It’s no secret that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a number of things to get to this offseason, but something flying under the radar is Liam Coen filling out his offensive staff.
Not only that, Coen is — by all accounts — doing a tremendous job.
Earlier this week he hired Brian Piccuci away from his old stomping grounds in Lexington to help rebuild the offensive line. It’s one of the tallest tasks the Bucs have this offseason, as not only does two years of mediocre-to-bad play need to be coached out, but there’s a pretty high likelihood that a bunch of new faces populate the front line.
Hiring Picucci is also rooted in trying to fix the Buccaneers run game, which was again one of the worst in the league last year despite having Rachaad White’s explosiveness. Part of the reason the Bucs were trying so hard to get the run game going was to open things up for guys like Chris Godwin and Mike Evans — something that Coen is keeping in mind with another slam dunk hire he made.
Buccaneers make another smart hire by adding ‘well-regarded’ Georgia coach
After hiring one of his former colleagues at Kentucky, Coen dipped back into the college ranks to hire Georgia Bulldogs wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon to the same role. It’s not an obvious move,
Another college defection: Buccaneers hired Georgia’s well-regarded wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator Bryan McClendon as their wide receivers coach, per source. https://t.co/rtwqARXHjE
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 17, 2024
He replaces Brad Idzik, who left to become the Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator under Dave Canales.
McClendon isn’t a name that leaps off the page to casual fans who tune in on Saturdays, but everything that has come out about the hire suggests that it’s another smart move. He’s been described as ‘well-regarded’ and highly thought of piece of Kirby Smart’s coaching staff in Athens.
In addition to his work at Georgia, where he played his college ball, McClendon has spent time at all the right places including stints with South Carolina and Oregon. He returned to Georgia in 2022 to help the Bulldogs a national championship, after being set up to head to Miami and become co-offensive coordinator.
All of that suggests McClendon not only brings experience with him to help evolve the Bucs passing game, but has the sort of promise to be a fast rising star on the NFL coaching scene. He’ll be in the perfect spot to try and make his mark, as he’ll be working with Chris Godwin (and presumably Mike Evans) in addition to continuing to develop Trey Palmer into a WR3 of the future.
Coen is still fresh in the job of Buccaneers offensive coordinator, but everything he’s done so far suggests he’s going to be exactly the guy Tampa Bay needs him to be.