Despite agreeing to a deal to return next season, Liam Coen decided to reverse course in the messiest way possible and left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a lurch. After a whirlwind saga, Coen ended up taking the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching job and went about it in the worst possible way.
Coen reportedly ghosted the Bucs after agreeing to stay in Tampa Bay and become the highest-paid coordinator in NFL history. This happened after the Jaguars fired general manager Trent Baalke and offered Coen the chance to pick who the team hires next. That’s a ton of power to give a coach who has never done the job before, but desperate franchises tend to go to extreme lengths to fix a problem.
The Buccaneers aren’t down nearly that bad, and Coen leaving opens up what is likely going to be viewed as the No. 1 coordinator opening in the league. In back-to-back years, first-year coordinators parlayed success with the Bucs into head coaching jobs, which is a selling point that should attract top candidates to fill Coen’s shoes.
Now that the dust has started to settle, the Bucs can start sifting through who might be the best guy to hand the keys of the offense to in 2025.
Top offensive coordinator candidates Buccaneers could target to replace Liam Coen
Nick Caley, Rams TE Coach/Passing Game Coordinator
In each of the last two hiring cycles the Bucs have steered away from obvious picks and popular names to land the right guy. So far that’s meant producing two head coaches essentially out of thin air as Dave Canales and Liam Coen couldn’t have been picked out of a grocery line before getting under the spotlight Tampa Bay provided.
Everything about Nick Caley suggests he’s next in line to get knighted in that same way. He’s been around a lot longer than both of those guys, having spent eight years with the New England Patriots as an offensive coach before joining the Rams staff in 2023. That means his entire NFL career has been spent under either Bill Belichick or Sean McVay, which is incredible company to keep.
That connection with the Patriots could be a string that Jason Licht pulls on, if needed, but the allure of potenitally catapulting to a head coaching job speaks for itself. Caley is considered to be the favorite to become the New York Jets offensive coordinator under Aaron Glenn, but it’s hard to see him seeing that as a better opportunity to advance his career than coming down to Tampa Bay and working with Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans, and Bucky Irving.
Alex Van Pelt, former Patriots Offensive Coordinator
When Dave Canales left for the Panthers job last year, Alex Van Pelt appeared to be a perfect candidate to take over in Tampa Bay. Among the biggest selling point was Van Pelt’s history with Baker Mayfield, as the two worked together back in Cleveland which would have provided some nice continuity.
That same arguement still exists, and like last year Van Pelt is looking for work. He was let go as part of hte regime change up in New England and is looking to land on his feet in a place where he can prove that last year’s offensive struggles weren’t his fault. A guy motivated to prove the doubters wrong seems like a perfect fit for Tampa Bay’s cutler, and Van Pelt has proved himself in the past to be a top coordinator in the league.
Had he accepted the Bucs job last year, perhaps he’d be getting head coaching interviews right now. That has to be something he’s thinking about perhaps more than other candidates since he had a chance to land this gig before. Perhaps the second time is the charm.
Grant Udinski, Vikings Assistant Offensive Coordinator
A name that hasn’t been kicked around too much yet is Vikings assistant offensive coordinator Grant Udinski. He’s been linked to the Seattle Seahawks job and interviewed for the Patriots gig before Josh McDaniels was hired. He’s a rising talent in the league, having worked his way up Kevin O’Connell’s staff in Minnesota over the last few years while being a big part of the success Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold had.
He’s not yet 30-years-old, so it would be a huge gamble for the Bucs, but would seem to be in line with the sort of swings they’ve taken with Canales and Coen. Neither of those guys had experience as OCs in the league until Todd Bowles and Jason Licht handed them the keys, and Udinski could use the high profile nature of the Bucs to skyrocket his coaching value like Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan were able to do in their careers.
It’s far from a slam dunk, but could be a high-upside risk.
Brian Johnson, Commanders Assitant Head Coach/Passing Game Coordinator
Among the candidates the Buccaneers interviewed for the offensive coordinator role last year was Brian Johnson. He didn’t get the job but he went on to have the same sort of stock surging success Coen did in Tampa Bay.
Johnson was hired to be part of Dan Quinn’s staff up in Washington and worked closely with Jayden Daniels in his impressive rookie season. The Bucs know they have their own special quarterback in Baker Mayfield, and bringing in the guy who turned Daniels into the likely Rookie of the Year feels like a nice upgrade on the offensive staff.
Thad Lewis, Buccaners QB Coach
An internal name to keep an eye on that makes a lot of sense is Thad Lewis. He was a potential candidate last year before Coen was hired and is an even better fit now given how big of a role he’s played in Baker Mayfield’s development.
Lewis was promoted to quarterbacks coach when Dave Canales was hired back in 2023, so he’s worked with Baker the entire time he’s been in Tampa Bay. If the Bucs are looking for continuity, Lewis provides that all over the map. He’ll be able to plug-and-play the system the team has been using over the last two seasons and has a chance to further evolve it thanks to being so familiar with it.
Baker would be working with another new coordinator but it would be perhaps the most seamless transition possible and one that gives a deserving coaching his job at a top job.
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