Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles opens up on Liam Coen's departure to Jaguars

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have boasted a strong offense the past two seasons, and they've done it under two different offensive coordinators in Dave Canales and Liam Coen. Now, both of them are head coaches, and the Buccaneers are on their third offensive coordinator in as many years.

The Bucs are rolling with offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard after Coen left for the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason. That was a move anticipated by fans, but the way it happened rubbed a lot of people the wrong way — Coen secretly met with Jaguars owner Shad Khan after he verbally accepted an offer to make him the highest-paid coordinator in NFL history. The move left the Buccaneers faithful upset, but head coach Todd Bowles doesn't hold any animosity toward his former coordinator.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles against the Carolina Panthers. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Bowles recently spoke with PFT at the NFL Combine after his traditional press conference, and he was asked about Coen's departure. His response was fitting of a head coach that multiple assistants have referred to as remaining the same in any situation — he was simply thinking about the job he needed to do.

"Whether it happened differently or happened the same, I'm still looking for a new offensive coordinator," Bowles said of Coen. "For those of us who want to say we did things the right way for our whole lives, you can't throw stones at a glass house if everybody else lives in the glass house. He did what was right for him at the time. Obviously, a lot of people in Tampa don't agree, but that wasn't even a factor — the point is, we had to find a new offensive coordinator."

The Buccaneers went in-house with that new OC, and Grizzard will have a lot to live up to. Tampa Bay boasted a top-five offense in 2024, so any possible continuity could serve this team well. Grizzard was the team's passing game coordinator last year, so similar terminology and offensive philosophy could help Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers to maintain that strong offensive unit in 2025.

Liam Coen will do his best to bring the Jaguars out of obscurity and the Buccaneers will try to get over their playoff hump, and it seems like both sides have moved past the crazy offseason saga that led to everyone being where they're at.

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