Buccaneers rumors: Tampa Bay took a run at Sean McDermott after Bills firing

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are aggressively overhauling their coaching staff following an 8-9 season that resulted in missed playoffs. After firing offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, the organization was aiming high to fill the vacancy. According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was scheduled to interview for the offensive coordinator job before accepting the job for the Chargers.

He has already interviewed for the Lions offensive coordinator position and the Titans head coaching job, but went to Los Angeles instead.

Tampa Bay tried to secure his services to elevate an offense that has plenty of talent but underperformed last season.

The front office also attempted a major splash on the defensive side of the ball. Sal Capaccio reports, via Greg Auman, that the Buccaneers checked in with former Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott about joining Todd Bowles staff.

The inquiry shows the franchise’s desire to stack the staff with experienced leaders. However, the pursuit appears to have reached a dead end, as McDermott is reportedly expected to take this year off from coaching rather than jumping immediately back into a coordinator or assistant role following his departure from Buffalo.

While the McDermott swing did not connect, Tampa Bay successfully secured a veteran presence for its third phase. Jeremy Fowler reports that the team has hired Danny Smith as the new special teams coordinator. Smith brings an incredible wealth of experience, arriving in Tampa after a 13-year tenure with Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh.

In total, Smith possesses 50 years of coaching experience, including 25 consecutive seasons as an NFL special teams coordinator. His units in Pittsburgh were consistently elite, recently ranking second league-wide in average opponent drive start and sixth in punt return average allowed.

He also oversaw the success of All-Pro talents like kicker Chris Boswell and special teamer Miles Killebrew.

With Smith now on board, the Buccaneers are banking on his decades of expertise to solidify a crucial phase of the game as they aim to return to postseason contention.

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