Earlier this offseason, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost Kacy Rodgers, who decided to leave and become the Detroit Lions' defensive line coach. It turns out that wasn't the only time the Lions would dip into Tampa Bay's reserve in order to add to their coaching staff.
Rodgers made a lateral move, which was a little surprising since he had been with the Bucs for so long. He came to Tampa Bay back in 2019 when Todd Bowles first arrived, but his contract expired at the end of the season and it ended up being mutual parting of the ways.
Things were a little less complicated with the other move the Lions made.
Where Rodgers made a lateral move, former Buccaneers quarterback Bruce Gradkowski is joining the Lions' staff as a way to help get his coaching career in the NFL started.
Lions hire Bruce Gradkowski to help kick start his NFL coaching career
In a Oh, That Guy! moment for Bucs fans, it was announced on Thursday that the Lions had hired Bruce Gradkowski to serve as an assistant coach on John Morton's new staff. Gradkowski already has some coaching experience at the high school and college level, but this will mark his return to the NFL for the first time since his playing days ended in 2016.
Detroit Lions are adding former NFL quarterback Bruce Gradkowski to their staff as an offensive assistant coach, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 6, 2025
Gradkowski — who played 11 years in the NFL with the Bucs, Raiders, Bengals, Steelers, and Browns — spent the past two seasons as the Offensive… pic.twitter.com/tmO2FEp4t9
It's hard to believe that Gradkowski's career lasted that long, or that it was so long ago that he was starting for the Buccaneers. He was one of the handful of quarterback projects that Jon Gruden desperately tried to make work during his later years as head coach, but there wasn't much success to be had.
Gradkowski started 11 games for the Bucs during his two seasons in Tampa Bay, winning just three of them. He looked to be a potential wunderkind for about half a minute before he came crashing back down to earth, as an impressive preseason in 2006 was followed up by a decent debut in Week 5 that season against the Saints. He famously replaced Chris Simms after he ruptured his spleen, an injury that effectively ended his time in Tampa Bay and pushed the Bucs down an endless quarterback spiral that didn't really stop until Tom Brady arrived over a decade later.
After his career ended, Gradkowski got his feet wet as a coach at the high school level before getting a job at his alma mater Toledo as an offensive assistant. His last two years have been spent with St. Louis Battlehawks offensive coordinator where he helped coach the team to a first place finish and a trip to the XFL Championship Game.
Now he gets to come back to the NFL and take another bite of the apple. It's easier said than done, but Gradkowski is returning as a coach at the exact right time, as young coaches are getting shots sooner and sooner at bigger jobs. Tampa Bay has helped usher that era in by hiring Dave Canales and Liam Coen, the latter of whom just hired 29-year-old Grant Udinski as his offensive coordinator.
Gradkowski has a lot of work to do before he's an established name, but he's going to a potentially ripe situation in Detroit with one of the best offenses in football. Who knows, perhaps it won't be long before we see him make his return to the sidelines in Tampa Bay.
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