4 Candidates to Exchange Liam Coen as Bucs Offensive Coordinator

“Well, it’s Groundhog Day….again.”

Past being a seasonally acceptable nod, it’s now sadly turn into fairly related to the Buccaneers and offensive coordinator searches.

For the third consecutive low season, the Bucs will probably be coach procuring (and I will probably be writing about it) after Thursday’s surprising flip of occasions noticed Liam Coen renege on his verbal extension settlement with the Bucs in favor of the Jaguars’ head teaching job. The coordinator of a consensus top-5 offense will probably be gone after a single season, and head coach Todd Bowles and normal supervisor Jason Licht will probably be tasked with changing him like they changed Dave Canales this time final yr.

So, who may Coen’s substitute be? We are able to run by some attainable names to look out for because the Bucs will seemingly search to fill this void rapidly – the Bucs changed Canales with Coen in simply over per week.

Grizzard has overseen gifted passing assaults between his time in Miami (pictured) and Tampa Bay

Photograph by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Pictures

Josh Grizzard

This one is definitely the highest in-house candidate.

The crew’s incumbent go recreation coordinator and third-down specialist, the 34-year-old Grizzard is a formidable coach who lasted by a number of regimes with the Miami Dolphins as an assistant earlier than getting his expanded alternative with Tampa.

The Bucs excelled on third down all through the season, logging an NFL-best 51.1% clip in these conditions. Hailing from Yale, he’s been praised by Coen and others for his mind and strategy to offense.

He’s younger and unfamiliar with playcalling, however that hasn’t actually dissuaded Bucs brass with Canales and Coen, neither of whom known as performs on the NFL stage previous to being employed.

Selling Grizzard would additionally seemingly cement retaining a number of assistants on board, like offensive line coach Kevin Carberry, tight ends coach Justin Peele, and receiver coach Bryan McClendon.

Any rent is dangerous and sure going to end in a regression, so the high-upside play is hardly a foul transfer right here.

Photograph by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Pictures

Thad Lewis

One other in-house candidate, Lewis has lasted by three separate offensive coordinators now.

The previous NFL QB turned QB coach impressed each Bruce Arians and Todd Bowles, therefore his prolonged keep and eventual promotion from assistant receivers coach. Bowles was very complimentary upon Lewis’s promotion a pair years in the past.

“He is very quarterback friendly,” Bowles stated. “I think the world of Thad. I think he will be an offensive coordinator in light [speed] from now. I think it’s a good move for him and I am excited to see it.”

Lewis has assisted Baker Mayfield with reviving his NFL profession the final two years, which is definitely a outstanding feather in his cap. He took interviews with the Raiders, Bengals, Titans and Payments final low season, so he has been getting some consideration.

Once more, no playcalling expertise, however the advantages of giving him a shake cowl a lot of the identical bases as Grizzard. It might simply come all the way down to a matter of whom Licht and Bowles discover themselves most impressed by.

Photograph by Alex Grimm/Getty Pictures

Frank Smith

Sure, exterior candidates will completely discover their option to One Buc Place throughout the subsequent week, and one may reside only a few hours south.

Like Grizzard, Smith would come from the Miami Dolphins, however the latter additionally comes with much more NFL expertise. Smith, who’s at present Miami’s offensive coordinator however doesn’t name performs, has lower his tooth by varied positional roles, together with tight ends coach with Chicago and Las Vegas and offensive line with New Orleans and the Los Angeles Chargers.

His position within the run recreation was clearly evident in each Miami and Los Angeles, and he would completely be attention-grabbing in getting the chance to teach his personal offense. His publicity to all kinds of techniques and ideas theoretically bodes properly to creating a sensible offense.

He’s gotten some league buzz the final couple years, so it wouldn’t damage to not less than verify him out.

Set Quantity: X164649

Will Stein

If we’re dipping into the faculty realm, that is extra of enjoyable outside-the-box suggestion. Stein completely suits the invoice for what the Bucs have centered on by way of playcaller traits not too long ago – younger, ingenious envelope-pushers who stability the run and the go properly.

Stein has coordinated a deadly offense at Oregon the final two years and at UTSA earlier than that. In 2024, Oregon was usually a high 20 offense in most classes within the common season, together with distinctive numbers on third down (fifth within the nation) and scoring (36.9 factors per recreation, seventh nationally).

The 35-year-old Stein has roots in a pro-style assault however deploys quite a lot of ideas out of various personnel teams, together with the beloved “pony” package deal that Coen used to nice impact with the Bucs this yr. A plus aspect to that’s Stein re-uniting with rookie star Bucky Irving, who performed at Oregon in Stein’s first yr on the helm.

The previous Louisville quarterback definitely stands out as somebody poised for greater issues very quickly, so why not in Tampa?

Oregon OC Will Stein – Offensive Philosophy

Start with the Finish in Thoughts- Begins with the imaginative and prescient from the HC on how he desires the crew to look- My job is to verify the imaginative and prescient involves light- After the sport these MUST present up

1. Most bodily crew on the field- Run to win… pic.twitter.com/HldvAhr81v

— James Gentle (@JamesALight) December 22, 2024

Properly, as attention-grabbing because it could be in idea, Stein would face hurdles.

He’s by no means labored within the NFL earlier than in any capability, so there’s some inherent threat there in each adapting scheme to the trials of NFL defenses and the logistical hurdles of presumably placing collectively a employees with restricted connections – it might fall on Bowles and Licht to usher in established veteran help in an assistant coach kind of position. You possibly can look to Seattle simply this yr, because the Seahawks fired faculty stalwart Ryan Grubb from their playcalling duties – his first professional alternative – after only one season on the controls.

Underneath a microscope, the Bucs may also pause at Stein’s heavy use of zone blocking. An enormous a part of the crew’s unleashed speeding assault was their proficiency with hole ideas, and whereas zone nonetheless performed a giant position within the offensive total, they may hesitate to put in somebody who’s not as aware of marrying these two predominant blocking ideas effectively (the Bucs remained a not-very-good zone run crew all year long). One a part of the puzzle, however an essential one.

These are all only a chook’s eye view guess, not many noticed Canales nor Coen coming from a hiring perspective. You’ll see a wholesome assortment of names talked about this time in addition to Bowles continues to battle off the stress that comes with being a defensive head coach in an offensive league.