Buccaneers speak to fired AFC head coach for first OC interview

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are once again in the offensive coordinator market. Head coach Todd Bowles was retained by the team, but he fired a lot of his prior staff — one of those staff members, Josh Grizzard, was Tampa Bay's offensive coordinator, so the Bucs are looking for their fifth OC in five years.

After ending a disastrous season at 8-9 and missing the playoffs, the Buccaneers are already interviewing candidates to replace Grizzard, and they interviewed their first one on Friday. The team announced that it interviewed former Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan to kick off its slate of interviews.

Buccaneers interview Brian Callahan for OC opening

Tennessee Titans coach Brian Callahan takes questions after their 41-20 loss against the Indianapolis Colts | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Callahan was the head coach of the Tennessee Titans for two years, and that didn't go well — he finished 4-19 during his tenure there and ended up giving up playcalling entirely toward the end of that stint. His appeal likely comes from the stop he was in before, when he helped lead the Cincinnati Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance with Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase in 2021.

That being said, Callahan did not call plays under head coach Zac Taylor, and he did when he was in Tennessee to unfortunate results. Callahan likely wouldn't be a top candidate for the Bucs, but given the controversy behind Bowles' retaining this offseason, would-be coordinators could be wary of jumping on a ship that might be about to sink in 2026. With that in mind, it's good that the team is doing its due diligence, and Callahan might work better as a coordinator than he did as a head coach.

Callahan would bring a similar offense to the one the Bucs have been running, as Taylor, who he learned under, was a quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Rams under Sean McVay. As a result, quarterback Baker Mayfield could get some continuity there, so there is at least one benefit if Callahan was the man Bowles hired.

His family is very familiar with the Bucs in an unfortunate way. His dad, Bill Callahan, is a legendary NFL coach who led the Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl in 2002, only for them to lose to the Buccaneers 48-21. He remains a well-regarded offensive line coach, and he could go to the Buccaneers should they hire Brian at OC.

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