Bucs add veteran assistant George Edwards, who interviewed for head coaching job in 2019
The Bucs continued the refurbishment of their coaching staff Tuesday with the hiring of veteran NFL defensive assistant George Edwards as outside linebackers coach.
Additionally, NFL Network’s Jane Slater reported Cowboys running backs coach Skip Peete — brother of former NFL quarterback Rodney Peete — will join Tampa Bay in the same capacity.
Meantime, Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, who worked alongside new Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales in Seattle the last three seasons, said Tuesday via Twitter that Bucs assistant receivers coach Thad Lewis has been promoted to quarterbacks coach.
The team wouldn’t confirm Lewis’ move late Tuesday afternoon. A 35-year-old former Duke quarterback whose vagabond NFL career included stints with nine NFL teams, Lewis joined Tampa Bay’s staff as an intern in 2020.
Edwards, 56, replaces 69-year-old Bob Sanders, among three assistants who retired following the 2022 season. He interviewed for the Bucs’ head coaching vacancy in 2019 before the team settled on Bruce Arians.
A Steve Spurrier assistant on the University of Florida’s first SEC title team in 1991, Edwards has worked with six previous NFL teams and spent the last three seasons as a Cowboys senior defensive assistant.
Prior to that, he was a co-defensive coordinator for the Vikings from 2014-19, helping preside over a unit that consistently ranked among the NFL’s best in scoring defense. Minnesota ranked 11th in the NFL (21.4 points per game) in 2014, fifth (18.9 ppg) in 2015, sixth (19.2 ppg) in 2016 and first (15.8 ppg) in 2017.
Peete, 60, has served as running backs coach for four different NFL teams, including two stints with the Cowboys (2007-12 and 2020-22). Dallas has finished in the top 10 in rushing offense each of the last two seasons.
He replaces Todd McNair, among a handful of Bucs assistants fired in the wake of the 2022 season, when Tampa Bay finished 8-9 and fell to the Cowboys, 31-14, in the NFC wild-card round.
Contact Joey Knight at jknight@tampabay.com. Follow @TBTimes_Bulls.
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