Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Bruce Gradkowski has rejoined the NFL as part of the Detroit Lions coaching staff. Earlier this offseason, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost Kacy Rodgers, who chose to leave and take on the role of defensive line coach for the Detroit Lions.<\/p>\n
This wouldn’t be the only time the Lions would reach into Tampa Bay’s pool to strengthen their coaching team.<\/p>\n
Rodgers’ move was somewhat of a lateral shift, considering his long tenure with the Bucs. He came to Tampa Bay in 2019 when Todd Bowles arrived, but his contract expired at season’s end, and it became a mutual decision to part ways.<\/p>\n
Things were less complicated with the Lions’ second move, though.<\/p>\n
While Rodgers’ move was lateral, former Buccaneers quarterback Bruce Gradkowski is joining the Lions to launch his NFL coaching career.<\/p>\n
In a nostalgic moment for Bucs fans, it was announced Thursday that the Lions had hired Bruce Gradkowski as an assistant coach under John Morton. Gradkowski has some coaching experience at the high school and college levels, but this marks his return to the NFL for the first time since retiring as a player in 2016.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to believe Gradkowski\u2019s career lasted that long or that it was so long ago he was starting for the Buccaneers. He was one of the quarterbacks Jon Gruden desperately tried to develop during his final years as head coach, though success was limited.<\/p>\n
Gradkowski started 11 games for the Bucs across two seasons, winning only three of them. For a brief moment, he seemed like a potential star, especially after a strong preseason in 2006, followed by a solid debut in Week 5 against the Saints.<\/p>\n
He notably replaced Chris Simms after a spleen injury, which ended Simms’ time in Tampa Bay and sparked a quarterback crisis that lasted until Tom Brady joined the team over a decade later.<\/p>\n
Following his playing career, Gradkowski gained coaching experience at the high school level before joining his alma mater Toledo as an offensive assistant.<\/p>\n
The past two years, he worked as the offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Battlehawks, helping the team to a first-place finish and a spot in the XFL Championship Game.<\/p>\n
Now, he\u2019s returning to the NFL to continue his coaching journey. While it\u2019s not easy, Gradkowski is coming back at the right time, as younger coaches are quickly being given opportunities for bigger roles.<\/p>\n
Tampa Bay has been part of that movement, hiring Dave Canales and Liam Coen, who recently added 29-year-old Grant Udinski as his offensive coordinator.<\/p>\n
Gradkowski has a long way to go before becoming a household name, but he\u2019s entering a great opportunity in Detroit with one of the NFL\u2019s top offenses. Who knows? It might not be long before he returns to Tampa Bay\u2019s sidelines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Bruce Gradkowski has rejoined the NFL as part of the Detroit Lions coaching staff. Earlier this offseason, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost Kacy Rodgers, who chose to leave and take on the role of defensive line coach for the Detroit Lions. This wouldn’t be the only time the Lions would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[378],"tags":[2566,2663,2543],"class_list":["post-24683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-detroit-lions","tag-john-morton","tag-jon-gruden","tag-kacy-rodgers"],"yoast_head":"\n