“I Don’t Remember The Last Time I’ve Heard One Team This Hot And Bothered By A Coach Taking Another Deal”

January 24th, 2025

“Baker, what the F just happened?”

The Bucs were either a victim of an attempted shakedown by a valued assistant coach or the Bucs tried to strong-arm a soon-to-be new NFL head coach.

The truth very likely stands in the middle.

Readers of JoeBucsFan.com have likely noticed that Joe has used the word “allegedly” several times the past 24 hours because nobody with the Bucs or Jaguars went on the record about what happened between the Bucs and former Bucs offensive coordinator/new Jags head coach Liam Coen. So Joe doesn’t truly believe every report of what happened.

As uber NFL insider Adam Schefter of BSPN pointed out on “The Pat McAfee Show” today, there are wildly different versions of what went down.

But the result is clear: Coen is now Jags head coach. And per Schefter, the Bucs are downright irate about this, thinking they got stabbed in the back.

“Liam Coen has his thoughts and the Buccaneers have their thoughts,” Schefter said. “And you can believe whatever you want. I can tell you there’s two different schools of thought.

“I would just say this: In 20 years, this century, since the turn of the century — I don’t remember the last time I’ve heard one team this hot and bothered by a coach taking another deal.”

Someone with the Bucs and likely someone with the Jags is surely texting his or her fingers off with Albert Breer, Diana Russini and Schefter. Otherwise, where would they get all the alleged details of what happened inside the walls of One Buc Palace the past week?

The alleged misdeeds even include suggesting Coen used a sick child as a shield to dodge the Bucs and take a clandestine trip to Jacksonville.

That’s a pretty heavy accusation and dastardly if true.

“There are a lot of different versions of what is going down,” Schefter said. “I can just tell you that, I don’t remember when was the last time I heard a team that irate over a coaching decision.”

As the creator, curator and overall guru of Pro Football Talk, the great Mike Florio, likes to point out, silence invites speculation.

And unless or until someone (Jason Licht, Todd Bowles, Shad Con Khan, Coen) goes on the record and explains what transpired, Joe can’t be confident fully buying all the details of these reports.

100 Responses to ““I Don’t Remember The Last Time I’ve Heard One Team This Hot And Bothered By A Coach Taking Another Deal””

  1. CalBucsFan Says:

    There was a time where being a man of your word meant something in society, sad how much mankind has changed. And it’s not about the NFL rules and norm of allowing all coaches to move up to advance their careers, I’m onboard with that in our free enterprise society and have done the same myself. However, a man giving another their word speaks of their integrity.

    Coen accepted the Bucs salary increase, reached out to staff and players telling them he was looking forward to getting on the practice field with them soon, and then went dark and slithereed away in the shadows like all snakes do.

    Good riddance Coen, you are not THAT special and you’ve only proven how little your words really mean. You ARE NOT worthy of being our Buccaneer OC, let alone the future HC-in-waiting. Your lack of integrity will not be missed.

  2. Baker Bowl Says:

    How would the Bucs have ‘strong-armed’ him when he was in the driver’s seat? The Bucs let him interview, and made him an offer of a number that HE wanted. The more that comes out (whatever might be true) is making me glad he’s out of the building. Sounds like this guy and his agent are thriving in the spotlight, and don’t want to get out of it.

  3. HC Grover Says:

    Simple. Coen wants to be a head coach and the Bucs want Bowles to be HC. Bucs now have Bowles and Jags have Coen. Cry me a river. Another par for the Bucs. If history is applicable Coen will take the Jags to SB in a year or two and Bucs will hover around .500 with Bowles.

  4. johnnymoon Says:

    Was Coen offered any other Jobs or did he even get a Interview with another team ? I think we will be fine.

  5. Steven #55 Says:

    Wish my boss would strong arm me into more money for the same job lol

  6. Truth be Told Says:

    Next

  7. lambchop Says:

    Does Schefty realize we had an OC leave us last year too in almost the same fashion? Division rival no less.

