Speaker 1: Welcome into Bucks Insider, presented by Verizon. Casey Phillips here
Speaker 1: with senior writer and editor Scott Smith, and we are
Speaker 1: getting into our off season versions of these shows. But man,
Speaker 1: we have plenty to talk about. Just because the season's
Speaker 1: over did not mean we were hurting for content here. Yeah,
Speaker 1: on this edition of Insider, I had some developments, some developments,
Speaker 1: that is a way of putting it. We will start
Speaker 1: with a very sad one for us. Happy for him,
Speaker 1: coach Canalis leaving to go to the Panthers. Incredible opportunity
Speaker 1: for him, which is wonderful, But I know all of
Speaker 1: us here are very sad to see him go. Great coach,
Speaker 1: even better guy to work around and be around, in
Speaker 1: a great family, and just very excited for them. But
Speaker 1: all of us here very sad.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's bittersweet for us obviously because I think he
Speaker 2: said but it's twofold.
Speaker 1: No.
Speaker 2: I think he did a great job and heading remained
Speaker 2: in that post as our offensive coordinator. I think it
Speaker 2: would have just got better and better. Very talented guy, obviously,
Speaker 2: but also a guy that grew to like very very
Speaker 2: much in just one season. So it's sorry to see
Speaker 2: him go. But when you are find of a person,
Speaker 2: you want to see them live their dreams. You know,
Speaker 2: I note was his dream. He said he'd prepared for it,
Speaker 2: and obviously prepared well because the Panthers interviewed a lot
Speaker 2: of people, and I don't think two months ago Dave's
Speaker 2: name was being mentioned in the same level as like
Speaker 2: Ben McDonald or somebody like that, and so for him
Speaker 2: to be the one that went in and got the
Speaker 2: job suggests that he really interviewed very well, which is
Speaker 2: as knowing him, we're not say.
Speaker 1: Anybody's watched any of his Prescofference says, we can understand
Speaker 1: a little bit of what it probably was like.
Speaker 2: So good for him. It's hard to say we wish
Speaker 2: him the best since it's the Panthers beat the Saints.
Speaker 2: Can you do that for us? Beat the Saints?
Speaker 1: There we go, that's what we can ask for. And
Speaker 1: then not only is he leaving, but typically the way
Speaker 1: this goes is as either coordinators get hired or head
Speaker 1: coaches get hired, they tend to, you know, they start
Speaker 1: working on their staff and it tends to be a
Speaker 1: lot of people they have worked with in the past,
Speaker 1: and that's how that works. And so it looks like
Speaker 1: a few other Buck staff members are leaving to go
Speaker 1: join coach Canalisis, which.
Speaker 2: Worked out for all of them because some of these
Speaker 2: guys there were on expiring contracts, so they could have
Speaker 2: stayed here but had new deals, but there was nothing
Speaker 2: blocking them from following, and I think the Buccaneers wished
Speaker 2: them well. Harold Goodwin following him, Joe Gilbert, those two
Speaker 2: have been officially announced by the Panthers. It's only reported
Speaker 2: so far that brad Izac will be Dave's OC, but
Speaker 2: given how close we know those two are, that seems
Speaker 2: very very believable. So the Buccaneers have some vacancies on
Speaker 2: their staff that they need to fill out.
Speaker 1: Yeah, especially the Harold Goodwin and Joe Gilbert ones. They
Speaker 1: were the big, a huge part of the running game.
Speaker 1: That It's not Skip Pete who was the running back coach,
Speaker 1: but it was Harold Goodwin was your run game coordinator?
Speaker 1: Joe Gilbert, where's your offensive line coach? And we saw
Speaker 1: how much progress the run game had been making this year.
Speaker 1: And so I think that's going to be a really
Speaker 1: interesting thing to track this offseason of who replaces them
Speaker 1: and how they're able to try to keep that momentum
Speaker 1: that had been built.
Speaker 2: It's an interesting dynamic though, because and I'm not saying
Speaker 2: in any way that there was any problems in the
Speaker 2: relationship between Todd Bowles and those coaches, but he didn't
Speaker 2: choose those coaches. Those were Bruce Aaron coaches. He inherited
Speaker 2: most of this coaching staff. So it to be interesting
Speaker 2: to see what sort of connections out there, because Todd's
Speaker 2: been in the game for a long time, he had
Speaker 2: some connections who's out there who he would pick to
Speaker 2: put in those positions.
