The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and offensive coordinator Liam Coen have parted ways. After one very successful year, Coen moved on to be the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. This has now happened to the Bucs in back to back years as former offensive coordinator Dave Canales left last offseason after one year to become head coach of the Carolina Panthers.
This trend of losing offensive coordinators isn’t one that I like. However, it’s a testament to how successful the Bucs offense was over the last two seasons. That is both a trend that I like and one that I believe will carry over into the 2025 season.
The only question now is what coach will guide this offense next year? That’s hard to say at this point because the Bucs should have their choice of qualified candidates. This opening is nothing short of an ideal scenario for any potential offensive coordinator candidate.
This is true for many reasons. From the front office, to the head coach, to the abundance of offensive talent; the Bucs offensive coordinator opening is a dream job for whoever wants it. Here’s why.
Front Office
Very few organizations have the stability in the front office that the Buccaneers do. It is a job that comes with a lot of successes and failures and most general managers don’t last five years or more. That is certainly not the case in Tampa.
Jason Licht has been steering the ship for the Bucs for nearly a decade. He has won a Super Bowl and drafted future Hall of Fame players such as Mike Evans, Tristan Wirfs and Vita Vea (potentially). There might not be a better general manager in football when it comes to identifying and drafting young talent.Â
He’s also hit home runs with a few big name free agents. Impact players such as Tom Brady, Shaq Barrett and Ryan Jensen were key players in the Bucs most recent championship. Guys who Licht took a chance on and had great success with.
When it comes to accumulating talent, specifically talent on cheap contracts, there is no doubt that Licht is one of the best. If the future offensive coordinator wants to add a new wide receiver or left guard, then you can bet that Licht will find him one.
Head Coach
I don’t know about you, but I feel like I do my best work when there isn’t someone breathing down my neck. That isn’t always the case in this league where every successful head coach typically had great success as a coordinator. The same is true of Todd Bowles, but fortunately for potential candidates it wasn’t on the offensive side of the ball.
Bowles has always described himself as hands off when it comes to the offensive side of the ball. He puts a lot of trust in his coordinators and gives them a lot of freedom to do what they want within the overall structure of the game plan. That should be appealing for an innovative offensive mind.
Bowles has also done a great job building a culture inside the Buccaneers locker room. It is a group of professionals who put in the work, do their jobs and strive for one unified goal. Despite recent events from the former offensive coordinator, the Bucs organization is one with no drama and no nonsense inside the locker room.
Offensive Talent
Where do you even begin with this one? How about the future Hall of Fame left tackle Tristian Wirfs? Or the quarterback who put himself in MVP conversations this year? Or a wide receiver who is establishing himself as one of the ten best players at his position in NFL history?
Whatever you might want as an offensive coordinator, the Buccaneers have it. They had one of the best running games in the NFL last season; in part due to one of the best offensive lines in football and also in part to a rookie running back who proved to be one of the biggest playmakers in the league. If you’re a coordinator who wants to establish the run then the Bucs are built for that.
However, if you want to air the ball out then the Bucs can do that too. Baker Mayfield had a career year with 4,500 passing yards and 41 passing touchdowns. This was in part due to a pair of veteran star receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. These results were also the result of young talent as well with Jalen McMillan, Cade Otton and Rachaad White.
It is a deep group of pass catchers in Tampa and they have a mobile quarterback who isn’t afraid to sling the ball around. They are a physical front who want to impose their will on the defense. Any way you want to attack a defense, the Buccaneers have the pieces to do so.Â
Now they just need a play caller to decide how they want to score next year.
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