  8. John Says:

    The issue isn’t with Liam it’s with the Bucs not recognizing they had their next head coach and opted to keep Bowles. The ceiling is capped with him as our head coach. The offense carried this team all year and in the current landscape of the league offensive minded coaches are the ones who win super bowls.

  9. CalBucsFan Says:

    “If history is applicable Coen will take the Jags to SB in a year or two…”

    In what alternate world do you live, HCGro, the one where Canales won the NFC South Division and is now one win away the SB?

  10. Couch Fan Says:

    Reporter: Coach can you explain to us how Coen ended up leaving the organization?

    Super Todd: We just have to do a better job of communicating.

  11. Scott Says:

    This is a cut throat business. If we didn’t really want Bowles all that much we should have got rid of him.

  12. Joe Says:

    Does Schefty realize we had an OC leave us last year too in almost the same fashion?

    Joe never heard one accusation that Canales tried any shenanigans and/or lied to the Bucs.

  13. EEK Says:

    feeling betrayed definitely gets people hot and bothered — as a rule

    not an optimal way to start a new job — get people fired allegedly (Baalke) and then get the prior employer upset on your way out

    that is a tough foundation to build trust with

    will the Bucs take him back as OC in 2 years if he gets canned in Jax?

  14. @Hands2theFace Says:

    If you look it up, I found this, “11 different jobs in 15 years. Willingly left current org for another org 10 times in 15 years. Lied to several organizations about extensions/staying with them.” from @SECbias12

  15. Ds Says:

    Coen wheeled dealed lied etc to get what he wanted is what it is heard he was texting the players he was coming back lol I think that’s the biggest thing and when it was time he lied and went ghost lol man up Coen

  16. NiceTry Says:

    From SB nation. I completely agree. This is on the Glazers.

    “If the Buccaneers are mad they lost their assumed coach in waiting, they shouldn’t have left him being a coach in waiting. Anything else is just sour grapes.”

  17. Permanently Moderated Says:

    Bold talk by someone who has no skin in the game, but does have a talking point to shill.

  18. Permanently Moderated Says:

    Talking about Schefter

  19. Ds Says:

    Can anyone tell me one time when the oc replaced the hi and the team won ? Don’t forget the lovie to koetter disaster lol

  20. SB~LV Says:

    Can’t wait for the caterwauling to be over!
    He GONE!
    Yeah he did the Bucs dirty by not keeping his word after the verbal agreement
    Yeah the Bucs lost sight of the vibe and big picture.
    He GONE!

  21. JoeSea Says:

    John is simply incorrect wrt offensive coaches being the one’s who win SBS.

    Last 4 teams have 2 defenseive guys, And Reid (offense), and Siriani (“”leader of men””)

  22. Couch Fan Says:

    We have had terrible luck drafting QBs and DEs as well. Should we just give up doing that to since it didnt work in the past?

  23. Pelsbuc61 Says:

    CalBucsfan couldn’t have said it better. Coen’s words and deeds are worthless if you still believe in character and integrity. To reach out to Bucs players and coaches, tell them you’re coming back and call from Jax saying you have a sick kid is a special kind of weasel. I’m all for promotions, just be straight up with the team that got you this opportunity.

  24. zzbucs Says:

    I am not surprised at all that Mac Afee, says something like that…

    Another one that for a dollar will sell his mother father or wife…….

    Joe you keep on repeating what other say, ….is not about the 13mm, is about HOW this snake did it….. repeat HOW!!!!!!!!!!!

  25. Hearty Dikerson Says:

    The Glazers wanted to have their cake and eat it too. They wanted to keep both Bowles and Coen for combined salaries that equal less than half of what Coen now makes. You didn’t do enough, Glazers. You tried a feeble half-measure and it failed. Shoulda seen this coming and kicked our stubborn, clueless dinosaur H.C. to the curb when you had the chance.