Speaker 1: And so of course now the attention for the box
Speaker 1: turns to replacing first coach Canalis, obviously, because then now
Speaker 1: we'll determine a lot of these other positions as well.
Speaker 1: So what do we know about who the team has
Speaker 1: talked to and who some of the candidates are that
Speaker 1: are out there.
Speaker 2: Well, I didn't wait very long because coach Canals was
Speaker 2: hired by the Panthers last Thursday, and then on Friday,
Speaker 2: the Bucks did the first interview for OC. It had
Speaker 2: to be a virtual one because it was with Antoine
Speaker 2: randelll who was here briefly started his coaching career here
Speaker 2: and he's the Detroit lines wide receivers coach, and last
Speaker 2: Friday they were still in it. You know, they're preparing
Speaker 2: for the NFC Championship Games, so that one had to
Speaker 2: be virtual. And then today, I mean this week, to
Speaker 2: get things started, they've done in person interviews at the
Speaker 2: advent Held Training Center with Alex van Pelt, who was
Speaker 2: most recently the Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator, Gerrod Johnson, who
Speaker 2: is the Houston quarterbacks coach, which means he worked with C. J. Stroud,
Speaker 2: so he did a good job. That one's off the
Speaker 2: books now though, because he got a promotion and a
Speaker 2: raise to stay with the Texans. Brian Johnson, formerly the
Speaker 2: Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator, and Thad Lewis the first in
Speaker 2: house candidate. That's the quarterbacks coach, who I know everybody
Speaker 2: over at one Buck is very fond of. I think
Speaker 2: he's done a really nice job and obviously he worked
Speaker 2: very well with Baker Mayfield. Now there have been some
Speaker 2: other reported connections. I think we're going to keep seeing
Speaker 2: several more interviews before this is all said and done,
Speaker 2: but those are the ones the team has confirmed so far.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we remember Coach Bowls interviewed a lot of people
Speaker 1: before choosing Canalis, so it does not seem surprising that
Speaker 1: he would do the same thing.
Speaker 2: Well, it makes sense to cast a wide net.
Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely, and then you brought up Mayfield. We have
Speaker 1: some great news when it comes to both Baker Mayfield
Speaker 1: and Tristan Wurf's So tell us what happened this week.
Speaker 2: They were both named to the Pro Bowl roster. We
Speaker 2: knew they were high alternate, so this was a possibility.
Speaker 2: Worse specifically replaces Trent Williams because he's in the Super Bowl,
Speaker 2: and Baker specifically replaces Dak Prescott, who I think is
Speaker 2: playing maybe not playing due to injury, And by playing
Speaker 2: is a bit of an exaggeration because Tristan won't even
Speaker 2: play I imagine in a flag football game, and Baker
Speaker 2: will play. I guess Mike Emans is not going to
Speaker 2: play due to injury. I don't think it's anything serious,
Speaker 2: but he's actually he's a Pro bowler. He still counsel
Speaker 2: as a Pro bowler, but he's not going. So Tristan
Speaker 2: is that's his third Pro Bowl and it's pretty cool
Speaker 2: that he won two Pro Bowl earned two Pro Bowls
Speaker 2: as a right tackle. Made the switch this this year
Speaker 2: to left tackle and is still in the Pro Bowl.
Speaker 2: And that's three Pro Bowls in four seasons, and honestly,
Speaker 2: as a rookie he probably was deserving, but he ties
Speaker 2: Mike alstat that's the most Pro Bowl invitations in the
Speaker 2: first four seasons of a buccaneer player's career. That's pretty cool, huh.
Speaker 2: And then even the ones that too, is a pretty
Speaker 2: exclusive and cool list.
Speaker 1: That is really great. Maybe I feel like a future
Speaker 1: article for you could be how many players make Pro
Speaker 1: Bowls at different positions.
Speaker 2: It's just hard to look up. I'm sure I know
Speaker 2: he's not the first, because I knew off the top
Speaker 2: of my head Orlando Brown had done it. But I've
Speaker 2: even talked to some of the other reporters about that
Speaker 2: very topic. Yeah, it's a really difficult thing to rehearse.
