The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in the market for a new offensive coordinator. After firing first year play caller Josh Grizzard the team will now be looking for their 5th new offensive coordinator in as many years under head coach Todd Bowles.
In a year that feels like it’s make or break for Bowles, the team has brought in a lot of veteran play callers. The names include guys like Zac Robinson, Todd Monken, Brian Callahan and Mike Kafka. These are all guys who have previous offensive coordinator or head coaching experience, if not both. It’s a prototype that makes sense to go with a head coach who runs the defense.
However, there is one name that everyone seems to have their eyes on. That is former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel. He is considered a brilliant offensive mind and playcaller and he has had multiple offensive coordinator interviews as well as head coaching interviews this cycle.
Normally, I would say that the Bucs probably won’t get a coach like this. Afterall, it’s typical that coaches will take bad head coaching jobs over even great offensive coordinator positions. That might not be the case this time.
According to Greg Auman of Fox Sports, McDaniel wouldn’t take any head coaching job. “He would consider a great OC opportunity better than a not-great head coaching vacancy” Auman said in a tweet last week. This likely cuts the list of teams that McDaniel is considering by more than half.
It’s hard to know what jobs McDaniel would consider great or not great, but by my guess I would say that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles are great offensive coordinator jobs and the Baltimore Ravens head coaching job with two time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson would be a great opportunity as well. The Buffalo Bills head coaching job with MVP quarterback Josh Allen also just opened up as well.
Admittedly, the Ravens and Bills head coaching jobs are probably the best opportunity. However, if McDaniel doesn’t get one of these jobs then he’d probably be deciding between these three offensive coordinator positions. It’s my opinion that the Bucs would be his best option of the three.
Here’s why I think that the Buccaneers are the right fit for Mike McDaniel.
Each of these offensive coordinator jobs come with more pros than cons. They are three great opportunities and most would be happy to have any of them. So really, it’s about the right fit.
The Lions can make a case for that. They have great leadership under head coach Dan Campbell. Perhaps more importantly, they have great playmakers in star running back Jhamyr Gibbs and a pair of great receivers in Amon-Ra St Brown and Jameson Williams.
However, there is one thing that this dynamic offense is lacking. That is a good offensive line. With starting left tackle Taylor Decker and starting center Graham Glasgow considering retirement, there are a lot of holes in this unit. A potential offensive coordinator might be turned off by this shortcoming.
The Eagles do have a good offensive line, even with star right tackle Lane Johnson getting close to the end of his career. They also have great playmakers in Saquan Barkley, AJ Brown and Devonte Smith. In terms of on the field, this is probably the best option.
The thing that would worry me here is locker room dysfunction. It feels like wide receiver AJ Brown is constantly unhappy and making a scene. Head Coach Nick Sirianni has also issues of arguing with fans and being at the heart of his own drama.
That brings me the Buccaneers. A locker room with a respected head coach in Todd Bowles and a very tight and professional locker room. The culture with the Buccaneers is very good.
The Bucs also have a great offensive line and wide receivers. And while running back Bucky Irving had a down year last season, we saw flashes of greatness from him as a rookie. He might be the least impressive running back of this group, but he’s absolutely someone you can have success with.
Everyone is hoping that McDaniel will choose them. His ability to design a rushing offense is fantastic and he put together a passing attack that had Tua Tagovailoa lead the NFL in passing yards in 2023. This truly is one of the best offensive minds in the game.
And while there is a lot of competition to land this super star play caller, the Bucs are probably the best fit for him. He can stay in sunny Florida, have excellent talent to work with and potentially have a clear path to the head coaching job in a year or two after Bowles retires. It is a perfect landing spot for a coach looking for his next opportunity.
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