The Buccaneers announced another interview with a candidate for their special teams coordinator vacancy.
The team met with Craig Aukerman on Wednesday. They previously interviewed Lions assistant special teams coach Jett Modkins.
Aukerman was the Dolphins’ special teams coordinator in 2025 and Mike McDaniel’s dismissal makes him unlikely to return whether he lands a job in Tampa or not. Aukerman was previously the Titans’ special teams coordinator, but was dismissed during the 2023 season after a loss that saw Tennessee get a pair of punts blocked.
The Buccaneers are also looking for a new offensive coordinator as head coach Todd Bowles opted to shake up his staff in the wake of missing the playoffs.
The Buccaneers have interviewed another offensive coordinator candidate.
The team announced that they completed an interview with Mike Kafka on Tuesday. Kafka went 2-5 as the Giants’ interim head coach after Brian Daboll was fired 10 games into the 2025 season.
Kafka opened the season as the Giants’ offensive coordinator and he spent the previous three seasons in the same role. He called plays for portions of that tenure, including his time as the interim head coach.
Kafka was also the Chiefs’ quarterbacks coach from 2018-2021 and he played in four games for the Eagles during the 2011 season.
The Bucs have also interviewed former Titans head coach Brian Callahan, Lions passing game coordinator David Shaw, Cardinals quarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork, and Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson. They are also expected to meet with Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken about the job.
Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken met with the Browns about their head coaching vacancy, but that’s not the only possible landing spot for him in 2026.
Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Monken is set to meet with Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles about the team’s offensive coordinator opening on Wednesday. The Bucs dismissed Josh Grizzard last week and are looking for their fifth offensive coordinator in the last five years.
Monken is no stranger to the Bucs. He was on Dirk Koetter’s staff as the team’s offensive coordinator from 2016-2018. He’s also no stranger to Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield as he was the Browns’ offensive coordinator in 2019.
Monken has been the Ravens’ coordinator for the last three seasons. He said last week that he feels he didn’t coach Lamar Jackson well enough during that run and we’ll see if he gets a chance to do more with Mayfield in 2026.
Former NFL receiver Antonio Brown has secured a minor victory in the pending attempted murder case against him.
Via NBCMiami.com, Brown has secured permission to travel to Tampa for professional reasons. He is otherwise confined to house arrest in Miami.
Prosecutors opposed the motion, calling Brown a flight risk. After the initial warrant for his arrest was issued last year, Brown left the country for Dubai. He was eventually apprehended there and returned to the United States.
The case arises from a shooting at a May 2025 celebrity boxing event. Brown admits he fired multiple shots, but he contends he was acting with the confines of Florida’s “stand your ground” law. He will seek dismissal of the charge on that basis.
For now, Brown will be permitted to leave Miami for Tampa. Per the paperwork filed in support of the request, Brown has “several scheduled business engagements with Energetic Exotic, Florida’s premier exotic and luxury car rental company” (product placement!) and “multiple prearranged music studio sessions.”
He’ll shed a GPS monitor for his trip to Tampa. It will be installed again after he returns to Miami.
Brown spent 12 seasons in the NFL, playing for the Steelers, Raiders, Patriots, and Buccaneers. His final season was 2021.
The Buccaneers interviewed a pair of offensive coordinator candidates on Saturday and they also worked on filling their special teams coordinator role.
The team announced that they completed an interview with Lions assistant special teams coach Jett Modkins. The interview was conducted virtually.
Modkins has worked with Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp since the 2021 season. The Lions rank fifth in kickoff return average and fourth in punt return average over that period. They also have three punt return touchdowns over the last five years.
The Bucs fired special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey earlier this week as part of a number of changes to head coach Todd Bowles’ staff.
