Coaching Philosophy
Every coach in the NFL has a specific foundation or compass that guides their decision-making process and for Josh Grizzard, that is being "physical." When asked about his philosophy, Grizzard did not even hesitate. The 2025 Bucs' offense will be predicated on the success of the men in the trenches imposing their will at the line of scrimmage. The Bucs' ground game took significant strides in 2024, improving from being the worst-ranked unit in football to the fourth-best. Few teams in the modern pass-heavy league embody a physical brand reminiscent of the smash-mouth football days, but the Lions, Ravens and Eagles thrive off that core principle and Grizzard is focused on doing the same in Tampa Bay.
"At the end of the day, you want to be physical. We want to be physical because the trenches win. When you are able to run the ball and you are able to press on a defense for four quarters, that is what wins ballgames. We also want to be multiple. It could be a week where we throw the ball more or we need to run the ball more. Like last year, guys get hurt and you have to have people to step in. We want to attack and it is back on the players to do their part. Last year, we were able to change plays at the line of scrimmage and we could can third-downs or change things in low red [red zone], so by doing that, we put the pressure on the defense and players have to put the work in during the week so that we can do that."
Third-Down Game Plan Experience
In 2024, Grizzard was placed in charge of planning for third downs. Grizzard strategized for third-down scenarios during the week of game preparation and looked at league trends. The Bucs led the NFL with a team-record 50.9% third-down conversion rate in 2024 and Grizzard helped prepare the offense for optimal ways to exploit what opposing defenses showed on the field. Tampa Bay's offense was the only team in the NFL to rank in the top five in both passing yards (third, 250.4) and rushing yards (fourth, 149.2) per game in 2024 and Grizzard will strive to orchestrate a stellar encore season – one that concludes with a Lombardi Trophy being hoisted. To gain more experience with play-calling, Grizzard will likely undergo live sessions during practices and the summer workout program to get a feel for his newfound duties with a headset after primarily being in the booth.
"Over the last – I would say – two to three years, I have started to think about that and 'What would I call here?' Or if you are designing a play, you better be confident in calling the play … That has evolved in my mind and then this past season it went to another level, going from a position coach to QC [quality control] to then being in the pass game coordinator role. So, when we built plays, I had constant dialogue with Liam [Coen] on, 'Here is the sequence of the plays. Here is probably the best play to begin the series with,' and that was our whole staff, too. It can be anybody. Then on third down, because you break it up into certain windows, the players have a good idea or at least Baker [Mayfield] has a good idea of a third-down window and what we are expecting out of it or, 'Now they hit us with this coverage, how are we going to combat that the next time?' I was able to do that last year, and I am confident in my ability to prepare that way and want to get as many reps as possible."
Build off Continuity
Instead of having entirely new terminology with an unfamiliar rundown of faces on the coaching staff, the Buccaneers can build off of continuity after promoting in-house candidate Grizzard to offensive coordinator. Because of his familiarity with the team's talent and the best ways to maximize personnel, the club can turn their attention to fine-tuning details. With the carryover and implementation of new ideals for the 2025 offense, Grizzard is focused on digging into X's and O's to foster growth in an enhancement of the 'why' behind the play calls. A teaching seminar will now commence for the up-and-coming 2025 Bucs' offense.
"The continuity of having the staff and the players together is the most important part because we can go from installing an offense to naming plays, route concepts and halfback footwork to just know now. Once we hit the field, that's the base level. What we did on the fundamentals we can now evolve to the next level of the teaching of coverages, of D-line technique, [etc.] – that way we can now expand the scheme, continue to add from around the league, add from college [and] continue to put pressure on the defense [as we] try to score points."
