In 2023, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hired Dave Canales to be their new offensive coordinator, replacing Byron Leftwich. The longtime former Seahawks assistant had Tampa Bay scoring 18 points per game through the first five weeks, with a 3-2 record.
The team went on to average 21.5 points per game the rest of the way, and Canales found himself on his way out the door. Hired by Carolina as head coach, he left Tampa Bay again without an offensive coordinator.
In came Liam Coen. In 2024, Coen had Tampa Bay scoring 25.4 points per game through five weeks, again with a 3-2 record.
From there, the team would average 31.3 points per game over their next 12 games, finishing 10-7. For the second straight offseason, their first-year coordinator was out of the building, poached this time by Jacksonville to be the new head coach of the Jaguars.
That led to the hiring of Josh Grizzard, and the 2025 offense has been ever better through the first five games.
So far, Tampa Bay is off to a 4-1 start, and is averaging a whopping 27 points per game. Their offense is rolling, and QB Baker Mayfield is getting serious MVP talk.
Is Grizzard the best offensive coordinator Tampa Bay has hired yet? He's got the offense off to its best start in a long time, and things could get even better from here. Tampa's schedule includes matchups with teams like the Lions, Saints, Cardinals, Falcons, Panthers, and Dolphins, none of whom have good defenses. The points are coming easily right now for the Buccaneers, and it will likely stay that way.
It may lead to speculaton that Grizzard could be the third straight offensive coordinator to be hired away from Tampa Bay as soon as he succeeds. At this point, while that would of course be a bummer, it would not be a massive setback. Tampa has proven they are capable of making good hire after good hire at the coordinator positions, and it's a big reason why they've made the playoffs five years in a row.
Will Grizzard follow in Coen's example and average 30 points the rest of the way? It's certainly possible, especially once Mike Evans and Bucky Irving get healthy. Even if they don't, though, it looks like they have once again nailed the hire of their new coordinator. Let's hope he sticks around for at least two years!