NFL Coaching Matters: 2022 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Offense and Coaching Staff Preview

July 24, 2022

Eli Grabanski breaks down the 2022 Tampa Bay Buccaneers' coaching staff in search of buy-lows, fantasy football sleepers, and risers based on play-calling and historical data.

After every NFL season, NFL teams take the time to evaluate not only the players but also the coaching staff and front office as well. While many teams choose to retain the same head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator, a few other teams opt to go in a new direction with their coaching staff.

Bruce Arians retired this offseason, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers decided to promote from within and hire former defensive coordinator Todd Bowles to serve as the team's new head coach. Byron Leftwich will be back as the team's offensive coordinator in 2022 and the team will have two coaches share de facto defensive coordinator duties - Larry Foote & Kacy Rodgers.

This article will look at the potential impact this coaching staff will have on the players and try to pinpoint the Buccaneers players' fantasy values in it.

The Baseline

To get a better understanding of the value the Buccaneers coaches bring to this team, we can look at the NFL league averages in each of the past two years in a variety of statistical categories and then compare them to the averages achieved by the Buccaneers coaches. Here are 'The Baseline' NFL league averages over the past couple of years:

QB Impact

RB Impact

WR Impact

TE Impact

Defense Impact

Previous Coaching Staff

In order to get an understanding of how the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' fantasy players may be impacted this year, we also need to look at what kind of production former head coach Bruce Arians got out of the Buccaneers' offense during his time in an offensive play-calling role. By doing this, we will have a better understanding of his impact in the past and have better insight into whether Byron Leftwich will change the offensive philosophies at all going forward.

Former Head Coach: Bruce Arians

Bruce Arians retired this past offseason after a long coaching career. In the past, Arians had been an offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns (2001-2003), Pittsburgh Steelers (2007-2011), and Indianapolis Colts (2012), as well as a head coach for the Indianapolis Colts (2012 - interim role), Arizona Cardinals (2013-2017), and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2019-2021). Below are some of his team's offensive statistics over the course of his career as either an offensive coordinator or head coach.

QB Impact

RB Impact

WR Impact

TE Impact

2022 Offense

2022 Offensive Coordinator: Byron Leftwich

Byron Leftwich has been the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator since 2019. The former NFL quarterback also served as the interim offensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals for the last nine games of the 2018 season. Let's take a look at some of Leftwich's offenses over the course of his career as an offensive coordinator.

QB Impact

RB Impact

WR Impact

TE Impact

Byron Leftwich Takeaways & Expectations

With Bruce Arians retired from coaching, we only need to consider the type of offense that Buccaneers' offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich has traditionally liked to roll with for the 2022 season. In Byron Leftwich's 58-game career as an offensive play-caller, his team's offenses have averaged 39.19 passing attempts per game - which is well above the league average. This pass-happy approach should bode well for Tom Brady in 2022.

But besides passing, it's also important to consider the rushing usage of Leftwich's quarterbacks over the course of his career. In his 58-game career, Leftwich's quarterbacks have averaged just 2.67 carries per game.

Overall, with Byron Leftwich still around to call the plays, Tom Brady's usage shouldn't change much from 2021. But what about the skill positions - running back, wide receiver, and tight end? How are those guys impacted by Leftwich's play-calling tendencies?

Looking at the running back position, Byron Leftwich has been a little below average in giving the position work on the ground. Over the course of his 58-game career, Leftwich's running backs have averaged 20.62 carries, 85.60 rushing yards, and 0.78 rushing touchdowns per game on the ground.

This usage shows that with offensive play-calling duties in the hands of Leftwich, the team is likely to provide below-average usage for their running back room compared to other play-callers. But for fantasy purposes, we also need to consider the distribution of carries - how much of that work on the ground does Leftwich give to one back versus split between multiple backs?