  26. Saskbucs Says:

    How do you feel strong armed if you are Liam?

    I don’t care that he took the Jags job, Bucs wouldn’t be mad either if Coen was just honest with them. Sides don’t really matter at this point, the reporting has made it pretty clear that Coen was being shady and that’s what people are upset about.

    You don’t give a verbal agreement, set up 2 different meetings to sign the contract and then just vanish, call the HC 24 hours later and say you are gonna look into Jax again. Are you a grown man or a child?

  27. Pmike Says:

    We’re talking about this guy like he’s a proven OC. Cool – you had our offense rolling this year – I put that more on the jimmies and joes rather than the X and Os, feel the same about our injured D this year too, why I’ve never called for Bowles head. The stability is greater than firing a HC, only loser teams go through head coaches 1-3 years (cough cough Jags cough cough).

    Great, you had a good first year in the NfL. Now time to prove it.

    This was probably the chip on shoulder material the offensive players need to get rolling again next year. I’m sure they want to prove that Coen is just a golrified college coach at best (jet sweep cough cough)

  28. Hearty Dikerson Says:

    At least we still have Todd Bowles’ culture to lean on.

    – consistently coming out flat and unprepared
    – only won one game all season when opponents scored first
    – annual 4 game losing streaks
    – defensive assistants that he’s known for years leaving for lateral positions
    – one of the softest tackling defenses in the league
    – constant communication errors
    – zero development in pass rushers
    – OCs that clearly have no loyalty
    – zero wins in prime time games this year
    – softest TC in the league, and rewards team with extra days off after losing

    Man he’s built a strong culture!

  29. lambchop Says:

    @Joe,

    Agreed, that’s why I said almost. What I was getting at was we’re having to look for another OC after having a productive offense and giving some young hot shot a chance. So, obviously it’s frustrating dealing with this process again.

  30. Jmarkbuc Says:

    Oh well

    A LOT of bigger problems in this world than a football coach.

  31. First Name Greatest Says:

    Only one more season of Todd Blows mismanaging timeouts, bumbling through managing the clock, calling ill-timed blitzes and trusting an awful defense to close out games

    Sucks they had to lose a truly great coordinator over keeping a lousy head coach but it’ll be nice to lose Bowles for good

  32. Gipper Says:

    Baker, Baker the head coach maker. Go get another OC. Most will see it as a certain path to HC within a year. There is no evidence that a great OC correlates to being a great HC. Guess it doesn’t matter if you are still getting paid mega millions once fired as HC. Josh McDaniels is a perfect example. Canales can’t afford to go backwards in 2025 or he will be on the block.

  33. Watch Daddy Sling It Says:

    Playoff teams lose coaches. Bad teams fire coaches. Truly awful organizations fire their (not-well-respected, in this case) GM and offer the moon and stars for an unproven coach.

    True desperation of a proven-failure owner in an irrelevant market.

    No matter the optics, the guy is always in line for a promotion and “highest paid coordinator” doesn’t charge that. His agent, on the other hand, coulda said “let’s slow down and look at the big picture, once your kid is feeling better”

  34. Rob S Says:

    This seems a lot like Josh McDaniels and Todd Haley… hoping this snake will flame out just as fast as they did. I also remember him laying into Joe for calling out the long pass stats– and, while Joe was diplomatic, I read between the lines and it sounded like a lashing.

  35. BuckyBuc Says:

    Glad he’s gone if this is how he does business, we dodged a bullet.

  36. PhxBucsFan Says:

    I doubt if we will be doing any pre-season scrimmages with Jacksonville. . .

  37. Rod Munch Says:

    What are they talking about strong armed him into a new deal that was never signed… and again, for the 1000th time, it doesn’t matter if Coen did sign the deal, you can’t block a promotion to head coach, so the deal wouldn’t have mattered.

    What a bunch of drama queen nonsense.

