It’s been a traumatic three weeks for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to say the least. After losing to the Washington Commanders at home in the NFC Wild Card Round, many fans called for head coach Todd Bowles to be fired. 

     However, a bigger concern loomed: would offensive coordinator Liam Coen stay in Tampa or leave for a head coaching opportunity elsewhere?

     This isn’t the first time the Buccaneers have faced this problem. In 2023, the Bucs hired Dave Canales as their offensive coordinator after firing Byron Leftwich. 

     Canales wasn’t a great play-caller, but his offense did perform better in quarterback Baker Mayfield’s first season in Tampa. Mayfield was on a “prove it” deal and ended up having the best season of his career in 2023 after spending 2022 with both the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams.

     Mayfield’s stint with the Rams is important because Coen was LA’s offensive coordinator that year under head coach Sean McVay. Canales left Tampa after the 2023 season to take the head coaching job in Carolina after the Panthers fired Frank Reich. Mayfield was a huge reason why the Bucs ultimately hired Coen, but that seems to have backfired badly.

     After the Bucs’ stellar offensive performance in 2024, it was rumored that Coen would be in the market for a head coaching vacancy, but it was unclear where he’d go. 

     But now, here we are, after a chaotic saga that has resulted in Coen becoming the Jacksonville Jaguars’ next head coach.

     But how did we get here? 

     Here’s a timeline of everything that’s happened since the Jaguars fired head coach Doug Pederson on January 6th. 

January 6th

     Jaguars fire Pederson. However, they didn’t part ways with general manager Trent Baalke, who was rumored to be on the hot seat. Keeping Baalke was also rumored to be a reason why the Jaguars head coaching job seemed unappealing. 

January 15th

     Jaguars complete their first interview with Coen. At this point, Jacksonville wanted either Coen or Ben Johnson, who ended up taking the Chicago Bears job after being a hot head coaching candidate in this year’s cycle. 

     Johnson didn’t like the Jags “setup,” although this was probably a polite way for him to say he didn’t want to work with Baalke.

January 22nd

     Coen was scheduled to have his second interview with Jaguars owner Shad Khan, but he backed out. It was clear that he didn’t want to work with Baalke, just like Johnson. 

     However, the main reason why Coen backed out was because he got an offer from the Buccaneers. Coen was offered a three-year deal that would’ve made him the NFL’s highest-paid coordinator. 

     That deal came with one catch: Coen wouldn’t be allowed to do a second interview with the Jaguars if he signed with the Bucs. 

     But then came the move that changed everything.

     In a shocking move, Trent Baalke was fired later in the day because Khan realized he couldn’t get a top head coaching candidate with Baalke running the show. 

January 23rd

     Coen verbally agreed to the Bucs’ offer, leading the team to think he would stay in Tampa for years to come.

     However, the Bucs were thrown a curveball in the worst way possible.

     The Jags called Coen back, hoping he’d reconsider a second interview, and with Baalke now fired, Coen seemed very interested in the job. 

     Coen decided to secretly travel to Jacksonville despite agreeing to the Bucs’ deal, but he never told Bucs general manager Jason Licht about his plans. Coen and the Jags started to negotiate a deal. The Bucs tried to reach Coen for many hours but were unsuccessful.

     Around midnight, Coen officially signed a deal with the Jaguars to become their next head coach. In the deal, the Jags would let Coen pick his GM, and they’d pay him possibly eight figures annually.

     Well, that was something, but the real question is, why would Coen do this? Coen has been coaching a new team every year since 2021, and it would be possible to think that he’d want to coach somewhere long-term. 

     However, if the Jaguars truly gave him an offer that he couldn’t refuse, then there’s no reason why he wouldn’t take the job once Baalke was fired. The problem was how he handled the situation with the Buccaneers.

     This shocking news has left Tampa Bay in shambles. The Buccaneers already had their work cut out for them this off-season, needing to fix an atrocious defense with one of the NFL’s worst secondaries. But now, the Bucs have to find a new offensive coordinator.

     The good news is that the Bucs OC job is easily the most appealing one in the league. They have a top-five offensive line, Mayfield, and a supporting cast that shouldn’t change too much, although it’s still unclear if Chris Godwin will return next season.

     Through all of this, it’s clear that Coen could’ve handled the situation better. Instead of leaving the Bucs in the dark, he could’ve either signed the OC deal when he said he would, or alerted them that he would reconsider the Jacksonville job. Despite his offense’s success in 2024, Bucs fans will no doubt have a sour taste in their mouth when they hear the name “Coen” going forward.

     Now, fans are seriously concerned about the Buccaneers entering the 2025 season, and for good reason. Licht has his work cut out for him, but only time will tell if he finds his new guy and if the offense retains the success it had under Coen.