The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be looking for their third offensive coordinator in as many seasons after being jilted by the Liam Coen, who was Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator last year.
Coen had been flirting with the head coaching position for the Jacksonville Jaguars. When the Bucs prepared a contract that would make him the highest-paid OC in the NFL, at 4.5 million a year, everyone thought the flirtation with Jacksonville was over.
The deal was contingent on Coen not taking a second interview with the Jaguars.
After the Jaguars fired head coach Doug Pederson, interest was rekindled between the Coen and the Jaguars, and late Thursday night, the deal was finalized between Coen and the Jaguars.
Ironically, this is not the first time the Bucs have been jilted at the last minute. Bill Parcells did it twice to the Bucs: once in 1991 and again in 2002.
With Baker Mayfield, a top receiving corp, and a rising star at running back in Bucky Irving, the OC position in Tampa should be attractive.
The Buccaneers could also lose two members of the defensive coaching staff. Co-defensive coordinators Kacy Rodgers and Larry Foote both could be headed to Detroit to join the Lions.