HEADLINES

Jeff Tedford

NFC South Notes: Bucs, Trestman, Draft

January 1st, 2015 at 10:32am CST by Rob DiRe

The Buccaneers had a disastrous 2014, but with the New Year hope they will be able to turn things around quickly. Among their top priorities are landing an improvement at quarterback and finding an offensive coordinator to replace Jeff Tedford, who missed the season after having a heart procedure in August, according to the Associated Press in USA Today.

  • Buccaneers current quarterback Josh McCown has pushed for the team to hire Marc Trestman as the offensive coordinator, reports Conor Orr of NFL.com. He mentioned his affinity for Trestman to the media, according to Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. “I think Marc is an outstanding coach and an outstanding person and he has a great sense of offensive football, especially quarterback play,” said McCown. “I just know that, for me personally, I played my best football in my career under him. So obviously I have good things to say. But I’ve been around a bunch of different guys over the course of my career, and he was probably the most detailed with game plans and things like that. I really felt like he was on top of it.’’
  • Today the Oregon Ducks will play the Florida State Seminoles in the Rose Bowl, and the Buccaneers will be watching that game closely according to Martin Fennelly of the Tampa Tribune. The Buccaneers top need is quarterback, and they are expected to draft one with the first pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Their options will likely be either Oregon’s Marcus Mariota and Florida State’s Jameis Winston, the past two Heisman Trophy winners. General manager Jason Licht will be in attendance for the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and will probably be watching his team’s franchise quarterback one way or the other.
  • The Falcons also have had a close eye on bowl games since missing the playoffs, with general manager Thomas Dimitroff and assistant general manager Scott Pioli in attendance for the Peach Bowl between TCU and Ole Miss on New Year’s Eve, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
  • The Saints have 11 players set to become unrestricted free agents this offseason, according to Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com. Woodbery writes that none of the 11 will have huge markets for themselves, except maybe Mark Ingram if another NFL team is in desperate need of a starting running back.

Bucs Part Ways With OC Jeff Tedford

December 5th, 2014 at 1:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The Buccaneers have officially released offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford from his contract, allowing him to pursue other opportunities, the team announced today in a press release. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com first reported (via Twitter) that the team would be parting ways with its offensive coordinator. Tedford had been absent from the team for the majority of the 2014 season due to health issues.

“Throughout these difficult circumstances, our primary concern was for Jeff’s health and well-being,” said head coach Lovie Smith in a statement. “After speaking with Jeff in recent days, it became obvious that a mutual decision to release him from his contract was the best way forward. We wish Jeff continued success in the next phase of his career.”

Tedford, a longtime coach at Cal, is expected to explore job opportunities in the college ranks, either as a head coach or an offensive coordinator, according to Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune and Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (Twitter links). As for the Bucs, quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo will likely continue to call plays for the rest of the 2014 season, with the team then hiring a new offensive coordinator for 2015.