Buccaneers' Kacy Rodgers Named 2020 DL Coach of the Year

Kacy Rodgers has been recognized as the NFL's top defensive line coach for the 2020 season.

Photo: Kacy Rodgers; Credit: Buccaneers.com

After boasting the NFL's best rushing defense for the second season in a row, Tampa Bay's Kacy Rodgers has earned the league's John Teerlinck Defensive Line Coach of the Year, as voted upon by coaches across the league.

"It was a special season and just to be recognized by your peers, it makes that much more special," Rodgers said via Buccaneers.com.

Tampa Bay not only owned a fearsome run defense, but a pass rush that took it to another level down the stretch and served an invaluable part in the Buccaneers' Super Bowl run. While Rodgers group didn't post as many sacks as the Buccaneers linebacker corps, the front three played a pivotal role in occupying double teams and pushing quarterbacks out of the pocket.

Defensive end Ndamukong Suh played a large part in the team's success with six sacks, nine tackle for loss, and 50 quarterback pressures during the regular season. While former first-round pick Vita Vea suffered an early, regular-season-ending ankle injury, Rakeem Nuñez-Roches and Steve McLendon stepped up and the Buccaneers' run defense didn't skip a beat.

With pressure accumulated by Suh, Nuñez-Roches and McLendon, William Gholston, and others, edge rushers Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaquil Barrett and inside linebacker Devin White were able to accumulate a combined 26.5 regular-season sacks. Pierre-Paul and Barrett combined for another six sacks in the postseason.

"I was honored with the award because of [the players] hard work, so it was a kind of just a combination of one heck of a season from us winning the Super Bowl and getting a personal acknowledgment that just really made it special," said Rodgers.

Teerlinck, who passed away in May 2020, spent four seasons as a defensive end for the San Diego Chargers from 1974-77 before beginning his coaching career at Iowa Lakes Community College. He made a leap to the pros as the defensive line coach for the Cleveland Browns in 1989 and spent the remainder of his career coaching the position, spending time with the Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts until 2011. A three-time Super Bowl champion, Teerlinck coached seven players to 100 career sacks and is considered one of the greatest defensive line coaches in history.