George Warhop back as Buccaneers offensive line coach

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will retain George Warhop as their offensive line coach, according to Greg Auman. The long-time Browns assistant came in in 2014 and oversaw one of the worst lines in football, but he had a nice bounce-back year in 2015 despite being forced to start two rookies and a preseason street free agent for nearly the entire year.

Warhop's work getting second-round picks Donovan Smith and Ali Marpet to play in the NFL was impressive, especially given Marpet's history as a Division-III pickup. The line also paved the way for Doug Martin to become the NFL's second-leading rusher. It was far from perfect, though: the Bucs habitually kept in a sixth lineman and extra tight ends to protect Jameis Winston or jump-start the running back. And despite that, he absorbed 99 quarterback hits -- defined as hits that cause him to go to the ground while setting up for a pass, including sacks. Winston shares part of the blame, but it's also an indication that the line had a few too many breakdowns.

The Bucs will also retain Butch Barry as the offensive line assistant coach, so there's some continuity and presumably an acknowledgement of what they have to fix. We'll see whether they can do that this offseason, and whether they can fit in potential new additions -- Logan Mankins might retire, after all.

With Warhop returning as well, the only position coach whose future is in doubt is Andrew Hayes-Stoker, who runs the wide receivers room. Koetter may or may not hire or appoint an offensive coordinator as well, we'll have to wait and see whether and how that happens. Koetter has said that the "majority" of his offensive coaching staff would return this season.