A lot has happened this offseason but it seems where most fans jumped into the frenzy at the start of free agency, Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans were thrust into chaos much earlier on.
Before the dust had fully settled on the season, Liam Coen took the Bucs on a journey unlike something we’ve ever seen before. After agreeing to take his name out of the coaching cycle and return to Tampa Bay as the highest-paid coordinator in NFL history, Coen ghosted the Bucs and took the Jaguars head coaching job in the shadiest way possible.
It’s not that he left, rather how he left, that worked everyone up. Fans weren’t the only ones peeved about how things went down, as Adam Schefter reported that he’s never seen a team so hot under the collar before than the Bucs were about how Coen treated them.
The back-and-forth has calmed down, and the Jaguars striking out on stealing Chris Godwin away from Tampa Bay eased some of the stress. Still, it’s a sore subject for fans who have rightfully cooked up an anti-Coen agenda in the months since his bizarre exit.
While fans and members of the front office were worked up about Coen, it seems head coach Todd Bowles is allowing bygones to be bygones.
Todd Bowles seemingly buries the hatchet with Liam Coen and NFL Owner’s Meetings
To kick off the NFL Owner’s Meetings, head coaches from around the league gathered for an annual photo that will be of particular interest to Buccaneers fans this year. Among the sprawling group of coaches, Todd Bowles and Liam Coen are standing next to one another, seemingly squashing any notion that they’re beef between the two over what happened earlier this offseason.
As it would seem, there goes that narrative.
Truthfully the only folks who have really hung onto the beef are fans, which they’re absolutely justified in doing. Coen snuck around like a teenager trying to hide something from their parents, and disrespected a fan base that had not only rallied around him but was actively callling for him to replace Bowles.
Seeing Bowles elbowing up to Coen certainly won’t go over well with the portion of the fan base already annoyed with him, but it’s a pretty clear sign of leadership.
It’s also worth noting that while Coen seemed to get petty after his exit in response to the hate he was getting, he’s buried the hatchet with the Bucs as well.
Bowles has been rightfully criticized for some of his shortcomings, but being a locker room leader isn’t among them. In back-to-back seasons the Bucs pulled themselves out of losing streaks to bounce back and win the NFC South, and the job Bowles did to captain the ship through those choppy waters was a big reason for the turnarounds.
It’s easy to focus in on the Coen drama and lose sight of the bigger picture, which is that the Bucs are further along than Jacksonville and are knocking on the door of Super Bowl contention. Coen was a big part of that but Bowles has brought in offensive coordinators who have found head coaching jobs after just one season which is an endorsement that needs to get more credit than it is.
Losing Coen the way the team did is annoying, but it’s clear that even if Bowles is bothered he’s not going to let it get in the way of the mission. That’s all that matters, and the tone-setting here should be the thing that we all takeaway.
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