Todd Bowles and the Bucs shook up the coaching staff in January, parting ways with offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and several members on the offensive staff. Thus began a very thorough search for the team’s next coordinator.

After interviewing 10 candidates, the Bucs decided on Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach Dave Canales. With a few holdovers from the 2022 staff, Canales quickly started to put together his staff.

Speaking to the media for the first time on Wednesday, the team’s new offensive coordinator broke down each member of his staff and how they can help contribute to the Bucs’ 2023 season.

Bucs assistant WRs coach Thaddeus Lewis and WR Jerreth Sterns – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Quarterback Coach Thad Lewis 

“Thad Lewis, having a quarterback background, he has called it. He has been in a huddle. He had to look in people’s faces and say things. So, when a guy becomes a quarterbacks coach, it’s so natural to him. He’s the QB of that room.”

Tight Ends Coach Jon Van Dam

“John Van Dam, the tight ends coach, is already here [and] he’s got [a] quarterback/O.C. (offensive coordinator) background. So, just having the value of a guy who’s coaching the tight ends with all of that, he really becomes like a bridge, he really becomes the glue. [He] makes me think of our tight ends coach in Seattle, Pat McPherson, who had the same type of background as [the] quarterbacks coach in Denver as well as the tight ends coach. So, he’s been kind of the bridge over the years of whatever our run game is.

“Man, Pat’s got these keepers and these play actions that really make it come to life. When I was drawing passes, I would always joke, I’d be like, ‘Pat, I’ve been drawing these plays [for] five years and you haven’t brought me a package of it without there being something I haven’t drawn’ and we’re talking about thousands of plays. So that’s what I’m going to be expecting from John as well.”

Run Game Coordinator Harold “Goodie” Goodwin And Offensive Line Coach Joe Gilbert 

Bucs OL coaches Joe Gilbert and Harold Goodwin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“First of all, ‘Goodie,’ Harold Goodwin, and Joe Gilbert are here – you talk about world champion offensive line right there. So, I can’t wait to get in there, sit with them, and put a run game that’s really awesome together and build off of the things that they’ve been successful with. They’ve already been so supportive, just wanting to expand with some of the ways that we build formations so it’s not these single things that happen. We can move stuff that’s going to look really hard for the defense but going to be pretty simple for us.”

Wide Receiver Coach Brad Idzik 

“Brad Idzik, five years at Stanford as an assistant and then four years in Seattle, quarterbacks and receivers. The thing that I’ll say about Brad, there’s two reasons, really, why I had to have Brad – number one, you look outside after any practice, he’s out there with somebody working, or two or three guys. He was always that safety net just kind of catching guys. If you had 12 guys in a receiver room, he’s working with the bottom half. If we brought a free agent in who needed help transitioning into a new system, Brad’s right there early, [then] afterwards, ‘Here’s the plan, here’s how we package these things, here’s how to block this guy right there.

“That’s going to be really important with Mike [Evans] and with Chris [Godwin]. For him to be the bridge for those guys and to this new system. That’s going to be a really important task of Brad’s. He was mentored by Sanjay Lal in the receiver room, some of you might not know him, [but] he’s regarded as one of the best receiver coaches out there. He trained Brad and so Brad’s going to be able to employ some of those study film, different techniques and all that he’ll bring.”

Running Backs Coach Skip Peete

New Bucs RBs coach Skip Peete – Photo by: USA Today

“Skip Peete is going to be our running backs coach – [the Cowboys] had zero fumbles lost last year from the running back. He could have started that interview with that, dropped the mic and he would’ve been hired.

“I’m just fired up to be able to lean on him too just as things get rough at times, somebody who’s been around to be able to calm me down as I can get a little bit excited and I’ve got a lot of bottled-up energy and a bunch of ideas but that will be really helpful.”

Dave Canales Will Lean On The Experienced Coaches On His Staff

With so much experience on the coaching staff and Canales stepping in as a first-time play caller, he said he plans to draw from the knowledge of those around him.

“I really respect the play-calling position. I respect how hard it is,” he said. “I respect the skill that the guys that I worked for [have], that they had to have the mastery of the gameplan and the call sheet. I know that I’m going to take some lumps and have to learn my lessons along the way, but I’ll learn quick. I am a quick study.

“I have guys with play-calling experience on this staff and I’m going to lean on them, bounce ideas off of them and packaging things. I really do respect that part of it. It’s something that I am really excited about. I really have been chomping at the bit just trying to get an opportunity.”