TAMPA, Fla. — It's a major shakeup for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaching staff.
Just hours after news broke of offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich's firing, the Bucs announced they are parting ways with a total of six assistant coaches. Among them is assistant defensive line coach Lori Locust, the NFL's only female defensive coach.
Often regarded as a trailblazer in the league, Locust made history as one of two women to be a part of the coaching staff for a Super Bowl-winning team when the Bucs won Super Bowl LV.
Locust has been with the Bucs since the start of the 2019 season.
Specialists coach Chris Boniol, wide receivers coach Kevin Garver, offensive quality control coach Jeff Kastl and running backs coach Todd McNair have also been fired from the staff.
"We appreciate the hard work and contributions that all of these coaches made to our successes over the past four seasons," head coach Todd Bowles said in a news release. "As a collective group, we did not meet the high standards that had been set for this past year and my focus now is on doing what is needed to ensure a successful 2023 season.
"These were very difficult decisions but something that I felt was necessary for our football team going forward."
These changes to the Bucs coaching staff come after Tampa Bay's 31-14 Wild Card loss to the Dallas Cowboys and an 8-9 regular season.