SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hoisted the Lombardi Trophy, after crushing the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl LV, John Van Dam, in his second season as offensive quality control coach with the Bucs, became a world champion. 

His coaching journey, however, came long before the big dance in February of 2021. It started right here in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 2008 at then-titled Augustana College. Van Dam served as the offensive graduate assistant and tight ends coach for the 2008 and 2009 seasons and was then promoted to a fulltime assistant, coaching wide receivers for the Vikings in 2010 and 2011. 

"It was a great four years," said Van Dam when reflecting on his time at Augustana. "I learned a ton, learned a ton about football and we had some great coaches who impacted me and a lot of really, really good players."

After finishing his playing career at Michigan State in 2007, Van Dam was hired by former Augustana head coach Brad Salem after impressing him while working with quarterbacks at the Legends Camp. 

The former graduate assistant and tight ends coach helped lead the Vikings to an 8-4 record in 2008 with a 37-16 victory over the Missouri Western Griffons in the Mineral Water Bowl to close out the season. 

"I remember practicing at Howard Wood Field and it was iced over and cold, probably similar to how it is now," Van Dam said jokingly when talking about preparations for the game. 

The Vikings returned to the Mineral Water Bowl the following season and finished with an identical 8-4 record after a loss to the Griffons in the bowl game. 

"My first two years were awesome," Van Dam said. "I coached the tight ends, without knowing the position much. 

"I got thrown into it and like I've done with a lot of other things, worked hard and learned the position and had a lot of other great players help me learn the position."

Following Van Dam's two seasons as a graduate assistant coach and completing his masters in education at Augustana, Coach Salem took a coaching position at Michigan State, leaving Van Dam on the hunt for his next coaching job. He didn't have to wait long as newly-hired head coach Mike Aldrich, Augustana's former defensive coordinator, kept Van Dam on staff, promoting him to a fulltime assistant and receivers coach. 

"I was thrilled," said Van Dam. "You know, graduate assistants at Augustana aren't making millions, so I went from trying to figure out if I had a meal plan at the cafeteria to a fulltime job and I was feeling good."

The 2010 season proved to be a banner year for Van Dam and the Vikings. Augustana won a program record 11 games, losing only once in the regular season and earning a playoff appearance. The Vikings smoked Grand Valley State 38-6 at Kirkeby-Over Stadium, before falling to eventual national champion Minnesota Duluth 24-13 on the road. 

The following season in 2011, Augustana went 6-5 while being outscored by just 24 points in its five losses. 

"We had a special group of guys and coaches and made a good run at it," said Van Dam. "Any time you land in this profession, in any sport, you've gotta have good players and we had some really good players that were fun to coach and they were competitive and wanted to win."

After his time at Augustana, Van Dam spent two years as an offensive graduate assistant at the University of Alabama, one season as an offensive quality control assistant and assistant quarterbacks coach each at the University of Michigan and University of Florida, two seasons as the offensive coordinator at Southern Illinois and one season as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Lafayette College. 

Now a Super Bowl champion coach, heading into his third season with the Bucs, Van Dam took some time to reflect on his journey thus far.  

"It's humbling," said Van Dam. "When you're going through the process, you're not thinking of it like that. You take it one day at a time and try to do the best at that particular job that you have.

"You obviously have to have your goals set out in front of you, but I tried to concentrate and work hard for those people in my life at that time, for those relationships with those players. This does not happen for everybody, so I am very thankful. 

"I've been around some really good coaches that have helped me throughout my career."

To say that good coaches and good players surrounded Van Dam on the 2020-21 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, would be an understatement. The Bucs went 11-5 in the regular season to earn a wild card berth in the NFL Playoffs. From there, Tampa Bay won three-consecutive road games, knocking off the Washington Football Team, New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers, before becoming the first team in NFL history to host the Super Bowl in its home stadium. 

The Bucs, led by Tom Brady, Bruce Arians, Rob Gronkowski and a plethora of defensive superstars, then handed the slightly-favored Kansas City Chiefs its worst loss in the Patrick Mahomes era and brought home a Super Bowl championship. 

"This was always our vision," said coach Van Dam. "The thing that I'll always take from this team is just the hard work that we put in. When you get a chance to get out there and see these veteran NFL guys and how hard they work, it's pretty unbelievable. That's special, and it was really all about playing our best at the end of the season."

When asked about the difference between coaching college athletes, professional athletes and athletes like Tom Brady who are regarded as the greatest of all time, Van Dam kept it simple.

"All in all, one consistent thing about good players, that I have found at any level, is they are willing to put in the time, they are willing to work hard and they want to be coached," said Van Dam. 

All of those are traits that Van Dam has seen in his superstar quarterback. 

"If anybody out there could not listen, it would be Tom Brady," Van Dam said. "But seeing him respond to the coaching and seeing him take that to the field and work hard everyday and give everything he's got, separates him from everyone. His willingness to accept coaching makes him extremely exceptional."

In an NFL season unlike any other, Brady and the Bucs quickly built a winning culture, one that Van Dam knew was special.

"I think at the end of the day, it's similar to the teams I talked about before," Van Dam said. "You have to have really good players who are buying into what's going on. We had a group of guys that not only cared about winning but also cared about each other. I haven't been around a ton of different NFL organizations, but I think it's pretty unique to have guys who care about each other at this level."

Now heading into the offseason, Van Dam will have a bit of time to relax, before working towards repeating in 2021-22. 

"I haven't been back there in a while," said Van Dam when asked if he plans to return to Sioux Falls to show off the Super Bowl ring. "There's a lot of guys that still live in Sioux Falls that I'd love to get back and see so at some point, I'd love to get back there for sure."