Bucs WRs Coach Brad Idzik Is Dave Canales’ Right-Hand Man

On Thursday, Pewter Report had the chance to talk with Bucs wide receivers coach Brad Idzik on a recent episode of the Pewter Report Podcast. Besides diving into each wide receiver, we also had the chance to discuss with Idzik what it means to be back in Tampa.

Idzik’s father, John, worked for the Bucs from 1993-2004, serving as a pro personnel assistant (1993-96), director of football administration (1996-2001), and assistant general manager (2001-04). He helped Rich McKay negotiate player contracts and manage the salary cap during the Bucs’ rise to prominence under Tony Dungy in the late 1990s and winning a Super Bowl under Jon Gruden in 2002.

But Brad Idzik is no longer a kid hanging out in the Bucs locker room with the team anymore. Instead, he decided to come back to join forces with offensive coordinator Dave Canales as his right-hand man on the offensive side of the ball.

Brad Idzik And Dave Canales Are “Two Peas In A Pod”

It did not take long after the Bucs hired Dave Canales that names started to pop up about who could join him down in Tampa Bay. With a new receivers coach needed after the team let go of Kevin Garver after last season, Brad Idzik proved to Canales in Seattle that he was the right man for the job. It has been four years in the making as Idzik had been the Seahawks assistant receivers coach.

“You know, it’s funny – Dave and I the last four years, we’ve been like two peas in a pod,” Idzik said. “We’re always in each other’s office; we’re never kind of alone. Anytime there was downtime for film study, I just pop in and be like, ‘Hey, what are you watching?’ ‘Hey, I’m watching this offense or this game, like, come on, sit down.’ The dialogue for us has been the last four years football-wise.”

More than just breaking down game film, the two have also gotten to know each other through various conversations. Under the tutelage of Pete Carroll and what has become a consistent winning environment in Seattle, they have a deep understanding of each other’s strengths as well as knowing how to put together their collective vision for what should look like a vastly different Bucs’ offense this season.

“We’ve gotten to know each other; I know what he likes as a coach,” Idzik added. “I know what he wants to run as an offense. I helped him through this interview process to try to help him as much as I could.

“He had a couple of interview processes in the past where we’d sit down, and we’d bounce ideas off each other. The conversations that came up when we transitioned here to Tampa, we’ve already had them all one-on-one, and now we’re just including the rest of the staff.”

Idzik is more than grateful for the opportunity. He has patiently waited for his turn after spending the past four seasons building his resume with the Seahawks. He spent three seasons with them as an assistant wide receivers coach (2019-2020, 2022) and one as an offensive quality control and assistant quarterbacks coach (2021).

While he spent his time grinding behind the scenes to make his own name for himself in the NFL ranks, he is thankful that Canales has given him the opportunity to take the next step, together.

“For [Dave] to give me the opportunity to run my own room, he put action behind words with what he’s told me the last couple of years,” Idzik said. “He’s like, ‘Brad, I believe in you.’ And he’s had my back when I was doing some of the grunt work and trying to earn my stripes in the NFL. Now he’s repaid me with an awesome opportunity to coach some really good guys.”

It Took “No Convincing” For Brad Idzik To Join Dave Canales With The Bucs

During the Pewter Report Podcast, Brad Idzik revealed the manner in which he heard his friend Dave Canales got the job with the Bucs. It surely wasn’t typical, and Seattle took proactive measures in case Idzik was next, which he was.

“It’s funny. I was getting a noon workout in when Dave got the job; he sent the text to the staff,” Idzik said. “They were like, ‘Hey, everybody come upstairs; we got some news.’ I didn’t have my phone on me so I was last in the room. On my way up, I had like five or 10 people passing by. They’re like, ‘Hey, congrats.’ I was like, ‘Congrats? What are you talking about?’ It wasn’t that good of a lift [laughs]! ‘No, Dave got the job.’ I was like, ‘Oh, that’s awesome.’

“I swear, I kid you not; Pete convinced me. He’s like, ‘We’re locking down your computer’ and everything before Dave told me anything.’ So I guess it was assumed that I was going with him.”

While surely Idzik was bummed that people did not congratulate him on his workout, there surely were congratulatory remarks made when he took Tampa Bay’s wide receiver coach job. The change of scenery took no convincing – thanks to his familiarity with Canales and the organization.

“It took no convincing at all – not only for Tampa, it’s really cool to be back – but only just to work with him,” Idzik said. “Just to work with someone you consider a close friend, somebody you really trust, and somebody who really knows his football. He’s been around the block with a lot of different OCs.

“He’s been around the block with Pete being his right-hand man through the ups and downs of their time in Seattle. I’m very fortunate to have crossed paths with him the times that I have and to get a chance to show what I’m all about behind closed doors with him.”

There is plenty about for Brad Idzik that has come full circle. This includes being the guy people now seek guidance from.

“When young guys reach out to me, I just remember being in their shoes,” Idzik said. “They’re like, ‘What’s the best thing I can do to kind of get my name out there, show what I’m all about? I’d [say], ‘Your current job is your best interview; just do good work.’ That for me paid off with Dave because he saw what I was about, he saw what I stood for, and he believed in me. I really appreciate that, and it’s great to be back in Tampa. It’s not the same building, I will say that.”

Now he will be looking to take his own advice, as his work this season is his interview for more prominent roles down the road.

Idzik Reflects On Growing Up With The Bucs

Right now, Brad Idzik is back where his love of football started. Being born in 1991, he grew up with the team throughout his childhood as his father, John Idzik, held various positions with the Bucs. During that time, Brad was old enough to remember the days (and players) of the Bucs’ Hall of Fame defense and Super Bowl-winning team. But he also remembered what the environment was like within the building.

“I remember it being a family atmosphere,” Idzik said. “That’s not always the case – it kind of goes from team to team of how things are structured. But I was actually at a little fishing retreat with coach Tony Dungy and a number of guys through FCA a couple of weekends ago. We were talking about – me and Eric Dungy, his son – roaming the halls on a daily basis.

“That’s what I remember. I remember throwing tape balls in the locker room and John Lynch coming in and hanging out with us. That’s what it was. It was a small-town feel. Even though they were playing so well, we had so many Hall of Famers on this team. Everybody knew each other by name, they knew each other’s kids. We were all – it was all one big family, and maybe that was because they were working out of double-wides.”

As Idzik alluded to, it’s not the same building. The Bucs have gone from the old, original “woodshed” version of One Buc Place to the One Buc Palace that is now the AdventHealth Training Center. Those years have long passed by, and now the Bucs will be looking to keep a winning atmosphere after another successful era that led to a Super Bowl victory. Idzik has seen firsthand what that’s like and what it means. 

“I felt that again when I was in Seattle,” Idzik said. “Coach Carroll does a phenomenal job of incorporating everyone too, and I know Dave stands for that too, Coach Bowles as well – family guys. It’s really cool to come back into an atmosphere like that, and I know it’s not always the case; some [teams] have more rigid structures.

“The building for me and the logo – the Bucs logo – for me means a lot because that’s what stirred my love for the game. Just hanging around the guys, seeing the camaraderie. When I was done playing [at Wake Forest], I knew I didn’t want to get away from that.”

After a journey that has seen him grow up with the Bucs and grow as a coach, perhaps it is destiny that Brad Idzik can’t get away from Tampa Bay.

Watch Brad Idzik On The Pewter Report Podcast

Check out the recent episode of the Pewter Report Podcast with Special Guest: Bucs WR Brad Idzik by clicking the link below.