The Tampa Bay Buccaneers riled up their fan base by keeping Todd Bowles as the head coach, but they at least appeased a section of the supporters by canning Josh Grizzard, who got the absolute least out of one of the most talented skill position groups in the entire NFL.
As Tampa Bay interview obvious candidates like former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel and more off the beaten path candidates like former Stanford head man David Shaw, the importance of getting this hire right cannot be underestimated. And for the Buccaneers, there is no more important person to keep in mind when choosing an offensive coordinator than the highly talented but immensely volatile star quarterback Baker Mayfield.
One of the Buccaneers' top candidates was former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken. FOX Sports reporter Greg Auman reported that unlike some of the other candidates who interviewed virtually, Monken interviewed with the Bucs in person for the offensive coordinator vacancy on Wednesday.
Not long after it turned out the pairing wasn't meant to be. After the New York Giants hired John Harbaugh as head coach, Monken decided to follow him as part of his staff. It's a bummer for those who were hoping for Monken to boost the offense but it wasn't exactly a sure-thing that would happen.
Todd Monken is more bust than boom, and Baker Mayfield deserves better
Monken would have been an intriguing hire for a couple of reasons. Not only does he have a connection with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their former offensive coordinator from 2016 to 2018, he was also briefly Baker Mayfield's offensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns in 2019.
The thing is, Monken was not particularly impressive in either role, lasting just one season with the Browns. Both the Browns and Buccaneers were better without him. And in his most recent season, Monken was a total disaster for the Ravens, viewed by many in the fan base as equally responsible as John Harbaugh for holding back generational talent Lamar Jackson with woeful play calling.
Some of that is unfair, since the Ravens had pretty subpar wide receivers and never addressed some of their key positional needs around Jackson, who was also held back by injuries just as much as coaching concerns.
Still, most people are not going to give Monken much credit for Lamar's individual play and are instead going to give Monken grief for not achieving more with a historically great quarterback.
And if Monken does not have the best direct track record with either Baker or the Bucs while coming off the 2025 season with a worse reputation after mismanaging the best quarterback in the NFL, it is hard to see how bringing him on as Baker's offensive coordinator after Tampa's rough 2025 season is going to be the wisest, let alone the safest, decision.