NFL: Tampa Bay Announces Additions to Coaching Staff
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced the additions of George Edwards as outside linebackers coach, Brad Idzik as wide receivers coach and Skip Peete as running backs coach. In addition, Jeff Kastl has rejoined the coaching staff as offensive quality control coach and Thaddeus Lewis has been promoted to quarterbacks coach.
Edwards joins the Buccaneers for his 26th season of coaching at the NFL level and 34th season of coaching overall. He comes to Tampa Bay after spending three seasons with the Dallas Cowboys (2020-22) as the club’s Senior Defensive Assistant, helping guide a defensive unit that ranked second in interceptions (52), fourth in opponent completion percentage (61.9), sixth in opponent passer rating (86.5) and eighth in sacks (126) over that span. Prior to joining the Cowboys, Edwards served as defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings (2014-19), linebackers coach for the Miami Dolphins (2005-09, 2012-13), defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills (2010-11), linebackers coach for the Cleveland Browns (2004), assistant defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for Washington (2002-03), and linebackers coach for the Cowboys (1998-2001). Edwards has also held assistant positions at the collegiate level, including at the University of Georgia (1997), Duke University (1996), Appalachian State University (1992-95) and the University of Florida (1990-91).
Idzik joins the Buccaneers after spending the last four seasons as a member of the Seattle Seahawks coaching staff, serving as assistant wide receivers coach (2019-20, 2022) and offensive quality control/assistant quarterbacks coach (2021). During Idzik’s time in Seattle, the Seahawks ranked first in completion percentage (67.6), third in touchdown-to-interception ratio (3.45) and passer rating (103.3), fourth in yards per pass attempt (7.7), fifth in passing touchdowns (131), seventh in yards per play (5.75) and ninth in points per game (25.2) Prior to joining the Seahawks, Idzik spent five seasons as a graduate assistant at Stanford University (2014-18).
Idzik is a native of Mercer Island, Washington. He is the son of John Idzik Jr., who spent 11 years with the Buccaneers as the club’s pro personnel assistant (1993-96), director of football administration (1996-2001) and assistant general manager (2001-04).
Kastl enters his second season as offensive quality control coach for the Buccaneers following two seasons as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Indiana State University (2020-21). He previously spent four seasons at the University of Texas-San Antonio where he began his career as the wide receivers coach in 2016, prior to adding pass game coordinator duties in 2018, and later being promoted to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2019. His receivers broke 10 school records during his three seasons mentoring the position group. Kastl spent four seasons coaching in the Power Five conferences, working as an offensive assistant at LSU (2015), defensive analyst at his alma mater (2013-14), and as a graduate assistant at Auburn in 2012. Following a pair of Big Ten titles during his playing career at Michigan (2002-06), Kastl began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Central Michigan (2007) before spending three years at Ashland University (2009-11). He is a native of Clinton Township, Michigan.
Lewis enters his fourth season with the Buccaneers and his third as a position coach. He spent the last two seasons as the club’s assistant wide receivers coach, helping oversee a unit that ranked first in the NFL in receptions (991), second in receiving yards (10,129), third in yards after catch (4,945) and fourth in receiving touchdowns (69) during that time. In the past two
seasons, Tampa Bay has seen wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin each record consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, marking two of the four times in franchise history that multiple players have surpassed the 1,000-yard receiving mark in the same season. In the 2022 campaign, Godwin also recorded a career-high 104 receptions, good for the second-most in a single season in franchise history.
Prior to being named assistant wide receivers coach in 2021, Lewis served as an offensive assistant in 2020 as a representative of the Bill Walsh coaching fellow program. He had previously been an offensive analyst at UCLA (2018-19). Lewis is a native of Opa-Locka, Florida.
Peete joins the Buccaneers for his 25th season of coaching at the NFL level and 35th season of coaching overall.
He comes to Tampa Bay after spending three seasons with the Dallas Cowboys (2020-22) as the team’s running backs coach, leading a rushing attack that ranked fifth in yards after contact per rush (3.31), ninth in rushing touchdowns (53), 10th in rushing yards (6,205), 11th in rushing yards per game (124.1) and contributing to an offense that ranked third in points scored per game (27.8), fourth in yards per game (378.0), fifth in third down conversation rate (43.2) and ninth in yards per play (5.59). In the 2022 campaign, the Cowboys ranked second in the NFL in rushing touchdowns (24) and eighth in rushing yards (2,298) while converting a first down on 63.9% of the team’s third down rushing attempts – good for the fourth-highest rate in the league.
The Cowboys were one of two teams whose running backs did not commit a fumble last season, despite recording the sixth-most carries in the league.
Prior to joining the Cowboys, Peete served as the running backs coach for the Los Angeles Rams (2016-19), Chicago Bears (2013-14), Cowboys (2007-12) and Oakland Raiders (1998-2006). He also held collegiate positions as the running backs coach at UCLA (1996-97), wide receivers coach at Rutgers University (1995), wide receivers coach at Michigan State University (1993-94), running backs coach at the University of Pittsburgh (1991-92) and wide receivers coach at the University of Pittsburgh (1988-90).
