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.
2. Re-sign Mike Evans
If you look at Coen's most recent stop in Kentucky, his offense spread the ball around. Kentucky had three wide receivers with over 40 receptions and 500 receiving yards last season.
But, if we're looking at the current Bucs receiving core without Mike Evans, it's not a group that you'd feel great about spreading the ball out between.
Chris Godwin is by far the best player in this bunch, and Trey Palmer has shown some things. But, without Evans, those two take a step back. Evans is the catalyst for this passing game, and the gateway for Godwin and Palmer to have success as well.
Fortunately, Evans has the support of Jason Licht. We've talked many times about LIcht's comments around the trade deadline last year. He publicly said he'd love for Evans to continue his career in Tampa Bay, despite the team not offering him a contract prior to Week 1 like Evans had previously requested.
There has to be mutual interest on both sides to get this done, and I do not believe Baker comes back as easily without Evans. Sure, Baker wants to be a starter in this league for many years, and it sure looks like Tampa will give him that opportunity. But, don't think he doesn't want Evans back in a bad way.
3. Find an early down running back
The days of an every-down back are all but done in today's NFL. Very few teams have one of those guys, and it's not necessarily a bad thing. If you look at Kentucky's offense last year, they had exactly that. Ray Davis handled nearly two thirds of all carries on the team. He also caught 33 passes. The guy was the guy for Kentucky.
In the NFL, though, Coen won't be able to do that. Specifically, he can't do that in Tampa Bay. We've already seen what happens when Rachaad White is given that role. Now, that's not to say White is a bad player. On the contrary, in fact. White is a very good player, but he should be used more in a 50-50 split.
White is excellent in the passing game and when given the opportunity to run outside the tackles. He is electric in space. What the Bucs need is a running back who can handle the early down work and keep defenses honest. More often than not, White would run into a wall if given a simple dive or draw play.
Part of that means the Bucs need to revamp their interior line. But, at the same time, they would serve themselves well by either signing a guy like Derrick Henry (who had been rumored to the Bucs last season) or drafting a bigger back like, say, Wisconsin's Braelon Allen in the third or fourth round.
4. Find a difference-maker at tight end
For all of the Cade Otton lovers out there, I'm sorry. Look, Otton is a fine player. But, he's not a difference-maker. He's a guy you can count on to catch the football, but beyond that, he doesn't do anything spectacular.
If you look back to the 2022 Rams, when Coen was there, Los Angeles' second-leading receiver was tight end Tyler Higbee. And, it was mostly due by necessity. Beyond Cooper Kupp, the Rams had Allen Robinson and Ben Skowronek as their next leading wideouts in terms of receptions. Kupp ended that year with 75 receptions (in just nine games) while Higbee ended with 72.
When the Rams were without Kupp, they depended on Higbee a lot. Now, just imagine if the entire offense had been healthier and in an otherwise better situation. Kupp didn't miss time. The Rams had a bonafide WR2. Their run game featured Kyren Williams earlier on in his career rather than deferring to Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson. Plus, you still had Higbee.
That's what the Bucs could have this coming season by re-signing Evans, getting another running back to pair with White and then finding a difference-maker at tight end. Whether it's in the draft or free agency (Hunter Henry, maybe?), the Bucs should make a move here. If they do, it could all come together for Coen and what might end up being a top-10 offense, easily.