It seemed inevitable, but the fact that Mike McDaniel is actually interviewing for a job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers still feels surreal.
The Bucs fired offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard as part of a year-end purge that helped save Todd Bowles' job. With Grizzard out, the team has massive shoes to fill both in terms of what the open role represents but also what it has done for two of the last three guys to have filled it.
Both Dave Canales and Liam Coen needed just one year in Tampa to propel themselves to head coaching jobs, and it seems McDaniel's best shot at rehabbing his reputation is with the Bucs. It's a perfect scenario, and we're officially one step closer to it happening.
Mike McDaniel would be a dream hire for the Buccaneers' offense
Some might argue that the best -- and most obvious -- path for McDaniel to becoming a head coach again is to simply take one of the open positions around the league. He reportedly interviewed with the Cleveland Browns and could be a fit for any of the teams looking for an offensive-minded head coach.
If he truly wants to get back to where he was when he took the Dolphins job, then a stint with the Bucs is exactly what he needs.
McDaniel made his name coaching in Kyle Shanahan's offense and was viewed as being on the same level as him when he hit the coaching circuit back in 2022. He's fallen from grace a bit, but landing with the Bucs would provide him with a chance to prove that he wasn't the problem in Miami.
What better place to do that than with an offense that has weapons like Emeka Egbuka, Bucky Irving, Jalen McMillan, Chris Godwin, and Mike Evans with Baker Mayfield captaining the ship. Three of those guys were enough to boost Coen and Canales to head coaching gigs, so imagine what an elite offensive mind like McDaniel could do with that and even more.
For the Bucs, McDaniel is the exact type of coordinator they need. Grizzard was a symptom of Coen bailing unexpectedly and the team being a little too high on its own supply when it came to being an offensive coordinator factory. Hiring McDaniel would give them one of the most brilliant offensive minds in football, but also an experienced play caller with head coaching experience.
The former is a trait the team has made it clear is a priority in their search, and it positions everyone to have a plan beyond this year.
McDaniel wants to be a head coach again, and with the Bucs he'd be in a position where he could get elevated into that role if Todd Bowles retires or gets fired after next season. It's a plan the Bucs seemed to have wanted with Coen but didn't get, but now have a chance to make it happen anyway.
Tampa Bay isn't the only open job, with Detroit being a pretty decent landing spot for McDaniel as well. He could also skip the line and take a vacant head coaching job this season as well, but it seems the best case scenario for fully rehabbing his image as a guru is with the Buccaneers.