New Bucs special teams coach Danny Smith brings a smile to new Bucs RB Kenneth Gainwell’s face.

Thomas McGaughey’s special teams with the Bucs were pretty damn putrid.

The only thing that saved McGaughey from having a truly horrific special teams was that Chase McLaughlin is as money of a kicker as there is in the NFL.

The rest of the special teams last year? Trash, plain and simple.

Joe, sadly, was not overly shocked at this. When McGaughey came to the Bucs in 2024, he was canned by the Giants for having awful special teams over his five-year tenure there. Joe wasn’t sure what Bucs coach Todd Bowles saw in the guy.

Two years later, this past January, McGaughey was put out of Bucs fans’ misery.

To replace him, Bowles hired respected special teams coach Danny Smith, who previously had been with the Steelers for 12 years.

And guess who returned kicks for Smith and the Steelers last year? New Bucs running back Kenneth Gainwell. The new Bucs ballcarrier said he enjoys playing for the intense Smith.

“Man, I love Danny,” Gainwell said with a huge grin as Gainwell spoke to the Tampa Bay pen and mic club yesterday. “Man, I love the way his attitude [is] towards the game.”

Gainwell noted Smith is ready to start coaching before he gets out of his car when he arrives to the building for work in the morning.

“Soon [as] he step[s] out of his car, he’s yelling about something good,” Gainwell said. “Danny is a great guy, man. I love playing football for him.”

Apparently, Gainwell, who averaged 24 yards a kick return for the Steelers, knew that the Bucs’ special teams were trash. He noted Smith will start kicking tails and getting special teams straight.

“We’re going to get this special teams thing turned around real good,” Gainwell said.

It seems the Bucs have put an emphasis in bringing some juice into the building. Alex Anzalone brings juice. A’Shawn Robinson is intense. And Smith is constantly fired up.

That’s one thing this Bucs team lacked a lot of last year on defense and on special teams: Emotion and energy. It’s welcome to have some guys with heart coming to town.