It seems like every single week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' decision to stick with Todd Bowles looks worse and worse, and while a rarity occurred this past weekend in the sense that it wasn't actually the head coach's fault that the Bucs lost the game, even criticizing Baker Mayfield for a bad performance feels like a slight swipe at Bowles for being exactly the wrong kind of coach to help Baker reach that next level under center as the Bucs franchise quarterback.
Because the worst part of it all is that every single week, the Buccaneers faithful are reminded that they had exactly the right guy to lead the organization right under their noses in Liam Coen - and they let him go to another team in the same state.
Maybe the Cleveland Browns will have something else to say about this statement in Week 2 when they face the very same Buccaneers who just lost to the AFC North's Cincinnati Bengals 33-27 in Week 1, but the Jacksonville Jaguars beating the Browns in the opener is not exactly a huge accomplishment.
Losing Liam Coen continues to haunt the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
But when juxtaposed with how poorly Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers played with how dominant the Jaguars were against the Browns on both sides of the ball and how perfect Trevor Lawrence was against a defense that was legitimately one of the best in the NFL last season - irrespective of Myles Garrett, who did nothing in Week 1 for the Los Angeles Rams, by the way - Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans can only feel more miffed at losing Liam Coen.
After leading the Jacksonville Jaguars to the postseason in 2025 while the Buccaneers completely collapsed in the NFC South under Todd Bowles, Coen looks poised to repeat the feat again in 2026. And Lawrence is still outplaying Baker Mayfield rather significantly, taking better care of the football, making difficult throws outside the numbers down the field on a more consistent basis, and managing to make big plays without giving the ball away in untimely Hero Ball episodes.
Liam Coen is everything the Buccaneers are missing in the head coaching job as an organization, and Bowles is doing nothing to raise the floor of this football team. The Jaguars win the games they are supposed to win, and the Bucs can't even avoid beating themselves - because it's not like the Bengals are some formidable force in 2026 either.
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