It's not hyperbole to say that the Liam Coen saga that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were dragged through this week is one of the craziest moments in NFL history. Reporters from all corners of the game, new and old, are noting that they've never seen anything like what happened with Coen and the Bucs, and everyone is still sifting through the fallout from everything that went down.
For anyone who somehow missed the drama, Coen bowed out of the running to be the Jaguars' next head coach to return to the Bucs on a deal that would make him the richest coordinator ever. Rather than sign the deal, he ghosted his old team and instead flew back to Jacksonville to hammer out a deal with Shad Khan after Trent Baalke was fired as general manager.
It was some serious Real Housewives stuff, and as the dust settles the Bucs are right back to where they were a year ago looking for a new offensive coordinator. Say what you will about Dave Canales, at least he left Tampa Bay like an adult.
Despite the tomfoolery he pulled with the Bucs, Coen actually signed his contract with the Jaguars on Friday and the team officially announced his hiring. After the ink dried on his new deal, Coen broke his silence for the first time since this whole situation began.
Liam Coen speaks for the first time after leaving Buccaneers to become Jaguars HC
NFL on FOX insider Peter Schrager posted Coen's first comments after his role as Jagaurs head coach became official on Friday. In it he thanks the Buccaneers for helping him get to where he's at, naming Todd Bowles specifically as someone who helped him and his family last year.
“Becoming the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars is an opportunity of a lifetime, and one that I am going to run with to instill a championship culture and winning tradition here in Duval," Coen said. "This doesn’t happen without the support and opportunities that my family and I have been afforded throughout my career, especially during this past season in Tampa Bay. We thank Todd Bowles for his continued support and the entire Buccaneers organization for the experience and know they will have success ahead."
While his words had respect for his former colleagues with the Buccaneers, his actions speak a little louder the other way.
Nobody is upset that Coen took another job or even that he had a change of heart after agreeing to return to the Buccaneers. It's how he did it -- by not being upfront or even looping the team in until after things were settled -- that reportedly has the Buccaneers irate.
Coen is gone and the Bucs have perhaps the most coveted coordinator opening in the entire league, but the fallout from this is only just beginning. Not only are the two sides trying to muscle their version of the story into the forefront of the narrative, but Coen is likely to poach coaches and players away from Tampa Bay as he builds out his vision in Jacksonville.
It was already going to be a big offseason for the Buccaneers, but it's one that also just got a little spicier than we expected.
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