After lengthy, drawn-out offensive coordinator searches in each 2023 and 2024, the Bucs’ offensive coordinator search in 2025 was a lot faster and to the purpose.
Lower than per week after former coordinator Liam Coen left to turn out to be the Jaguars’ head coach, Tampa Bay has named his substitute. Josh Grizzard, the staff’s move sport coordinator in 2024 beneath Coen, can be promoted to the offensive coordinator function, NFL Community’s Mike Garafolo reported on Friday afternoon.
The #Buccaneers are selling pass-game coordinator Josh Grizzard to offensive coordinator, sources inform The Insiders. Grizzard, 34, replaces the departed Liam Coen, as Tampa retains continuity and fingers the play-calling reins over to a coach who is very regarded within the constructing. pic.twitter.com/nXxsjI969e
New Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard – Photograph by: Cliff Welch/PR
The Bucs began their search earlier this week by interviewing 5 exterior candidates – Chargers move sport coordinator Marcus Brady, Vikings assistant offensive coordinator/assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski, Rams offensive assistant/move sport specialist Nate Scheelhaase, Rams tight ends coach/move sport coordinator Nick Caley and Rams quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone.
However then got here Tampa Bay’s first and solely inner interview, which was with Grizzard.
Not solely was Grizzard the move sport coordinator for the Bucs’ top-five offense in 2024, however he was additionally accountable for an elite third-down offense. Coen praised Grizzard for his work in that space on the finish of the yr.
“I think, first of all, shoutout to Josh and really the staff in general have done a phenomenal job throughout the whole year,” Coen mentioned when discussing the staff’s success on third down, which ranked third within the NFL at 48.3% on the time. “The blokes accountable for these areas – Thad Lewis is accountable for the pink zone, ‘B-Mac’ (Bryan McClendon) is accountable for two-minute, and ‘Grizz’ occurs to be accountable for third downs.
“Their ideas, plays, and thoughts and schemes [are] what come to life as what you see on Sunday.”
Grizzard actually knew what he was doing on third downs this yr. Tampa Bay led the league with a 51.1% third down conversion proportion. Even within the staff’s playoff loss to the Commanders, the Bucs transformed 5-of-9 (55.6%) third downs.
New Bucs OC Josh Grizzard Is Younger, However He’s A lot Skilled
Bucs move sport assistant Josh Grizzard – Photograph by: Miami Dolphins
Josh Grizzard might solely be 34 years previous, however that doesn’t imply he hasn’t seen and accomplished so much all through his teaching profession.
His path to changing into the Bucs’ new offensive coordinator started in 2012 at Yale, the place he was a graduate assistant for his alma mater. From there, he labored as a graduate assistant and high quality management coach at Duke from 2013-2016.
Grizzard ultimately made the leap to the NFL in 2017. He served because the Dolphins’ offensive high quality management coach beneath Adam Gase from 2017-2018, then stayed on as high quality management coach when Brian Flores was employed in 2019. From there, he turned Miami’s extensive receivers coach for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
It was then that he helped develop Jaylen Waddle, who broke the NFL’s then-rookie-receptions document in 2021 with 104. Waddle additionally set a present Dolphins rookie document of 1,015 receiving yards.
When Flores was fired and Mike McDaniel changed him in 2022, Grizzard stayed on and spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons as an offensive high quality management coach.
His path then prolonged to Tampa Bay in 2024, when he was employed to hitch Liam Coen’s workers with the Bucs. Grizzard was extremely considered inside the halls of One Buc Place even earlier than Coen’s departure, so when Coen did go away for his new job in Jacksonville, it was solely a matter of time earlier than Grizzard would get an opportunity to interview for his first offensive coordinator job.
Bucs move sport coordinator Josh Grizzard and former OC Liam Coen – Photograph by: Cliff Welch/PR
Pewter Report’s Josh Queipo wrote this about Josh Grizzard earlier this month when discussing his candidacy for the job he has now accepted:
“His publicity to completely different ideas and kinds of offense provides him a powerful basis to construct an offense that’s a number of and fewer predictable.
Having frolicked with Miami head coach Mike McDaniel, who makes use of 21 personnel (two backs, one tight finish) greater than virtually another offensive designer within the league, in addition to Liam Coen, who was extra 11 personnel-heavy, that allowed Grizzard to see the virtues of find out how to create matchup benefits via the usage of participant groupings. It additionally provides him a singular vantage level into how he may attempt to proceed the Bucs’ success with their very own distinctive 21 personnel grouping of Bucky Irving and Rachaad White.
By his personal admission, a giant a part of Grizzard’s most up-to-date function has been to go searching the NFL to search out methods essentially the most dynamic methods to assault defenses by utilizing the newest and most inventive methods to offer his offense an opportunity to succeed. These have been qualities that head coach Todd Bowles has seemed for in his final two offensive coordinators. It ought to give Grizzard a powerful alternative to interview for the now vacant function of offensive coordinator for the Bucs.”
By making Grizzard their new offensive coordinator, the Bucs a minimum of preserve some semblance of continuity going ahead into 2025 and probably past, as it is a coach who has already labored carefully with quarterback Baker Mayfield, in addition to the remainder of the offense in Tampa Bay.
–Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds and Josh Queipo contributed to this story.
