The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are bringing in Liam Coen to replace the recently-departed Dave Canales as the team's offensive coordinator, and it's a move that should have some immediate ripple effects.
Coen spent last season as the offensive coordinator at the University of Kentucky. In 2022, he was the offensive coordinator for Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams.
Coming from the McVay tree is never a bad thing, and it also appears as though Coen's hiring will influence some big-time decisions for the Bucs. Let's look at four specific moves Tampa Bay must make now after hiring Coen, starting with the one that he'll have plenty of influece behind.
1. Re-sign Baker Mayfield
This is a no-brainer. The first move Tampa Bay should make is to lock down Baker Mayfield for a long time. I don't care if it's just one year of success with the Bucs. He deserves it, and you know what? Bringing Coen in almost guarantees that Baker will be back.
When Coen was with the Rams in 2022, the team was in quarterback purgatory after Matthew Stafford went down with an injury. Mayfield wound up coming in and starting four games for Coen and the Rams. Remember when Mayfield was claimed off waivers on a Tuesday, then came in and threw a game-winning touchdown on Thursday night?
it was a wild 48 hours and a wild end-of-season ride for Mayfield, who quietly started to prove he was far from done. Now, he could re-sign with the Bucs and unite with Coen once again. Again, it seems like this hire was going to be under the impression that Coen would be working with Mayfield, so it's likely going to happen.
Mayfield even recently spoke as if he was coming back to Tampa Bay where he'll get to work with Coen again.