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Todd Bowles: Additions to the staff
Following the departure of nine assistant coaches in January, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers filled several vacancies on Todd Bowles’ staff. Dave Canales, former Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach, has been hired as the Bucs’ new offensive line coordinator. Bowles, the sophomore head coach, described the qualities he valued during the interview process that led to Canales’ hiring.
“No, as a coordinator you look at everything – how he plans, what he thinks, how he reacts, what parts he thinks he needs, what he can work with, what he can’t work with. You look at the overall group and you look at the guys that you have and see if he can work with those guys and see if his pattern fits and I thought it was the best pattern that fits everything, what we’ve come back for so far… He’s got a good idea of what he wants to do. And, you know, the more I talked to him, the more we agreed that way.”
Canales will be teaming with two other Tampa Bay signings, including wide receivers coach Brad Idzik and running backs coach Skip Peete. Thad Lewis, who spent the last two seasons as the team’s assistant wide receivers coach, was promoted to quarterback coach. “Well, he was a hell of a college quarterback,” Bowles described. “He understood the game was coming in. As Bruce [Arians] hired him as an intern, he was a very bright guy in the office – early on, out late. He has a great understanding of the quarterback game and has many modern techniques and schemes to adapt to a quarterback. He’s very quarterback friendly. I think the world of Thad. I think he will be an offensive coordinator in the light [speed] in. I think it’s a good move for him and I’m looking forward to seeing him.”
The Buccaneers expanded their defensive staff with the hiring of the former Cowboys’ senior defensive assistant, George Edwards, who will assume the role of coaching outside linebackers at Tampa Bay. His NFL career spans 25 seasons, and most notably, Edwards played a pivotal role in the development of Micah Parsons. Through detailed one-to-one instruction on angles, stance, footwork and hand placement, Edwards unleashed Parsons’ potential as a pass rusher. Edwards will now work to develop third-year player Joe Tryon-Shoyinka at Tampa Bay and increase the team’s overall pressure from the edge. “Anytime you get a chance to get another smart guy in the room, try to get him,” Bowles said. “He’s been there for a long time. He was part of that great Dallas defense last year. He helped draft and mold Micah Parsons. You know, hopefully he can do some of those things to Tryon [Joe Tryon-Shoyinka]. Again, he’s another smart guy in the room… I think he fits in well with us and he fits in well with the coaching staff.