Buccaneers' Todd Bowles Stays In-House With New Defensive Coaching Hires

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have done plenty of hiring work so far this offseason. They brought in OC Zac Robinson from the Atlanta Falcons, who then brought on Indiana's Chandler Whitmer to be quarterbacks coach. They also made a special teams hire, bringing on lauded Pittsburgh Steelers special teams coach Danny Smith to Tampa Bay in the same role.

Head coach Todd Bowles did still have some significant coaching spots left on the defense, however. Safeties coach Nick Rapone retired this offseason and defensive backs coach Kevin Ross was let go, so it has been up to him to fill those two positions on the side of the ball he controls. And according to PewterReport, he has decided to hire within the building for both of those open positions.

Per PewterReport's Scott Reynolds, assistant defensive backs coaches Tim Atkins and Rashad Johnson will be taking over as safeties coach and defensive backs coach, respectively.

BREAKING: Pewter Report is reporting that the Bucs will promote asst. DBs coaches Rashad Johnson & Tim Atkins to replace Kevin Ross & Nick Rapone. Johnson has coached nickelbacks and takes over the CBs. Atkins has helped Rapone & takes over the safeties room.…
— PewterReport 🏴‍☠️ (@PewterReport) February 6, 2026

Buccaneers hiring internally for safeties, defensive backs coaches

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles looks on before the game against the Atlanta Falcons | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Atkins has been with the Buccaneers for quite a long time, serving on the team's defensive staff for seven years. He spent the first three of those years as a defensive quality control coach and has been an assistant defensive back coach for the last four years. Johnson played in the NFL from 2009-16 for the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans, and he joined the Bucs' coaching staff in 2022 as a defensive assistant before also serving as an assistant defensive backs coach.

The move is an interesting one. Bowles has faced questions for poor defensive play over the last few seasons, with passing defense foremost among the woes. Despite that, it seems as if he is content hiring in-house, preferring to hire internally with those familiar to his system and coaching style as opposed to seeking fresh viewpoints from outside the organization. That familiarity could be helpful in 2026, though, so the hires do make sense from that perspective.

With these hires, Tampa Bay's vacancies — aside from Tom Moore's offensive consultant role — have been filled. Now, they can turn their attention to the more important parts of the offseason like the NFL Draft and free agency.

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