Shelton Quarles is Lovie Smith's right-hand man

Last week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a few changes to their personnel department. We still don't know what most of those changes actually mean, but Pewter Report figured out what Shelton Quarles' move to Director of Football Operations means: he'll be Lovie Smith's right-hand man.

"I'm excited about the organization," Quarles told Pewter Report. "I was talking to my wife earlier and she said, ‘You bleed pewter and red.' I feel the same way. I've been with this organization for 17 or 18 years. There's no other place I'd want to be. If it had to happen and I had to move on, then so be it. But I love Tampa. My kids were born here. I love the people. We enjoy the area. The Glazers have been loyal to me. It all started with Malcolm Glazer hiring Tony Dungy."

Pewter Report notes that Quarles will also serve the team as a "pro scout and talent evaluator", and will interface with the league office. He'll apparently coordinate things with Lovie Smith and Jason Licht, which includes going over league rules. He will be on the practice field, too, and will help the team evaluate its own talent and their needs.

Quarles was previously the team's pro personnel director under Mark Dominik, but it looks like he'll transition to more of a liaison role and less of a strict personnel role. That's a widening of responsibilities, though it could also be pulling him off of the path to general-manager-dom -- assuming that's a career goal, for him.

Regardless of his new title and responsibilities, it's good to see that Quarles will remain a Tampa Bay Buccaneer.