The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in the unique situation where they need to fix almost everything about their offense, pretty much everything about their defense and absolutely everything about their special teams.
The quickest fix of those 3 would be finding the right special teams coordinator, which the Buccaneers could have very well found after legendary Pittsburgh Steelers special teams coach Danny Smith came on the market when his boss, head coach Mike Tomlin, resigned this week.
Smith is known in NFL circles for not only being great at his job but for chewing massive amounts of Bazooka bubble gum.
“Would be a home run hire for the Bucs,” Bucs Gameday’s Logan B. Robinson wrote on his official X account. “Would need a lot of gum though.”
Tomlin, 53 years old, resigned after 19 seasons, including the last 13 seasons with Smith, 72 years old. Tomlin never had a single losing season with the Steelers but is reportedly taking a year away from coaching to decide what his next coaching move might be.
“The Pittsburgh Steelers informed all of Mike Tomlin’s coaches that they won’t be retained unless the new head coach rehires them,” Steelers Update wrote on its official X account. “The team is encouraging Tomlin’s coaching staff, including OC Arthur Smith, DC Teryl Austin and STC Danny Smith to pursue other opportunities as they search for a new head coach. All coach contracts will expire at the end of February.”
Bucs Special Teams Hit All-Time Low in 2025
Of all the low points the Buccaneers hit during the 2025 season as they went 8-9 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019, special teams stood out. Head coach Todd Bowles fired special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey after 2 seasons as part of a massive staff purge.
” … On special teams, the Bucs sought to potentially make a move in-season with McGaughey in Year 2, but the team stuck with him, believing it did not have a replacement on the roster,” ESPN’s Jenna Laine wrote. “So, late in the season, with the division on the line, Bowles said they opted to kick touchbacks and automatically have their opponents start at the 35-yard line because their coverage units performed so poorly.”
Smith’s Experience Could Be Invaluable in Tampa
For a relatively under the fold headline of hiring a special teams coordinator, getting Smith would be a massive step to the Buccaneers winning back their fans.
The Buccaneers haven’t scored a touchdown on a kickoff return since Micheal Spurlock in 2010 and haven’t scored a touchdown on a punt return since Spurlock in 2009.
In an odd moment, the Buccaneers scored a touchdown on a blocked punt in Week 17 of the 2024 season against the Carolina Panthers, but CBS was filming a duck on the field at Raymond James Stadium when it happened.
From Buccaneers.com: “Smith has been a special teams coordinator in the NFL for each of the past 25 seasons, beginning with the Buffalo Bills from 2001-03. He then handled the same job for the Washington Redskins from 2004-12 before joining Tomlin’s staff in 2013. Overall, Smith has 50 years of coaching experience, beginning with a year as a graduate assistant in 1976 at Edinboro State, where he had played quarterback and defensive back.”
Buccaneers Interview AFC Coordinator Called ‘Home Run Hire’