The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fanbase has made a complete 180 when it comes to former offensive coordinator Liam Coen. After crowning him as an offensive mastermind who could possibly succeed Todd Bowles, he has become public enemy No. 1 after his stunning departure.
Just a few hours after agreeing to a deal that would see him return to the Bucs as offensive coordinator, Coen took the head coach job with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Coen's desire to coach Trevor Lawrence and run the show in Duval County brought his Bucs career to an unceremonious end.
Coen doesn't have the biggest Rolodex of contacts within the NFL, which led many to believe that he would target his old running mates in Tampa Bay to take the Jaguars plunge with him. Todd Bowles and the Bucs don't seem too keen on letting him poach their staff.
According to Adam Schefter, the Bucs did not help Coen out in his pursuit of an experienced staff by blocking him from interviewing assistant offensive line coach Brian Picucci. Rather than do their old running mate a solid, Tampa is committed to making like hard on him in Jacksonville (as if it wasn't hard enough).
Buccaneers screw Liam Coen, Jaguars by blocking Brian Picucci interview
Picucci, who has more than 20 years of assistant coach experience in college, served as an offensive assistant with Matt Patricia's Lions teams. Picucci linked up with Coen during his time at Kentucky, and he was brought to Tampa Bay when Coen moved back up to the professional ranks.
Tampa Bay had one of the best offensive lines in the NFC this year despite some turnover from past years, and Picucci played a big part in that. He could have been a real asset for a Jacksonville team that saw their offensive line regress so sharply during the 2024 season.
Coen has not hired an offensive coordinator yet, but it seems like he will be calling plays for Lawrence and the offense. He didn't try to take anyone from Bowles' defensive staff, as he hired former Packers linebackers coach and run game coordinator Anthony Campinale to be his defensive coordinator.
While the Bucs may say all the right things publicly about how Coen's departure impacted the team, moves like this show there are still some sour grapes on Tampa's side about the whole ordeal. That anger and confusion are completely justified due to how sudden it was.
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