Bucs’ Calijah Kancey, Yaya Diaby primed for big things in 2024

After fantastic rookie seasons, these two Tampa Bay Buccaneers defenders are set to take things to another level next year

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers landed a pair of instant-impact players for their defense in the 2023 NFL draft, as defensive lineman Calijah Kancey and outside linebacker Yaya Diaby both made an immediate splash last season.

Kancey, a first-round pick out of Pitt, overcame a calf injury that slowed the start of his rookie campaign, finishing on a dominant tear to finish his first year in the NFL.

A third-rounder out of Louisville, Diaby racked up 7.5 sacks as a rookie, proving to be one of the biggest steals of the entire draft.

Earlier this week at the NFL’s league meetings in Orlando, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles talked about why he’s expecting even bigger things from both players moving forward:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LOvUnIMjICw

When combined with other high-caliber defenders like All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and future Hall of Fame linebacker Lavonte David, Kancey and Diaby should help take the Tampa Bay defense to another level in 2024.

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WATCH: Bucs HC Todd Bowles talks Baker Mayfield, free agency and more

Hear what Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles had to say this week from the NFL’s league meetings

The NFL’s annual league meetings took place this week in Orlando, and as usual, every team’s decision-makers spent time speaking with the media on a wide range of topics.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles was no exception, as he fielded questions earlier this week on the return of quarterback Baker Mayfield, the rest of the Bucs’ moves in free agency, and much more.

Watch the video above to see everything Bowles had to say.

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How Devin White’s departure impacts Lavonte David, Bucs defense

One inside linebacker is back for the Bucs, but how will the loss of another one impact their defense in 2024?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will welcome back one of their starting inside linebackers for the 2024 season after re-signing Lavonte David to another one-year deal, but his longtime running mate won’t be there this time around.

Devin White signed a one-year deal of his own with the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency after five seasons with the Bucs.

The No. 5 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft, White had flashes of brilliance during his tenure in Tampa Bay, but struggled with injuries and inconsistency last season, eventually being replaced in the starting lineup by K.J. Britt.

So, how does White’s departure impact David and the Tampa Bay defense moving forward?

“We haven’t gotten into any X’s and O’s or whatever, but knowing Coach (Todd) Bowles, nothing is going to change – you plug and play, man, you plug and play [laughs],” David said Friday about any potential changes to his role within the scheme. “It’s the next guy up, the next-guy-up mentality. You do the job right and you’re going to be in there.”

(AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) ORG XMIT: FLCO105

White made some of his best plays when blitzing the quarterback, and while David admits he’d love to do more of that himself, he trusts Bowles to put him in the right position to succeed.

“I would love that but it’s [not] up to me,” David said. “Whatever we do right, we stick with it. That’s one thing I do respect about Coach Bowles and that I really like – he finds what is working for guys to make things comfortable for guys, and whatever is working and makes you comfortable, he’s going to do it. Since the first day, he has said he has an open-door policy and if you have a problem with it or whatever it may be, you come and talk to him. It’s been like that ever since. That’s why he’s a respected guy across the locker room – a lot of guys love to play for him.”

As far as his personal relationship with White, David made it clear that nothing about their close bond will change.

“Just dealing with everything all year, I speak to him day-to-day,” David said. “I spoke to him through the whole process and was trying to give him encouragement and keep his head up high. When you get another opportunity, take advantage of it. I told him our relationship would never end. The bond we built when we were here together – playing with a guy like that kind of made my job easier, as well. He’s definitely going to be missed, but Devin, beyond football, he’s like my little brother. I tell you this all the time. He’s aggravating me, still sending me videos of horses, I don’t know why. I’m wishing him the best and I hope he gets what he’s due.”

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Bucs HC Todd Bowles, former OC Dave Canales receive 2023 award votes

They didn’t come close to winning, but both Bowles and Canales received votes (however few) for Coach of the Year and Assistant Coach of the Year, respectively.

They didn’t come remotely close to winning, but two Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches received votes for two year-end awards for the 2023 NFL season.

Both head coach Todd Bowles and former Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales both were among the coaches receiving votes for Coach of the Year and Assistant of the Year for the Associated Press. On the player side, quarterback Baker Mayfield and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. were up for Comeback Player of the Year and Walter Payton Man of the Year, respectfully, but neither won those awards.

Bowles received one third-place vote for Coach of the Year in the system’s ranked-choice voting, earning him just one point and leaving him in a three-way tie for 10th. Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel and Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott were the other two coaches with just one point.

Former Bucs OC and now current Carolina Panthers HC Dave Canales also finished 10th for Assistant Coach of the Year, netting two points with two third-place votes. He finished one vote ahead of San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks and one point below Minnesota Vikings DC Brian Flores.

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Bucs special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong retires

Tampa Bay’s staff changes continue as its special teams coach since 2019 calls it a career.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have seen a number of staff changes this offseason due to Dave Canales’ presence in Carolina, but they experienced another one on Wednesday that has nothing to do with that.

Bucs special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong, who has been with the team since 2019, is retiring, per NFL reporter Tom Pelissero. The spot is yet another to fill in a staff that has seen some considerable change since the team lost to Detroit in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs.

Armstrong has been a football coach for some time, beginning his career in 1987 as a graduate assistant at Temple. Armstrong played with Todd Bowles at Temple under head coach Bruce Arians, so the two go way back on multiple fronts. Armstrong has been a special teams coach for almost 30 years, coaching four different teams since 1994.

