Bucs interview Lions’ Scottie Montgomery for offensive coordinator job

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles wants to improve the league’s worst rushing attack, and it has led him to interviewing the man who coached one of the NFL’s best running backs.

On Monday, the Bucs interviewed Lions assistant head coach/running backs coach Scottie Montgomery for their offensive coordinator position. Montgomery, 44, only recently landed his current position with Detroit, hired earlier this month.

But prior to that, he spent two seasons coaching Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, who rushed for 1,811 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2021. That earned Taylor Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors. The Colts were second in the NFL in both rushing yards per game and per carry in 2021. Injuries limited Taylor to only 11 games this past season, and he finished with 861 yards and four touchdowns.

The Bucs have struggled finding the right replacement for offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, who was fired Jan. 19. Montgomery visited the AdventHealth Training Center on Monday.

Rams assistant head coach/tight ends coach Thomas Brown is scheduled to have a second interview with the team on Wednesday and will meet for a second time with Carolina on Thursday.

The Bucs also have interviewed Broncos passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Klint Kubiak, Jaguars quarterbacks coach Jim Bob Cooter, Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Bengals quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher, Giants quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney, Saints passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Ronald Curry and Vikings receivers coach Keenan McCardell. The team also was meeting with Seahawks quarterbacks coach Dave Canales, who is a candidate for the Panthers’ offensive coordinator position, on Tuesday.

Pitcher was a strong candidate for the Bucs’ job but decided to remain in his current position with the Bengals after a second interview in Tampa Bay.

In college, Montgomery was a receiver at Duke and had 171 receptions and 2,379 career yards, second and third, respectively, all-time at the school. He began his coaching career with the Blue Devils as a receivers coach for four seasons (2006-09) and held the same position for the Steelers for three years on Mike Tomlin’s staff.

Montgomery returned to the college ranks, coaching for a decade at Duke, East Carolina and Maryland before returning to the NFL with the Colts in 2021.

The Bucs were last in the NFL in rushing yards (1,308) and rushing average (3.4) last season, something Bowles desperately would like to improve in 2023.

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