Speaker 2: It's some I mean research. Some things, your research you
Speaker 2: just have to figure out how and get the right
Speaker 2: parameters and it goes quickly. Some things you have to
Speaker 2: do by blunt force, just going year years. It's not
Speaker 2: worth it to me, to be honest.
Speaker 1: Yeah, forget that.
Speaker 2: I started to get Yeah, nobody, nobody, no articles.
Speaker 1: There, and then Baker Mayfield not only got the honor
Speaker 1: of getting to play in the Pro Bowl. But he
Speaker 1: got another honor as well. But I think everyone here
Speaker 1: thinks he's very deserving.
Speaker 2: Most Improved Player by Pro Football Writers Association or of America.
Speaker 2: I'm not sure which one it is. And then he
Speaker 2: also is one of the five candidates for a Comeback
Speaker 2: Player of the Year, which we'll find out in the
Speaker 2: NFL Honors show. But yeah, he obviously deserves that honor.
Speaker 2: I didn't even know that honor existed, to be honest
Speaker 2: with you, that aword, but.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we had to come back a lot.
Speaker 2: But I haven't heard the most of most Improved. But
Speaker 2: it's kind of neat. And if you look at his
Speaker 2: numbers from twenty twenty two to twenty twenty three, you
Speaker 2: can see why. And you know, twenty twenty two he
Speaker 2: had been traded by the Browns to the Panthers because
Speaker 2: the Browns traded for Deshaun Watson and and so rid
Speaker 2: of Baker, and then it wasn't a great situation in Carolina.
Speaker 2: Matt Ruhle he got fired I don't know, five or
Speaker 2: six games in the season, and then they had rotating
Speaker 2: quarterbacks in Carolina, and eventually the Panthers who were having
Speaker 2: a terrible season, waived him in December, he got picked
Speaker 2: up by the Rams, had one really great game right
Speaker 2: after he got there, and one Player of the Week.
Speaker 2: But overall, when you put all the numbers together for
Speaker 2: that season and then compare him to this season, I mean,
Speaker 2: I think the most important thing is the very top
Speaker 2: mark that top line up there the starting record two
Speaker 2: and eight to nine and eight. But every number he
Speaker 2: improved in and if you look at the difference of
Speaker 2: the passer rating, that's quite impressive, incredible. It was a
Speaker 2: great season. And you know, I don't know how to
Speaker 2: feel about most improved because he probably would think. I mean,
Speaker 2: if you'l could twenty twenty he has very similar numbers
Speaker 2: to twenty twenty three when he was with the Browns
Speaker 2: and took them to the playoffs. So it's almost more
Speaker 2: like rebound right to the level of play that he
Speaker 2: knew he could get to.
Speaker 1: So I know that one of the things this time
Speaker 1: of year is always we're wondering who's going to be
Speaker 1: part of the team this next year when his free
Speaker 1: agency start. One of the probably least paid attention to
Speaker 1: parts of that is the practice squad. But this is
Speaker 1: the time of year that we do find out a
Speaker 1: lot about who's coming back, and we've seen that can
Speaker 1: be an incredibly important part of the team in terms
Speaker 1: of not just getting your starters ready, but guys that
Speaker 1: can get called up and end up playing some big roles,
Speaker 1: especially if there's injury or things going on. So what
Speaker 1: do we know about who will be coming back in
Speaker 1: terms of the futures contract?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so the and you're right. A lot of times
Speaker 2: a guy like say Jose Ramiers, the sixth round guy
Speaker 2: Edge that we drafted, he ended up on the practice
Speaker 2: squad this year and spent the whole year on the
Speaker 2: practice squad, but he can definitely, you know, rise next
Speaker 2: year to the roster potentially depending on who's here and
Speaker 2: who's not and how much he improves. And fee look
Speaker 2: at Mike Green, same thing. We resigned him after a
Speaker 2: year on the practice squad and then he made the
Speaker 2: active roster this past year, even started a couple games.
