By Roy Cummings | Tribune Staff Published: December 20, 2014TAMPA — Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford indicated Friday that he was healthy enough to resume his coaching duties with the team as far back as October.“I had to make sure I went through the proper rehabilitation period, but I’ve been good to go for a couple of months now and I feel great,’’ the 56-year-old Tedford told reporters during his official introduction as the new head coach of the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League. “I’m exercising, eating right, doing all those things, and I have as much energy now as I’ve ever had.’’Tedford’s comments came two weeks after the Bucs agreed to relieve him of his contractual obligation to the team in the wake of a year in which he never coached a regular-season game.Tedford last ran the Bucs’ offense during an Aug. 23 preseason game in Buffalo, but a heart procedure performed two days later resulted in Tedford asking for and receiving an indefinite leave of absence on Sept. 23.“It was a temporary setback where I had a little heart issue and I had two stents put in,” Tedford told Vancouver-area reports. “I feel very fortunate that we caught it when we did and that I didn’t have some catastrophe. It was a warning sign, for sure, to say, ‘Hey, wake up and look after what you’re doing.’ But that won’t affect the way I work or the way I coach.”A career college coach who spent 10 years as head coach at the University of California, Tedford was an NFL rookie whose plans in Tampa called for him to install an up-tempo attack similar to that run by Chip Kelly in Philadelphia.Most of the elements of his scheme were lost during his absence, however, and the Bucs have suffered as a result. With NFL rookie quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo taking on the added role of play caller, the Bucs (2-12) have struggled to move the ball and score points.They will go into their game Sunday against Green Bay today ranked 30th overall in the 32-team in league in total offense (305.9 yards per game), including 29th in rushing (84.0 ypg), 18th in passing (221.9 ypg) and 27th in points per game (18.1).[email protected](813) 259-7979Twitter: @RcummingsTBO
