The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been heavily linked to potential offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel. The former Miami Dolphins head coach is widely considered as one of the best offensive minds in the NFL and has been brilliant at run designs. He was far and away the top choice and the team pursued him accordingly.
Tuesday night we learned that McDaniel would not be coming to Tampa. Instead he chose to become the offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Chargers, specifically to work with quarterback Justin Herbert. There is no sugarcoating that this is a disappointing outcome for the Bucs.
However, there is nothing anyone can do to change this. McDaniel made his choice and the Buccaneers still have to make theirs. The team now has to pivot to a legitimate plan B to hire as offensive coordinator.
Based on McDaniel’s resume and the other candidates that the Bucs have interviewed, we have a good idea of what they are looking for. Someone with play calling experiences is a high priority. It’s also fair to say that they will want someone to get quarterback Baker Mayfield back on track after looking lost for the second half of the season.
With that in mind, here are my top three offensive coordinator options for the Buccaneers who aren’t Mike McDaniel.
Mike Kafka
The Bucs have already brought Mike Kafka in for an interview, so there is a clear level of interest here. Kafka was most recently the New York Giants offensive coordinator and was promoted to interim head coach after the firing of Brian Daboll. His time there came with mixed results.
Despite a 4-13 record last year, the Giants offense finished 17th in points scored and 13th in yards. Keep in mind that they played 13 games without star receiver Malik Nabors, 9 games without rookie running back Cam Skattebo and had a revolving door at quarterback that was highlighted by rookie Jaxson Dart. The situation was certainly less than ideal.
Before his time in New York, Kafka came up in the coaching world with the Kansas City Chiefs. He played for Andy Reid as a player and learned under him as a coach. In terms of offensive minds, there isn’t a better guy to learn from than a future Hall of Fame coach like Reid.
Joe Brady
This is a name that only recently came available. Last weekend the Buffalo Bills lost to the Denver Broncos 33-30 in overtime. The next day they fired head coach Sean McDermott, which left the rest of the coaching staff in flux.Â
Joe Brady has been the offensive coordinator in Buffalo going back to 2023. Before that he was the offensive coordinator with the Carolina Panthers from 2020-2021 and the passing game and wide receiver coach for the national championship LSU team in 2019. In terms of experience, he has a good amount and he’s still only 36 years old.Â
Brady’s history with quarterbacks is strong, having helped guide Joe Burrow to being the number one overall draft pick and Josh Allen win NFL Most Valuable Player last year. He’s also helped build a strong running game in Buffalo with James Cook. This is a name that is definitely worth considering.
Thomas Brown
This is a name that I haven’t heard much about, but he checks all the boxes. Thomas Brown came up in the coaching ranks under Sean McVay; a system that we know based on recent hires that Bowles and the Bucs favor. He spent two years as assistant head coach with the Rams while coaching both running backs and tight ends.
Browns then spent some time as Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator and Chicago Bears offensive coordinator. He is currently the New England Patriots passing game coordinator. In this role he has helped second year quarterback Drake Maye make the jump to being second team All Pro and a finalist to win Most Valuable Player.
Brown feels ready for this type of job. He was Interim head coach in Chicago despite being in his first season there. His rise to leadership roles says a lot about him and having the opportunity to run the offense could be his big break.
For more from J.T. click here, then make sure to follow him on Twitter.
Follow, Like and Subscribe to Bucs Report
BucsReport.com
For more on this and everything Buccaneers check back here hourly at BucsReport.com.
