As the NFL regular season winds down for most of the league, the head coaching cycle is going to start spinning faster and faster. Already there are three openings and when the dust settles a handful more could be looking for new head coaches as well.
One name that keeps popping up is Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen, and for good reason. He’s taken a mid offense and turned it into one of the most high-powered units in the league, and has Baker Mayfield playing on an MVP-level. Above all else, he did what his predecessors were unable to do and fixed the league’s worst rushing attack.
All of this has understandably led teams to circle his name when looking for a head coach, and it has fans in Tampa Bay a little nervous. It turns out, we might be worrying a little too much.
While speaking with the media this week, Coen once again addressed the head coaching hype around him but had a bit of a different take than last time. He didn’t give a definitive answer either time, but his comments suggest that things are trending toward him returning to Tampa Bay in 2025 rather than bolting for a head coaching job this offseason.
“I do believe I’m ready , but does that need to happen when I’m 39 years old, and having probably the most fun I’ve had in my life coaching and working and being here? No,” Coen said. “That goal can hold off for a while here and continue to do what we’re doing.”
There’s absolutely a major risk that he could get hired away by another team this offseason, but it sounds like Coen is far less motivated to leave than most fans are fearing. Not unlike the situation with Baker Mayfield last year, a clear path for Coen to return is starting to emerge and make a ton of sense for all involved.
Liam Coen returning to the Bucs in 2025 is starting to feel like a real possibility
Coen will draw a ton of interest this coaching cycle, but that could end with him getting a nice raise from the Bucs to remain in Tampa Bay one more season. We saw Ben Johnson and Bobby Slowik opt to return to their respective teams last offseason and Coen getting a pay bump while not rushing into a job too soon feels like the right move.
Take a look at Johnson, who remains the top coaching candidate on the market despite returning ot Detroit. Coen could come back to the Bucs, continue to do special things with the offense, and boost his stock even higher for 2026.
It could be a situation that satisfies all corners of the Todd Bowles discourse among Bucs fans, too. Coen coming back next year sets up a potential passing of the torch situation where Bowles retires at the end of the season and Coen is hired as his replacement. We seen Tampa Bay’s ability to retain talent in the past and that should ring true here as well.
Of course, nobody saw Dave Canales leaving for a job after one season so anything is possible. What Coen is doing is far more evolved than what we saw last season, though, and returning to the Bucs would show off insane levels of confidence that the team would absolutely feed off.
Once again, look at Ben Johnson. His decision to return to Detroit has led to the best season in franchise history and the Lions’ offense got even better than it already was. That seems to be the optimal blueprint to follow, rather than rushing out the door like Canales did and potentially landing in choppy waters.
It’s a bridge that will have to be crossed eventually, but hopefully not soon. Right now it sounds like Coen is more focused on making a playoff run than what his next job will be, which is exactly where everyone’s mind should be for the next few weeks.
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