Oct 11, 2012; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Jon Embree walks the sideline in the fourth quarter of the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Folsom Field. The Sun Devils defeated the Buffaloes 51-17. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Former Colorado head coach Jon Embree, who was the Browns tight ends coach last season, has been hired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the same position, per ESPN Insider Adam Schefter.
In bringing in Embree, the Bucs continue their trend this offseason of hiring new coaches all across the board, many of them handpicked by new head coach Lovie Smith. Of all the Buccaneers new changes under Smith, perhaps the most notable was former Vikings coach Leslie Frazier being named defensive coordinator just days after he was let go in Minnesota.
Embree will certainly bring experience as a tight ends coach to a team that hasn’t had a solid tight end in the last couple seasons. He has coached the position at both the college and pro level for two decades, doing stints with the Chiefs, Redskins and Browns as a tight ends coach. Before that, he coached tight ends at UCLA and Colorado, his alma mater. No surprise here, Embree was a tight end with the Buffaloes and also played two years in the NFL with the Rams.
Smith’s housecleaning of the Tampa Bay coaching staff is in line with his promise to change the culture of a Buccaneers team that really needed it after the Greg Schiano era. Considering his success in coaching up Jordan Cameron to be one of the better league’s better tight ends, Embree seems like a good fit since the Bucs have a young, playmaking tight end in place in Tim Wright.