[](https://www.joebucsfan.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/kameron-johnson-0909c.jpg)Fun fact: among NFL kick returners with at least 10 returns last season, Bucs returner Kameron Johnson ranked 41st in the NFL in yards per return while Sean Tucker ranked 56th.
That was inexcusable.
The Bucs’ poor special teams cost the team a couple of wins. Todd Bowles fired special teams chief Thomas McGaughey and his assistant, Keith Tandy, the former Bucs defensive back (2012-2017). Joe thinks it’s worth noting that McGaughey and Tandy did not find new NFL jobs.
The Bucs were so bad covering kickoff returns that they stopped trying, ordering kicker Chase McClaughlin to kick the ball out of the end zone.
On their own returns, well, the stats above tell the story.
Joe assumes the Bucs will secure better special teams players through free agency. That may lead to a few surprising signings. But Joe is more intrigued by how new Bucs special teams coach Danny Smith will be able to coach up players in his 30th season as an NFL special teams leader, the last 13 with the Steelers. He’s got to represent an upgrade to McGaughey.
At kickoff returner, Joe doesn’t get why Tez Johnson couldn’t win the job.
Perhaps it was tied to Johnson falling off the map in the second half of the season. In the final 8 games, Johnson had just 9 catches for 67 yards, despite making four starts at receiver.