Report: Tampa Bay Buccaneers hire away longtime Miami Dolphins member

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have allegedly hired former Miami Dolphins wide receivers coach and quality control coach Josh Grizzard to be their pass game coordinator.

Grizzard served as a Dolphins quality control coach during the 2023 regular season. He played a part in the team finishing the regular season with an impressive 11-6 record, which was tied with the Buffalo Bills for the AFC East division’s best record.

The 33-year-old also helped the Dolphins have one of the best offensive attacks in the NFL this season. Miami led the NFL in yards per game with 401.3. The San Francisco 49ers averaged the second-most yards per game of any team in the pros at 398.4.

Before his second stint as Miami’s quality control coach, he served as the team’s wide receivers coach during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Under Grizzard’s leadership in the 2021 regular season, Jaylen Waddle enjoyed one of the better seasons of any rookie wide receiver in the history of the NFL.

He totaled a whopping 104 receptions in 16 games played during the regular season, which was the most receptions by a rookie in league history before Puka Nacua beat the record with 105 receptions last season. Plus, Waddle racked up 1,015 receiving yards, six receiving touchdowns and 59 first downs receiving while averaging 63.4 receiving yards per game.

Prior to joining the NFL coaching ranks, Grizzard worked as a graduate assistant/quality control coach with the Duke University football team for four seasons. The Blue Devils experienced their best three-year stretch in the school’s history from 2013 to 2015 with Grizzard on the coaching staff, as the team accumulated 27 wins, three bowl appearances and a single ACC Coastal division title during that span.

Grizzard will join a Buccaneers team that is fresh off a season in which it won the NFC South and beat the Philadelphia Eagles in a playoff game. Tampa Bay ended the 2023 regular season with a 9-8 record.

The former Dolphins coach surely made a positive impact during his time in Miami. Hopefully for Tampa Bay, he will help lead the Buccaneers to a successful 2024 regular season.