Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Larry Foote will call plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense on Saturday, according to head coach Todd Bowles.
Foote, who has become a long-time coach and has looked for a coordinator job over the last few years, including interviewing for a few of them, now has a chance to call plays right where much of his NFL career played out.
“I’m pretty sure I won’t call [defensive signals] all three [games],”Bowles said to Pewter Report in June. “We kind of figure those out in the summertime... Larry’s going back to Pittsburgh, and I know that’s a soft spot for him. So, he may get to do that one.”
Now, Bowles confirmed that Foote will indeed call plays, and get to evaluate talent close during Thursday’s joint practice at Acrisure Stadium.
He is the inside linebackers coach on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under Todd Bowles. Foote has long been a candidate to land a defensive coordinator job, but the Lions could represent a sterling opportunity for him.
The 44-year-old coach has developed numerous high-level players in Tampa Bay while becoming a key member of Bowles’ staff from a schematic perspective. He is in his seventh season as the inside linebackers coach with Tampa Bay.
Foote was a fourth-round pick by the Steelers in the 2002 draft, and he stayed with the team through the 2008 season, becoming a two-time Super Bowl Champion. He returned for four more seasons with the team from 2010 to 2013. Foote got his start in coaching under Bruce Arians, and he coached with the Arizona Cardinals from 2015 to 2018 before leaping to Tampa Bay.
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