In 2023, the Buccaneers finished 9-8 and won the NFC South in Week 18. Winning the division gave Tampa Bay a home playoff game and they capitalized. The Bucs pulled off a 32-9 win at home vs. Philadelphia and made it to the divisional round. Unfortunately, they lost 31-23 to the Lions. Regardless of how their season ended, there’s a lot the team can build off moving forward.
This offseason, the team has lost former OC Dave Canales to the Panthers as their next head coach. Todd Bowles now had a vacancy in his coaching staff that needed to be filled. Tampa Bay took their time to hire the right candidate. Per Mike Garofolo and Ian Rapoport, the Bucs are signing former Rams OC Liam Coen to be Tampa Bay’s OC moving forward.
Liam Coen is back in the NFL and has landed the OC job with Tampa Bay
The #Buccaneers are working on a deal to hire Liam Coen as their new offensive coordinator, sources tell me and @RapSheet. After bouncing between the #Rams and Kentucky the last six years, Coen likely heads to Tampa for a possible reunion with pending free agent Baker Mayfield. pic.twitter.com/ijwtJel2RE
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) February 2, 2024
From 2010-2017, Liam Coen was a coach at the collegiate level. He finally got a job in 2018 with the Los Angeles Rams as an assistant WRs coach. Coen was with the Rams from 2018 to 2020 before he left to go back to the college level. The 38-year-old was the offensive coordinator/QB coach for the University of Kentucky. Following his 2021 season with the Wildcats, Coen returned to the Rams as their offensive coordinator.
Ironically, Coen went back to Kentucky in 2023 to be their OC/QB coach again. After his 2023 campaign, he’ll be headed back to the NFL. However, he won’t be going back to the Rams. Coen is heading to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to replace OC Dave Canales. He took the head coaching job in-division with the Panthers. A possible reunion between Coen and QB Baker Mayfield is in place if Tampa Bay resigns him.
The more I read about Liam Coen, the more I LOVE this hire for the #Bucs. Has experience within the McVey system, is creative, called plays, and knows Baker. He did excellent work at Kentucky with Will Levis as well. The offense will be “newish” but not a wholesale change. LFB! pic.twitter.com/vlKoOXjFdz
— 𝗦𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗹𝗶™ 🏴☠️ (@TheSamerAli) February 2, 2024
Mayfield and Coen worked together in 2022 on the Los Angeles Rams. The former #1 overall pick started that season with the Panthers but was traded mid-season to the Rams. He played in five games and made four starts at the end of the season for Los Angeles. Liam Coen was his OC at the time and they worked well together. That’s a huge reason why Coen likely landed this job in the first place. Tampa Bay hasn’t signed Mayfield to a deal yet and he’s technically a free agent. Expect the Bucs to lock him up for an extension this offseason. We’ll have to see what Mayfield can do with Coen as his OC next season.
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