Bucs Add Three More Coaches to Strengthen Coaching Staff
After adding Wide Receivers Coach Bryan McClendon, Assistant Offensive Line Coach Brian Picucci, and Pass Game Coordinator Josh Grizzard, the Bucs overhauled their offensive coaching staff.
On Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers expanded their offensive coaching staff, adding three more coaches to the group that was already led by Liam Coen, the team’s offensive coordinator since February 3. The most recent hires are Assistant Offensive Line Coach Brian Picucci, who was previously Coen’s quality control coach at the University of Kentucky; Wide Receivers Coach Bryan McClendon, who was previously the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator at the University of Georgia; and Pass Game Coordinator Josh Grizzard, who was previously a quality control coach with the Miami Dolphins.
On February 14, the Buccaneers also announced Kevin Carberry, a former assistant offensive line coach for the New Orleans Saints, as their new offensive line coach. John Van Dam, Skip Peete, and Thad Lewis were kept on as the quarterback, running back, and tight end coaches, respectively. Along with senior offensive assistant Tom Moore, offensive quality control coach Jeff Kastl, and assistant quarterbacks coach Jordan Somerville, the Bucs still have these players on their staff.
Brad Idzik, who served in that capacity for one season before to becoming the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers under Dave Canales, is replaced by McClendon. In 2023, the Bucs lacked a pass game coordinator and an assistant offensive lineman.
Under three different head coaches, Grizzard worked with the Dolphins for seven seasons, serving as the wide receivers coach in 2020–21. Grizzard was kept on as the team’s quality control coach by Mike McDaniels, who took over as head coach in 2022 after Grizzard having served in that capacity from 2017 to 19. After serving as a graduate assistant and quality control coach at Duke for four seasons, Grizzard began his coaching career in 2012 as a student assistant at his alma mater, Yale.
Grizzard was a part of a formidable Miami attack the previous season that set league records for yards per game (401.3), passing yards per game (265.5), and yards per rush (5.1). In terms of yards per play (6.5), net yards per pass attempt (8.0), and points per game (29.2), the 2023 Dolphins were likewise second. As the wide receivers coach for the Dolphins, Grizzard assisted Jaylen Waddle in amassing 104 receptions for 1,015 yards, which broke the NFL rookie receptions record.
Mike Evans, a Pro Bowl player, and Chris Godwin, a prolific pass-catcher, headlined the receiving room in 2023 when McClendon made his first move to the NFL coaching ranks. However, Evans is now a possible unrestricted free agency. With 13 touchdown catches this past season, Evans tied for the league lead in touchdown catches. In his tenth NFL season, he also contributed 1,255 yards. For the fourth time in the previous five seasons, Godwin over 1,000 receiving yards and led the team with 83 receptions.
From 2002 to 2005, McClendon was a wide receiver for Georgia. He has since held several coaching positions with the Bulldogs. In 2022, the school experienced its second consecutive national championship season. The Bulldogs defeated TCU 65-7 in the most lopsided NCAA Championship game in history. Wideout Ladd McConkey, the 2023 Wuerffel Trophy winner as the collegiate football player who best blends outstanding community service with athletic and intellectual accomplishment, was tutored by McClendon.
In 2007, McClendon started working as a graduate assistant coach at his former school. He served in that capacity for two years before being hired as the Bulldogs’ running backs coach, a post he held from 2009 to 2014. Todd Gurley, a rushing back taken 10th overall in the 2015 NFL Draft and a first-team All-SEC selection, was tutored by McClendon during that period. Gurley went on to record 6,082 running yards and 79 touchdowns in the NFL while also winning Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Following Head Coach Mark Richt’s firing, McClendon led the Bulldogs in their bowl game as an interim head coach at the end of the 2015 season. Afterward, he took over as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach before joining the South Carolina staff. In 2020, he relocated to Oregon to work as the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator for two years. When Mario Cristobal left for the University of Miami, he took over as the bowl game’s temporary head coach once more.
Prior to joining Kentucky in 2023 for his lone season on the Wildcats staff, Picucci served on the same coaching staff as Liam Coen at two separate points in his career: the University of Maine in 2016 and 2017. While Coen was on his second term as Kentucky’s offensive coordinator, he was the team’s quality control coach.
With 29 years of coaching experience, the most of it was gained at the collegiate level. However, in 2018–19, Picucci worked as an offensive assistant and assistant tight ends coach for the Detroit Lions under Matt Patricia. He worked as a coach at UMass for 12 years in total, serving as the offensive coordinator for three of those years (2009– 2012). In 2013, Picucci served as Central Connecticut State’s temporary head coach as well. In 1994, he began working as a coach at Southern Connecticut State. For four seasons, Picucci also played tight end and fullback for Syracuse, where he helped the Orange win four bowl games.