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Bucs complete OC interview with Detroit Lions’ Antwaan Randle El

Randle El is no stranger to Tampa Bay, as he was an offensive assistant under Bruce Arians when the Bucs won the Super Bowl in 2020.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have completed another interview for their offensive coordinator position, and the candidate in question has some notable Tampa Bay ties.

The Bucs announced Monday that they interviewed Detroit Lions wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El for their offensive coordinator position. While the team announced it on Monday, they revealed that they conducted the interview over Zoom on Friday before Randle El coached in Detroit’s 34-31 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Randle El is no stranger to the Bucs and even has some Super Bowl pedigree with the team. He joined Bruce Arians’ Bucs staff in 2019 as an offensive assistant and won a Super Bowl with the Bucs in 2020. He joined the Lions in 2021 and has been there since as a wide receivers coach.

Randle El, much like Dave Canales the year prior, has not called plays. Under his coaching in 2023, the Lions wideouts have netted 30 TDs, 4,401 yards on 408 receptions.

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Bucs complete OC interview with Alex Van Pelt

The interview with the former Cleveland Browns OC is the first the Bucs have officially completed.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have their first in-person offensive coordinator interview.

The Bucs announced Monday that they completed an interview with former Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt. Van Pelt flew to Tampa Monday to complete the interview, the first official in-person one of Tampa Bay’s hiring cycle thus far after the departure of Dave Canales to the Carolina Panthers — the Bucs interviewed Antwaan Randle El on Friday, but that was done virtually.

Van Pelt has some experience with Bucs QB Baker Mayfield, as he worked with Mayfield in Cleveland from 2020 to the beginning of 2022. It should be noted that Van Pelt did not call plays in Cleveland, with that duty going to head coach Kevin Stefanski.

Van Pelt, along with other members of Cleveland’s offensive staff, was fired after the Browns got blown out by the Houston Texans in the Wild Card Round. In 2023, his offense came in at 12th in points per game, 16th in yards per game, 29th in third down conversion rate and 13th in red zone conversion rate.

Van Pelt is also set to interview with the Las Vegas Raiders for their offensive coordinator opening.

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Bucs part ways with defensive assistant Mike Chiurco

Chiurco had served as assistant head coach under Bruce Arians and was most recently a defensive assistant in 2023.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive staff has been at risk to be taken by new Panthers head coach Dave Canales, but a member of the defensive staff departed the team on Monday.

FOX Sports’ Greg Auman reported Monday that the Bucs parted ways with defensive assistant Mike Chiurco. Chiurco was hired by Bruce Arians in 2019 to serve as assistant to the head coach, and he most recently was a “defensive assistant” before leaving the team in the offseason.

The move comes as Tampa Bay is looking for help on the offensive side of the ball with Canales leaving to become the head coach of the Carolina Panthers. It’s unknown why the team decided to part ways with Chiurco, who had served on Tampa Bay’s staff for five years. Chiurco’s page on Tampa Bay’s website has been taken down entirely.

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Bucs Report Card: How we graded Tampa Bay’s 2023 season

Our final Bucs Report Card of 2023 looks over the entire campaign for Tampa Bay. See how we graded the team below:

It was quite a successful season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — that much is hard to argue. But was that who this team really was, or did they overachieve en route to a divisional playoff appearance?

Those are questions that many will try to answer this offseason, and of course, those answers will be opinions. Naturally, we thought we would try our hand at it — we’ve done a Bucs Report Card for almost every game in the 2023 season, and now it’s time for our season-end review.

We took a look at the offense, defense, special teams and coaching in Tampa Bay and assigned them a grade each. Check out how we graded out the Bucs for their 2023 campaign below:

Good Morning Football sounds off on Todd Bowles’ unused timeout

Todd Bowles’ last timeout in the second half has been a big point of controversy in the NFL world, and the GMFB crew gave their takes on the matter.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ season may be over, but one incident in their Divisional Round matchup against the Detroit Lions might not be going away any time soon.

Bucs head coach [autotag]Todd Bowles[/autotag] was criticized on Sunday after he held a timeout at the end of the game when the Detroit Lions were kneeling down far too early. Had he used that timeout, the clock would have stopped with about 36 seconds left, and the Lions could have been forced to kick a field goal or punt on fourth down. Bowles has defended his decision in the media, most recently telling reporters on Monday that he thought there was no point — while some have speculated that there was a gentleman’s agreement between him and Dan Campbell, Bowles asserted there was no such thing.

“It’s not a gentleman’s agreement. They were in field goal range. We’d have had 12 seconds, calculated, after using that timeout to come back from it,” Bowles told reporters. “Then we’d have been down 11 points, so it’s kind of pointless. You kind of know when the game is over. The game was over.”

The crew at Good Morning Football discussed this event during the “We In Or We Out” segment, where the panelists give their support or derision for the topic. All four were “out” on Bowles’ decision, and it came with some harsh words from the panelists.

“I don’t even want to hear the word ‘probability’,” GMFB panelist Kyle Brandt said. “You’re like, ‘yeah, but then they have to make the two [point conversion]. So maybe they make the two [point conversion] — we’ll never know. It’s the playoffs.”

You can take a look at the five-minute segment above.

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