Speaker 2: So reserve future contracts are contracts that you sign like
Speaker 2: right now in January, but they take effect in twenty
Speaker 2: twenty four. It just means you don't have to wait
Speaker 2: and you can get those guys back right away, but
Speaker 2: they don't affect the salary cap right now. They've applied
Speaker 2: to twenty twenty four and the Bucks re signed fourteen
Speaker 2: of the sixteen guys that were on their practice squad
Speaker 2: at the end of the season, and there may be
Speaker 2: there may he might eventually resign the other two as well,
Speaker 2: but for now it's guys like Hoser Ramirez, David Wells.
Speaker 2: Remember he started the year on the active roster as
Speaker 2: one of the tight ends. Keenan Isaac, a cornerback that
Speaker 2: they played a little bit. Evan Decker is the long
Speaker 2: staffer that they signed last year out of college out
Speaker 2: of Duke is back, so maybe he'll be pressing Zach
Speaker 2: Trinner potentially for the job. And then one we did
Speaker 2: sign a handful of guys from other teams or just
Speaker 2: off the roster. One interesting one is a young man
Speaker 2: named lual You Gouick. I practiced that luell you Gouick.
Speaker 2: He's he's from Canada. His family is originally from Sudan.
Speaker 2: He was born in Canada and he's played a little
Speaker 2: bit in the CFL, but this is the first time
Speaker 2: he signed with anybody in the NFL. He's a defensive tackle,
Speaker 2: so it'll just be interesting to see. Yeah, what's because
Speaker 2: he it's not often that a guy his first time
Speaker 2: signed by an NFL team is in January.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's really interesting. That'll be fun to watch. And
Speaker 1: then I know we're going to close with this For
Speaker 1: the next several weeks. We're gonna pick a different position
Speaker 1: each week to look at of the draft in terms
Speaker 1: of is this something that we feel like the team
Speaker 1: could be targeting as we turn our attention to the
Speaker 1: draft and the offseason. So tell us the first position
Speaker 1: you wanted to address and see if this is something
Speaker 1: the Bucks metage.
Speaker 2: Right, So the Bucks are picking twenty six in the
Speaker 2: first round, so when I talk about potentially addressing this
Speaker 2: in draft, I'm talking high maybe this pick, maybe second round,
Speaker 2: something like that. And we haven't made a real deep
Speaker 2: dive into the draft yet. I haven't done a single
Speaker 2: mock draft. So this is more just like each week
Speaker 2: we're gonna look at a position and see what's the
Speaker 2: state of that with the Bucks, maybe draft something at
Speaker 2: that spot high. The Bucks did get to forty eight
Speaker 2: sacks this season, which is the third most in the
Speaker 2: season in team history. Yet I would still say, do
Speaker 2: we have that star edg dresser that can get you
Speaker 2: twelve sacks, fourteen sacks in the season, and I think
Speaker 2: you know, yeah, yah Yabi the rookie who had a
Speaker 2: eight rookie season led the team in sacks, which is awesome,
Speaker 2: especially out of the third round. So that's a nice
Speaker 2: piece right there. But seven point five sacks as your
Speaker 2: sack leader, you'd probably like to see that be a
Speaker 2: little bit higher, right And we last year was six
Speaker 2: point five by Vida Veas. So the Buccaneers got a
Speaker 2: lot of sacks, but it's almost by committee. They had
Speaker 2: nine different players have at least two and a half sacks,
Speaker 2: and that includes some safeties and some linebackers, and so
Speaker 2: it all added up to a good sack number. And
Speaker 2: the Buccaneers were tied for the most players on a
Speaker 2: team this year they had at least two and a
Speaker 2: half sacks, and that's good and it also speaks to
Speaker 2: Todd Bowles's play calling prowess. But I still think it's
Speaker 2: possible that the Buccaneers would be interested if maybe a
Speaker 2: guy like Chop Robinson from Penn State or something like
Speaker 2: that makes it to twenty sixth.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's going to be interesting to see all right,
Speaker 1: that's going to do it for us on this edition
Speaker 1: of Bucks Insider presented by Verizon. Will be back all
Speaker 1: off season with you, keeping you updated with these different
Speaker 1: coaching hires as well as looking ahead to the Draft.
Speaker 1: We'll see you next time, ye stay fair.