The Buccaneers announced several changes to their coaching staff last week (via team writer Scott Smith), which features the addition of three new assistant coaches.
The first is defensive assistant Todd Bowles Jr., son of Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles. Bowles Jr. just finish his college playing career, during which he played defensive back at Rutgers and Long Island. He will likely work with Tampa Bay’s secondary in 2026.
Also joining the Bowles’ staff is assistant special teams coach Luke Smith, the nephew of the Bucs’ new special teams coordinator, Danny Smith. The two worked together in Pittsburgh last season, where the younger Smith was a quality control coach. Before that, he spent nine years at Duquesne, primarily as the Dukes’ wide receivers coach.
Bowles Jr. and Smith getting a job via their family seems like another case of football nepotism, and it probably is. But that may not always be a bad thing. Just look at some of today’s head coaches, like Kyle Shanahan, Jesse Minter, Klint Kubiak, who all spent time working under their fathers before growing into the foremost offensive minds in the league. The league is littered with assistant coaches with familiar names, though not all of them are successes.
Assistant offensive line coach Andrew Mitchell is the Bucs’ last new hire. Previously the offensive line coach at New Mexico State (2022-2024) and Oklahoma State (2025), Mitchell is now set for his first job in the NFL. He will reunite with the Bucs’ new offensive coordinator, Zac Robinson, almost two decades after they played on the same team at Oklahoma State. Mitchell, a former offensive tackle, blocked for Robinson, who was then the Cowboys’ starting quarterback.
These may not be the last coaching moves the Buccaneers make this offseason, but their 2026 staff is largely set. Tampa Bay will be hoping that better injury luck and a new offensive play-caller can get them back on top of the NFC South.