Bucs Coaching Staff: Defense

Defensive Coordinator: Todd Bowles
After being let go as head coach of the New York Jets following a four-year tenure with the team, Todd Bowles makes the most sense for a defensive coordinator hire under Arians.

Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

Bowles was Arians’ defensive coordinator in Arizona for its two double-digit win seasons in 2013 and ’14 before being hired away for the head coaching gig with the Jets. Bowles was voted Associated Press’ Assistant Coach of the Year in 2014.

Bowles has operated multiple defensive schemes throughout his career, both 3-4 and 4-3, and has been willing to adapt his overall scheme to the players he has in front of him – thank God. But no matter what the “base” alignment might say in the playbook, Bowles has always been a guy who loves to create controlled chaos.

Bowles boasts an aggressive tendency with his defensive schemes. They do a lot of blitzing, and Bowles dials up disguised blitzes very well – at least that was the case under Arians. Bowles’ defense is also easily adjustable. One week they could have their defensive fronts looking like 3-4, the next they could be more 4-3.

Not only is Bowles flexible towards his players’ abilities from year-to-year, but also a little week-to-week. Wade Phillips used to say, ‘”just get me good players and figure it out from there.” That’s the kind of coach Bowles is; the kind that Mike Smith certainly was not.

The main takeaway is that Bowles is aggressive in his style, but also a master of disguise. He truly keeps his defense multiple in their game plans and in their alignments, and that confuses offenses with regularity.

If he were to become Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator, you should expect much of the same.

(We’ll get into the details of specific player utilization if he does, in fact, become defensive coordinator.)

Defensive Line Coach: Brentson Buckner
The connections with both Arians and Bowles for Buckner were well documented when Buckner was hired in Tampa Bay a year ago. Buckner was the defensive line coach from 2013-17 under Arians in Arizona, and he had one of the most consistent sack groups in the NFL while developing one of the best pass rushers in the league in Chandler Jones.

Though the Buccaneers still had their cold streaks as a defensive line with Buckner as their coach this year, they were much improved under his watch initially, and then even more so when Mark Duffner took over as defensive coordinator. Buckner would be a good fit for this regime.

Linebackers Coach: Mark Duffner
If the Bucs can somehow hold on to Duffner as their linebackers coach, they should do everything they can to.

Bucs DC Mark Duffner – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Duffner, as a position coach, was clearly being held back by Mike Smith and his scheme, and that was evident in the immediate success the defense had when Duffner took over as defensive coordinator. Duffner’s familiarity and success with guys like Lavonte David, Kwon Alexander and Kendell Beckwith, and not to mention making producers out of guys like Kevin Minter and Andrew Adams (hybrid linebacker) is all the resume he should need in Tampa Bay.

If Duffner doesn’t get a defensive coordinator gig, he could be back in Tampa Bay. He should be back in Tampa Bay.

Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Backs Coach: Jimmy Lake
The Bucs currently have two secondary coaches in Jon Hoke and Brett Maxie. Though I don’t think those two have done the worst job, the Bucs secondary has not been able to create turnovers at all over the past two seasons, and that has to change with a potential aggressive defense coming in.

In comes Jimmy Lake.

Lake is currently the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach for the University of Washington. It would probably take an assistant head coach role and making Lake the highest-paid defensive backs coach in the league to get him away from Washington where he calls plays. Recently he’s groomed players like Budda Baker, Sidney Jones, Kevin King, Byron Murphy, Myles Bryant and Taylor Rapp for NFL roles. Lake also happened to be the Bucs defensive backs coach from 2007-08 under Jon Gruden and 2010-11 under Raheem Morris and was one of the best in the business.

Special Teams Coordinator: Sean Snyder
Special teams under current Buccaneers special teams coordinator Nate Kaczor haven’t been so special. Punter Bryan Anger has declined over the last three seasons, the Bucs kicking woes have their own page in the history books you could rip out, and there haven’t been many impactful plays on special teams in terms of blocks or returns. There hasn’t been much in teams of catastrophe, but the Bucs needs something more.

Snyder has been the special teams coach for Kansas State since 2011 with his dad, legendary coach Bill Snyder. Snyder has won FootballScoop Special Teams Coordinator of the Year (2015), Special Teams Coach of the Year for ESPN (2017) and was Special Teams Coach of the Year from Phil Steele (2015, 2017).

Snyder has been on staff since 1994 as an assistant before he became a special teams coach. He’s coached the likes of martin Gramatica when he was at KSU and has developed kick returners like Tyler Lockett and David Allen, among others. The Wildcats also had one of the best special teams units in the country when it comes to scores from blocked punts and returns since 1999.

With his father stepping down at K-State, Snyder could be a splash option to go get.