Buccaneers' Lori Locust Talks Coaching, Super Bowl Title on TB12’s The Keep Going Podcast

Buccaneers assistant coach Lori Locust discusses her journey into a football career and helping Tampa Bay secure a Super Bowl title.

Photo: Tampa Bay assistant defensive line coach Lori Locust; Credit: Buccaneers.com

Assistant defensive line coach Lori Locust will soon enter her third season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In February, Locust earned herself a Super Bowl Championship by helping coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 31-9 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs. 

On Friday’s episode of TB12’s The Keep Going Podcast, Locust spoke candidly with podcast host and TB12 CEO John Burns about her passion for football, how she became an NFL coach and winning the Super Bowl.

“I’ve been a fan of the game forever," said Locust. "When I was five years old I was glued to the television watching the Pittsburgh Steelers. I’ve always loved football and when I was about to turn 40, a women’s tackle league team was coming to Harrisburg. It put me on a whole other level to be able to play the game of football. I had a significant knee injury that took me out of commission for a while and I didn’t want to be away from it, so I started coaching.”

Buccaneers assistant defensive line coach Lori Locust's promotional banner as a guest on TB12's The Keep Going Podcast

Locust credited the coaches she’s had along the way for helping shape the way she approaches her role with the Buccaneers. “It’s incumbent upon a coach to find a way to motivate a player but sometimes all it really is, is sitting down and having an honest conversation. People don’t understand how honest and direct I can be. This isn’t a profession where you can’t just exist. You really need to go above and beyond,” Locust explained. 

Throughout her career, Locust has often found herself labeled as a “Female Coach” rather than just “Coach”; something she hopes to see evolve as more women are hired through the NFL talent pipeline. 

“I struggle to always have to put a label on a female coach and a male coach because a coach is a coach,” Locust explained.

Locust was an attendee of the NFL Women’s Careers in Football Forum; a program that was started by NFL Senior Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Sam Rapoport to help create a more diverse talent pipeline that includes women. 

TB12’s The Keep Going Podcast host John Burns chimed in: “No one calls me a male CEO, I’m just the CEO of this company. You know one day, and probably not too far off I would bet, a female is going to be a head coach of a team and it’s going to change the paradigm.” 

Locust also spoke on the shift Tom Brady brought to the Buccaneers locker room through his authenticity and unmatched ability to lead. The Buccaneers struggled to make a playoff appearance prior to the 2020 season, but as time went on his leadership became contagious and one thing led to the next.

“When the guys saw how he handled his business and went through his day, they started to duplicate it.” Locust told Burns.

Her advice to young women looking to get into coaching is to put the work in and know that there’s nothing that you can’t do. Locust said she finds herself taking a mindset of “Why not?” as opposed to “What if?”. 

She hopes to make the path to coaching more clear for women but not necessarily easier. “I will shine a light or provide the framework but it’s up to you to follow the steps, to be ready to do the work & to gain the experience so that you’re viable.”

Locust, who recently signed an extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is still processing their historic Super Bowl win in February.  

“It still feels a little surreal but we’re back to work as far as the coaching staff goes," said Locust. "It’s an amazing accomplishment, but it’s behind us and now we’re starting to prep, review and plan for the upcoming season. It’s a once in a lifetime thing but now we have work to do.”

TB12 is a service-led health and wellness company co-founded by Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and Alex Guerrero