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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking to make some changes this offseason, and they’ve been bringing in all types of coordinators for interviews. Outside of trying to fill the offensive coordinator role, they’re also looking for a special teams coach, and they recently brought in Danny Smith for an interview, according to the team.
“We’ve completed a virtual interview with Danny Smith for our open special teams coordinator position. Smith has served as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ special teams coordinator for the last 13 seasons,” the Buccaneers wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
If nobody remembers who Smith is, he went viral earlier in the season for chewing a wad of gum against the Indianapolis Colts. It’s uncertain if that helps to calm him down or if he truly enjoys it, but it may just be the person that the Buccaneers need on their team.
An alltime gum game from Danny smith pic.twitter.com/conypjWsWs
— PFT Commenter (@PFTCommenter) November 2, 2025
The Buccaneers also interviewed Michael Clay, who has been the special teams coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles the past five seasons. During the 2023 season, the Eagles ranked in the top 10 in several special team categories, as they were first in special teams DVOA, and had the NFL’s fifth-highest grade by Pro Football Focus.
It’s obvious that the Buccaneers are trying to find some new energy on special teams, as they moved on from Thomas McGaughey after just two seasons with the team.
The offense was also an issue for the Buccaneers this season after losing Liam Coen to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and they had to move on from Josh Grizzard after one season. Mike Kafka was one of the people they interviewed during the week, and they plan on interviewing Zac Robinson and Mike McDaniel for the position.
Head coach Todd Bowles vowed that there would be changes after the season, and he’s trying to make it happen with all these interviews.
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