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Buccaneers rumors: 1 serious and 1 not so serious offensive coordinator candidate

By Josh Hill

Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /
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SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 08: Head coach Kliff Kingsbury of the Arizona Cardinals reacts during the first half against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on January 08, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 08: Head coach Kliff Kingsbury of the Arizona Cardinals reacts during the first half against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on January 08, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Ex-Head Coach. Arizona Cardinals. Kliff Kingsbury. 1. player. 32.

I’m sorry, but we’ve gotta do it. We have to talk about Kliff Kingsbury in Tampa, if for no other reason than every option should be on the table.

This one is truly a wild card for a number of different reasons. First off, there’s no guarantee that Kliff even wants to return to the NFL anytime soon. He did what every rich kid getting ready to go to college does and bought a ticket to Thailand to find himself.

Joking aside, there’s some truth to that, and it’s the college element. Kliff made his bones at Texas Tech, and the way the college game is going to might be in his best interest to return to where it all started for him. The best part about it is he doesn’t need to find a head coaching job, or commit to a program beyond a few years. All it takes is a few years of coaching Nick Saban’s offense at Alabama for Kingsbury to rehab his image and get back into the thick of coaching rumors — whether that be in college or in the NFL.

Heck, if we’re taking outside the box then there might even be a reality where Kliff is the guy the music stops on when it comes to succeeding Saban in Tuscaloosa. How’s that for a crazy thought.

It’s less crazy, but still laced in a bit of lunacy, to suggest Kliff come to Tampa Bay. But it makes sense in that he’d have absolutely zero pressure on him to succeed if Brady doesn’t come back and would fail quietly once everyone again forgets the Buccaneers are a football team. And if there’s a reality where he succeeds Saban at Alabama, there’s certainly one where his offense produces enough that the Glazers give him the head coaching job should they decide to move on from Bowles.

Tampa Bay is no stranger to promoting from within, and it wouldn’t be the first time a defensive-minded head coach was replaced by his offensive coordinator — especially if the Bucs land a high draft pick in 2024 and Kliff is given the keys to picking his guy.

That didn’t go over so well in Arizona with Kyler Murray and it’s certainly a gamble. But outside of a select few opportunities, which one provides Kliff with more upside for  reputation rehab than coaching an offense with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Rashaad White, Tristan Wirfs, and potentially Tom Brady?

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