Do the Buccaneers Have a Succession Plan for Liam Coen?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen is staying with the Bucs. And while he won't be a head coach in 2025, he'll continue to get interviews, much in the same way that former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator and Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson did after he performed well with the Lions the past two seasons.

Additionally, Bucs fans have become restless with head coach Todd Bowles. Bowles has been Tampa Bay's head coach for the last three seasons and has won the division each time, but he maintains just a 27-24 record with Tampa Bay as head coach and his defense, the side of the ball he calls plays for, has been lacking in recent years.

With that in mind, many fans were curious if there was a succession plan in place with Coen's new deal similar to the one that Patriots assistant coach Jerod Mayo had in New England when Bill Belichick retired.

Huge news for Liam Coen staying with the Bucs. Obviously a huge pay raise and has to have some sort of succession plan.

Happy for Liam! And happy for Baker! pic.twitter.com/LbmRD5qQAa
— JC Cornell (@CornellNFL) January 22, 2025

Pt 3/ Hard to not wonder if there is a succession plan in place behind Bowles… not saying that would be the main reason Coen stayed, being one of the highest paid Coordinators in a great Org is*

But gotta wonder if there’s a 2-3 year plan here beyond Todd. 🤔 #GoBucs https://t.co/RwU3zC34Yc
— 𝗭𝗮𝗰 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗻𝗲𝗿🎙 (@ZacOnTheMic) January 22, 2025

As it turns out, that's not the case. Per the Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud, there is no succession plan in place for Coen in his new contract, and he'll simply be returning to the Buccaneers for another year on a higher salary.

No promises were made to Liam Coen by the Bucs. There is no coach in waiting stipulation in his new contract similar to what the Patriots did with Jerod Mayo. Coen simply believed that remaining with the Bucs as offensive coordinator was the best opportunity for his future.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) January 22, 2025

That doesn't mean that Coen couldn't eventually become head coach of the Buccaneers, given how the scrutiny on Bowles has increased over the past few seasons — it just means that there's nothing written into his contract that guarantees that. He could also take a coaching job somewhere else, and another year of calling plays in the NFL could certainly help with that if the offense remains firing.

For now, though, Coen is back in Tampa Bay, and he'll continue to work with Bowles and quarterback Baker Mayfield in hopes of taking the Bucs all the way.

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