As the famous line from The Dark Knight goes, the night is always darkest before the dawn. That’s what Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans are dealing with today, as just when it seemed offensive coordinator Liam Coen was going to bolt for the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching job he has decided to stay right where he is.
Everyone in Tampa Bay was rightfully worried that he’d leave but it turns out the best theoretical option for him is the one he ended up going with.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Coen is coming back to the Buccaneers after signing a deal to become the highest paid coordinator in the league. It’s an absolutely massive move, but always seemed like the best one possible for all involved.
Well, all except for the Jaguars who are now 0-for-2 on coaching candidates.
Nobody in Tampa cares about that, though, as Coen deciding to return breaks what felt like an annual cycle of the Bucs losing impressive coordinators to other teams. Last season Dave Canales parlayed his success to land the Carolina Panthers head coaching job which is why everyone assumed that Coen — who did an even better job in 2024 — was as good as gone.
Everything seemed to be pointing in that direction, but Coen returning was always the best option for him.
Liam Coen returning to the Buccaneers in 2025 sets up a clear path for the future
There are two takeaways from Coen’s decision, with one less obvious than the other but potentially more imapctful. Amid the rumors that he would leave, a vocal portion of the fan base was crying for Todd Bowles to be fired and replaced by Coen to ensure the Bucs didn’t lose a top offensive mind.
That reality is still in play, although the transition between regimes is now setup to be a lot less messy than what fans were calling for.
At the start of 2023 Bruce Arians moved into a front office role with the Bucs and handed the head coaching keys over to Bowles. That’s a scenario we could see again next offseason with Bowles moving into a senior role behind the scenes and making Coen his successor.
It’s a best of both worlds scenario, as Bowles didn’t do anything to truly justify firing him this year and it allows him to try and run things back next year. Injuries severely depleted the defense and held the team back from truly reaching its potential, which is what we could see the Bucs do next year now that Coen is back.
This move essentially gives the Bucs dibs on hiring Coen next year which is exactly how this should have always played out. Not firing Bowles means he can continue to have a relationship with the team beyond his coaching career, which is important given how well-liked he is in every corner of the building.
It’s an unexpected plot twist in that these things almost never work out for the Buccaneers. But we’re truly in a new era for the team where not only is Tampa Bay competitive but it’s clearly a place people want to be.
More Tampa Bay Buccaneers news and rumors