The Tampa Bay Buccaneers named Josh Grizzard as their offensive coordinator earlier this week — which could be good news for former Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt.
Grizzard was elevated from passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator after his boss, Liam Coen, took the head-coaching job with Jacksonville. But the duo helped the Bucs put up some of the most impressive offensive numbers in the NFL last season, as the offense ranked in the Top 5 in several major categories, including fourth with 29.5 points per game.
It could end up being a great match for Pratt, who signed a reserve/futures contract with the Bucs in January after spending last season in Tampa Bay.
The new OC is taking the approach that not much needs to change in Tampa Bay.
“The continuity will remain essentially the same,” said Grizzard to Buccaneers.com. “What you want to do, like we did last year, is morph it to the players. You can morph after the draft, like it was last year, or in-season based on who is hurt or who is not. But we want to keep the root of that the same because that takes as much time as anything.”
The continuity should be important to Pratt’s development. He won’t challenge to be the starter, as the job belongs to Baker Mayfield. His backup is Kyle Trask. All there were with the Bucs last season.
But this could be a great chance for Pratt to continue his progress as a pro.
Pratt signed with Tampa Bay’s practice squad last August and spent the entire season with the team. He was promoted to the active roster three different times but did not play in a game.
Pratt left as one of the most decorated quarterbacks in Tulane history. The Boca Raton, Fla., native played four seasons for Tulane and threw for more than 9,000 yards as he helmed the Green Wave’s run to the American Athletic Conference championship in 2022 and the victory in the Cotton Bowl over USC.
Then, in 2023, he was the AAC Offensive Player of the Year and took Tulane to the ACC title game again, where it lost to SMU.
The Green Bay Packers selected Pratt in the seventh round of the 2024 NFL draft and he signed a four-year contract. He was waived by the Packers on Aug. 27. Two days later, he signed with the Buccaneers.