During his first season as an offensive play-caller in 2018 (as the interim offensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals), Byron Leftwich rolled with more of a bell-cow approach on the ground. However, in 49 games working as an offensive coordinator under Bruce Arians, Leftwich has employed more of a 'hot hand' or running back by committee approach on the ground. With Leonard Fournette appearing to be the clear lead back on the team after the Buccaneers let Ronald Jones II go this offseason, it is possible that Leftwich decides to flip from a 'hot hand' approach on the ground back to a bell-cow one with Leonard Fournette during the 2022 NFL season.

Finally, Leftwich gives his running backs a slightly above-average amount of work in the passing game with his tailbacks averaging 5.57 receptions on 7.47 targets for 40.05 receiving yards and 0.19 receiving touchdowns per game over the course of his career.

This is a pretty good amount of work through the air and is something you are encouraged to see if you have the Buccaneers' primary pass-catching back in your fantasy league. Overall, Leonard Fournette should get a decent amount of opportunities to be successful and be a low-end RB1/high-end RB2 for the 2022 season as long as he's healthy.

Jumping to the wide receiver position, Byron Leftwich has utilized and gotten more production out of his wide receivers than the average play-caller. Over the course of his career as an offensive coordinator, Leftwich has seen his wide receiver room average 14.41 receptions on 22.31 targets for 195.17 receiving yards and 1.53 receiving touchdowns per game.

Clearly, Byron Leftwich has provided a large workload from his wide receiver room during his time as an offensive coordinator.  As long as Leftwich is the offensive play-caller, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be a team that is capable of producing multiple fantasy-relevant wide receivers, making them a solid investment in your fantasy league(s).

Lastly, looking at the tight end position, Leftwich's offense has utilized them a fair amount with the group averaging 8.07 tight end targets per game.

While Leftwich's upward trend in tight end usage might not continue this year with Rob Gronkowski's status up in the air, it is encouraging to see that he is willing to feed the position as long as the talent is there. We probably shouldn't expect much more than streamer-level performances from Cameron Brate and Cade Otton this year, but if Otton can continue to develop, he could be a solid dynasty value in Leftwich's offense.

Fantasy Relevant Players: Tom Brady, Blaine Gabbert, Kyle Trask, Leonard Fournette, Rachaad White, Ke'Shawn Vaughn, Giovani Bernard, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Russell Gage, Tyler Johnson, Breshad Perriman, Cameron Brate, and Cade Otton

2022 Defense

2022 Head Coach: Todd Bowles

Todd Bowles initially joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a defensive coordinator in 2019 but was promoted to head coach this past offseason after Bruce Arians retired. Bowles has been one of the best defensive minds in football over the course of his career, previously spending time as the interim head coach of the Miami Dolphins (2011), interim defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles (2012), defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals (2013-2014), and the head coach of the New York Jets (2015-2018). Because of his defensive background, below are some defensive statistics from Bowles's time in a defensive coordinator or head coaching role.

Other Notable Assistants

Special Teams Coordinator: Keith Armstrong - Keith Armstrong became the Tampa Bay Buccaneers special teams coordinator in 2019 and has been coaching since 1987. Prior to becoming the special teams coordinator in Tampa Bay, he spent time as a special teams coach for the Chicago Bears (1997-2000), Miami Dolphins (2001-2007), and Atlanta Falcons (2008-2018).

Assistant Head Coach/Run Game Coordinator: Harold Goodwin - Harold Goodwin worked with Bruce Arians for a long-time prior to Bruce's retirement this past offseason and is one of the leaders of the Buccaneers coaching staff. Prior to joining the Buccaneers in 2019, Goodwin worked as an offensive line coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers (2007-2011), an offensive line coach for the Indianapolis Colts (2012), and the Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator (2013-2017). If the Buccaneers have another successful season in 2021, he should get interviews for a head coaching job next offseason.

QB Coach: Clyde Christensen - Clyde Christensen has been coaching football for a long time, with a career dating back to 1979. He's worked as a quarterbacks coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1999-2000, 2019-Present) and the Indianapolis Colts (2012-2015), and has also served as an offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2001), Indianapolis Colts (2009-2011), and Miami Dolphins (2016-2017).

