-17) and wide receivers coach (2018-24).

Last but not least, Todd Bowles has hired within the family.

Former Rutgers DB, new Bucs defensive assistant Todd Bowles Jr. – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Vincent Carchietta

The elder Bowles has given his son, Todd Bowles Jr., a role on his defensive coaching staff as a defensive assistant. He joins Tampa Bay after playing football collegiately at Long Island (2024-25) and Rutgers (2022-23). Prior to college, he attended Jesuit High School in Tampa.

With the head coach being criticized for not bringing in outside voices to provide a breath of fresh air, hiring his son sure is a curious move. One will have to wait and hear the reasoning behind it and whether or not it will lead to any changes or innovation.

— Information from the Bucs Communications team was used in this story.