Don’t confuse a head coach not being fired in the immediate aftermath of the season ending as that meaning his job is safe.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans kept telling themselves that when it came to Todd Bowles, even though it ended up being a fruitless endevor. Another coach wasn’t so lucky, as Mike McDaniel was fired by the Miami Dolphins four days after his team played its final game.
It’s news that comes on the heels of another firing in Florida; just hours earlier, the Bucs fired offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard. The move ends his time in Tampa and vacates a role that propelled two of its last three occupants to head coaching positions after just one tour of duty with the team.
You can already tell where this is going.
Mike McDaniel could be a perfect candidate to revive the Buccaneers' offense as he revives his coaching career
Firing Grizzard is a total failure on the part of everyone who put him in the position, in addition to the man himself. Part of it was just luck running out -- a team can only cycle through coordinators who instantly become head coaches for so long before -- but it also feels like a symptom of misplaced confidence.
It really feels like the Bucs were so high on their own supply that they thought the gravy train would just keep flowing. That made the crash out this year so much worse, but it's not a confidence that should be left among the rubble of the season.
McDaniel isn't the only candidate the Bucs should consider, nor is he one that everyone is universally agreed upon as an option. If history tells us anything, it's that Jason Licht and Todd Bowles will seek out a rising external star to bring in and freshen up the offense.
That's what happened with Dave Canales and Liam Coen, and precedent has been set for it to happen again. However, the coaching pipeline has firmly been established and it's one that McDaniel might want to get in on if he wants to fast track his way back to another head coaching gig.
Look at what happened with Robert Saleh, who was fired by the Jets last year but has rehabbed his reputation in one year with the 49ers that he's getting interviews this cycle. McDaniel made his name as an offensive guru and a leader of this new wave movememt that has swept the league.
He's not a young up-and-comer, but this could be a perfect marriage of a team that needs to inject its offense with new ideas and a guy who has those ideas and wants to get back in everyone's good graces.
Imagine the things a brilliant mind like McDaniel could cook up while scheming for guys like Bucky Irving, Emeka Egbuka, and Jalen McMillan, plus veterans like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Tez Johnson showed flashes last year and seems like the type of player McDaniel could turn into a star.
Let's take it a step further: Tampa Bay could get a second shot at doing what they were probably trying to last year. Liam Coen was likely viewed as the successor to Todd Bowles, but he didn't stick around long enough for that to happen. McDaniel wants to rehab his reputation as a head coach, and if he does that in Tampa then he might not have to move far to get back into that role.
McDaniel comes in, the Bucs turn things around and allow Bowles to retire gracefully, and the succession plan kicks in.
The dust is still settling on all of the coaching changes the Bucs are making under Bowles, and a lot can happen between now and when replacements are actually hired. Nate Scheelhaase is perhaps the best fit for the job since he checks all of the boxes Bowles and Licht looked for when hiring Canales and Coen, but it's at least worth considering what McDaniel coming to Tampa Bay might look like and why it feels like a winning idea too good to be true.