RB Coach: Todd McNair - Todd McNair joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a running backs coach in 2019 after nearly a decade off from coaching football. He previously coached running backs for the Cleveland Browns (2001-2003) and USC Trojans (2004-2010). He also played in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs (1989-1993, 1996) and Houston Oilers (1994-1995).

WR Coach: Kevin Garver - Kevin Garver has been the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receivers coach since 2019. He's previously worked for the Alabama Crimson Tide (2007-2012) and the Arizona Cardinals (2013-2018) in a variety of roles - including as a wide receivers coach for the Arizona Cardinals back in 2018.

TE Coach: John Van Dam - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have a new tight ends coach in 2022 going from Rick Christophel to John Van Dam. Van Dam has been an assistant coach with the Buccaneers since 2019, previously working as an offensive quality control coach (2019-2020) and assistant tight ends coach (2021).

OL Coach: Joe Gilbert - Joe Gilbert has been coaching football since 1987 and joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in 2019 when Bruce Arians got hired to be the team's next head coach. At the NFL level, he's previously worked as an assistant offensive line coach for the Indianapolis Colts (2012, 2016-2017) and as the Colts' offensive line coach (2013-2015).

DL Coach: Kacy Rodgers - Kacy Rodgers was hired to be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive line coach back in 2019. At the NFL level, Rodgers has previously worked as a defensive tackles coach for the Dallas Cowboys (2003-2004), a defensive line coach for the Dallas Cowboys (2005-2007), a defensive line coach for the Miami Dolphins (2008-2014), and as a defensive coordinator for the New York Jets (2015-2018). It is also expected that Rodgers serves as one of the Buccaneers' de facto defensive coordinators during the 2022 season.

ILB Coach: Larry Foote - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are shifting around their linebackers coaches a little bit, letting go of inside linebackers coach Mike Caldwell and bringing Larry Foote over from coaching outside linebackers to helping with this position. Larry Foote initially joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaching staff in 2019 as the outside linebackers coach. He previously was the linebackers coach for the Arizona Cardinals (2016-2018). Foote played linebacker in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers (2002-2008, 2010-2013), Detroit Lions (2009), and Arizona Cardinals (2014). He also will serve as the team's de facto defensive coordinator alongside Kacy Rodgers for the 2022 season.

OLB Coach: Bob Sanders - With Larry Foote moving over from outside linebackers coach to inside linebackers coach, the team will have a new outside linebackers coach in Bob Sanders. Sanders has been coaching football for 40 years at the college and NFL levels. At the NFL level, he's worked with linebackers specifically with the Miami Dolphins (2001-2004), Buffalo Bills (2010-2012), Oakland Raiders (2013-2014), and Arizona Cardinals (2015-2017). He also served as the Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator from 2006 to 2008.

Cornerbacks Coach: Kevin Ross - Kevin Ross has been the Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerbacks coach since 2019. At the NFL level, he's previously been a defensive backs coach for the Minnesota Vikings (2004-2006), San Diego Chargers (2007-2009), and the Oakland Raiders (2010-2011) as well as a cornerbacks coach for the Arizona Cardinals (2013-2017). He also played in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs (1984-1993, 1997), Atlanta Falcons (1994-1995), and San Diego Chargers (1996).

Safeties Coach: Nick Rapone - Nick Rapone has been coaching football since 1979. He joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a safeties coach in 2019 and has previously worked in the NFL as a defensive backs coach for the Arizona Cardinals (2013-2017).

Enjoy this series? Be sure to check out all of the other 'Coaching Matters' team previews!

AFC North: Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals

AFC South: Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts

AFC West: Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders

AFC East: Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Jets

NFC North: Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings

NFC South: Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, and New Orleans Saints

Follow Eli Grabanski on Twitter: @3li_handles

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