About: Tom Bass (American football)

Tom Bass ( August 2, 1935 - July 27, 2019) was an American football coach who spent 30 years as an assistant with the Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and San Diego Chargers. He played at San Jose State University as a lineman until a bout of polio left him unable to play football. He then served as an undergraduate coach, and upon graduation, as the only full-time assistant under Don Coryell. He later worked on the Chargers staff with Sid Gillman, coaching QB's with John Hadl, he was the first Coach hired by Coach Paul Brown on the inaugural Bengals staff, and the Buccaneers staff under John McKay. He joined the Buccaneers in their inaugural season as their director of pro scouting, and unofficially took over the offensive coordinator role when John Rauch resigned. By the next se