NFL Hall of Famer Thinks Buccaneers and Rueben Bain Are Perfect Fit

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers landed what could be a steal in the NFL Draft at the No. 15 pick, selecting Miami Hurricanes edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. Bain was widely considered one of the two best edge rushers in the draft and a top 10 pick, so the Buccaneers and general manager Jason Licht were thrilled to put his card in when he slipped into their hands.

Bain brings bona fide production against some of college football's best teams, putting up 9.5 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss for the Hurricanes last year alone. Part of that is his natural talent, using excellent power and finesse to shed blockers and disrupt plays, but a big part of that is also the man who coached him at Miami — Hall of Fame edge rusher Jason Taylor.

Taylor has been Miami's defensive ends coach since 2023, and in that time, he helped mold Bain into a monster. He had heaps of praise before the draft, and now that Bain has been selected by the Buccaneers, Bain said he had more to say about his fit in Tampa Bay — and Buccaneers fans will love to hear it.

Hall of Famer Jason Taylor thinks Bucs and Rueben Bain are a perfect fit

Miami Hurricanes defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. is selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the number 15 pick | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Bain revealed after his introductory press conference that Taylor had told him that the Buccaneers and Todd Bowles will be a perfect fit for him.

"He told me it was the perfect place to be," Bain said. "The kind of player I am, the kind of coach that Coach Bowles is — just speaking from experience. It's not like he's talking out of his ass or anything. Coach [Jason Taylor], I feel like he prepared me these last two years to go anywhere I wanted to go, but to go somewhere he's familiar with? It makes me more comfortable."

Taylor played for Bowles for two years when Bowles was in Miami with the Dolphins from 2008-11. In 2011, Bowles was the interim head coach for the Dolphins during the last year of Taylor's career, so Taylor knows very well what it's like to play under Bowles in the NFL. That experience, as Bain eluded to, certainly makes that endorsement hold a lot more weight.

"Patience," Bain said. "I used to tense up a little bit if I felt like games weren't going my way. He instilled the mindset in me. [Let] things just come to me, let the game just flow. My instincts just took over."

The love between the two is certainly mutual. Taylor has repeatedly spoken on how impressive Bain is, and that's from the perspective of a three-time First Team All-Pro and former DPOY.

Taylor had a lot of praise for Bain and Bain's running mate at Miami, Los Angeles Chargers edge rusher Akheem Mesidor, prior to the draft. He spoke on their work ethic and noted that Bain and Mesidor "fell in love" with the process of improving.

“The way they work, their love for football and the love to be successful, they fell in love with the process of being great,” Taylor said, per Local 10. “Everybody wants to be great. Everyone says they want to be great, not everyone falls in love with that process. Everyone wants to go to heaven, but not everyone wants to die.”

Bain brings a ferocity and discipline to his game that the Buccaneers could certainly use. And if Taylor is right, Sundays are about to get a lot more fun in Tampa Bay.

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