Kevin Ross begins his sixth season as cornerbacks coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2024.
With Ross' coaching, former 2022 fifth-round selection Zyon McCollum stepped up to set career highs in games played (17), games started (nine), passes defensed (nine) and forced fumbles (two) in 2023 for a defense that lost nine starts due to injury from its starting cornerbacks.
In 2022, Ross' cornerback unit held a pair of Pro Bowl receivers in DeAndre Hopkins (four receiving yards) and CeeDee Lamb (29 yards) to season-low performances, in addition to limiting a number of notable pass- catchers across the league to under 50 yards receiving including: George Kittle (28 yards), Tee Higgins (33 yards), Tyler Lockett (42 yards) and Deebo Samuel (43 yards). In addition, Ross helped the continued development of cornerback Jamel Dean as he solidified his role as a full-time starter in 2022, starting a career-high 15 games on his way to earning a second contract in Tampa Bay. As a team, Tampa Bay finished ninth in the NFL in pass defense (203.6 opponent passing yards per game) and sixth in fewest yards allowed per pass attempt (6.65).
Due to injuries, the Buccaneers were forced to use 10 different players at the cornerback position in 2021 and went through 14 different starting lineup combinations among defensive backs in 17 games. Despite the constant changes in rotation, with Ross' coaching, five different primary cornerbacks were able to record at least one interception in 2021 for a team that finished eighth in the NFL in that category with 18. Tampa Bay's defense also limited opponents to 6.39 yards per attempt and 5.16 yards per play in 2021 – the third- best and fifth-best marks, respectively, in the league.
In 2020, Ross led one of the NFL's youngest cornerback units to a Super Bowl LV championship as corners Carlton Davis III, Jamel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting all made significant strides over the course of the 2020 season. The trio helped the Buccaneers to rank eighth in the league in yards allowed per pass play (6.39) – a statistic the team ranked 31st in prior to the arrival of Ross and the new coaching staff in 2019.
Davis registered new career highs with his four interceptions and 68 tackles during the 2020 regular season, in addition to his team-high 18 passes defensed. Dean played in a career-high 14 games, starting seven, while tallying 59 tackles (two for loss), seven passes defensed and an interception, which he returned for a touchdown. Murphy-Bunting played a critical role in the team's success during its four-game playoff run to a Super Bowl LV victory, as he collected an interception in each of Tampa Bay's first three postseason games. He joined Pro Football Hall of Famers Aeneas Williams (four-consecutive games) and Ed Reed, as well as Jason Sehorn, as the only four players in the Super Bowl era with an interception in each of their first three career postseason games. His three postseason interceptions are tied for the most in team history, while Tampa Bay's nine takeaways in the postseason led all teams.
Mentoring a young cornerback unit in 2019, Ross helped guide Murphy-Bunting to a PFWA All-Rookie selection after leading the team with three interceptions (returned for 88 yards and one touchdown), adding eight passes defensed, one forced fumble, 1.0 sack and one tackle for loss. His cornerback counterparts, Carlton Davis and Jamel Dean, ranked second and tied for fourth in the league with 19 and 17 passes defensed, respectively. As a team, the Buccaneers defense led the NFL with 96 passes defensed in 2019.
Ross worked most recently with the Arizona Cardinals (2013-17), serving as the team's cornerbacks coach. During his tenure with the Cardinals, Ross worked with All-Pro cornerback Patrick Peterson, who earned a Pro Bowl berth in all five years under Ross, as well as two first-team AP All-Pro selections (2013, 2015). Ross also coached cornerback Antonio Cromartie to a Pro Bowl berth in 2014.
During Ross' time with Arizona, the team's pass defense was among the best in the NFL, holding opponents to a 61.0 completion percentage, the ninth-lowest mark in the league, and an 83.2 passer rating, the sixth- lowest in the NFL. The Cardinals were also one of the best teams in the NFL at intercepting passes, with the team's 86 interceptions ranking third during that span and their 14 interceptions returned for touchdowns tying for the league best.
Prior to joining Arizona, Ross coached safeties with the Oakland Raiders (2010-11), with safety Tyvon Branch leading the team in tackles both seasons. His time with Oakland followed one season as an assistant for the New York Sentinels of the United Football League (2009). From 2007-08, Ross was an assistant secondary/quality control coach with the San Diego Chargers. In 2007, San Diego led the NFL in interceptions for the first time in franchise history.
Ross began his NFL coaching career with the Minnesota Vikings in 2002 as part of the Bill Walsh NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship. From 2003-05, he worked as the Vikings' assistant secondary coach.
A 14-year NFL veteran and two-time Pro Bowl selection, Ross was a seventh-round (173rd overall) selection of the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1984 NFL Draft. He spent 11 seasons with Kansas City (1984-93, 1997), along with two seasons in Atlanta (1994-95) and one in San Diego (1996). He was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 2011.
After his playing career concluded, Ross coached high school football at Camden High School (1999- 2000) and Woodrow Wilson High (2001-02) in his native Camden, N.J. A standout at Paulsboro High School (Paulsboro, N.J.), Ross went on to play collegiately at Temple.