    Also, did you see the Texans just fired their OC? That was a guy last year that was talked about as a HC candidate across the league. Now he’s on the unemployment line. Not to mention, going back to the Bucs and Jags, all reports were Jacksonville offered Leftwich the job a couple of years ago, and that idiot turned it down, and then got fired and now is nothing more than someone who gets flown from city to city to meet the racist Rooney Rule nonsense.

    There isn’t a single person whining about Coen that wouldn’t have taken the Jags offer. Not one. So stop your melodrama nonsense crybaby act.

  38. Saskbucs Says:

    I’m pretty confident Coen is going to fail as a HC. He maybe schemed a better offense than Canales but hes not the leader Dave was. Getting off to a bad start already in Jax.

    This is superficial, but these things matter in a room with 55 other guys, Canales is a good looking dude and strong communicator. It was obvious from his first presser last year. Coens goofy look with his no chin double chin and lack of loyalty won’t be leading much. Not saying he needed to be loyal to the Bucs but Kentucky fans didn’t love him coming and going.

  39. BucsFEver Says:

    Saskbucs Says:

    LOLOLOLOL too funny

    NEXT! Who cares, we won 1 additional game, and didn’t move forward in the playoffs.

    Not so easy to Fire TB. We won 4 divisional titles.

    Looking forward to Lincoln Riley. Can be HC in 2 years

  40. westernbuc Says:

    Honestly embarrassed to be a Bucs fan right now. Grown adults crying that our OC got a promotion. Bloviating on the Internet about “integrity.” Truly embarrassing.

  41. Couch Fan Says:

    Im pretty sure a room full of guys most dont care whether or not their coach is a good looking guy. Most coaches are not good looking guys. Lol.What?

  42. PanthersSuck! Says:

    Now we know what Barron Trump whispered to Biden…

  43. jimmy Says:

    I have a different take after reading that SI article….

    So the team/Glazers tried to turn a negotiation (in Coens eyes) in to a take it or leave it offer before he even had his first interview with the jags?

    I dont know who is the snake here. The bucs tried to turn what Coen thought was a negotiation into a take it or leave it offer.

    Maybe Coen saw through the “culture” of one buc place (todd bowles trying to lay the wild card loss on the offense and the take it or leave it crap from management after the great year the bucs offense had) and decided to take his chances elsewhere.

    He bet on himself, as a confident man who can produce results, going up against the billionaire owners of the bucs and their weak head coach. Liam didnt turtle and hope the “culture” of one buc place would take care of him, after they showed their stripes….. He went for it and scored, winning what he wanted for himself and his family, his team, while the so called Licht house and associated guru / take no responsibility bowles are left standing there empty handed….

    Well done Liam Coen.

  44. Richard Dickson Says:

    It’s not the why, it’s the how. Nobody ever said Coen shouldn’t advance his career and make that bank; hell, we’ve been bracing for it since the second half of the season. But to withdraw from consideration, give a handshake agreement to a new deal, then not show up to sign that deal because you snuck off the negotiate with another team? THAT is what we’re hot about.

  45. Ultra ClodHopper Says:

    I did not think Coen would be a good HC. He does not have that alpha aura that other alphas need. It’s not needed for other coaches but it is for HC. This “feeling strong armed” thing really reinforces that thought in me.

  46. Watch Daddy Sling It Says:

    The fury at One Buc is a “Fraternity of Billionaires” thing. Our guy literally just said he’s coming back.

    While it’s not tampering, and a coordinator is always free to take a promotion, Khan could have called and said “I know what he said, and he’s sincere blah blah, but I really want this guy”.

    How about he signs his deal and I send you a conditional third?

  47. Dewey Selmon Says:

    I went to a Jags board and they are more excited about Ballke getting fired than the Coen hiring lol.

  48. SB~LV Says:

    Turn the page!

  49. UKBuccaneer Says:

    People are talking like he’s a home run hit as a HC. Odds are that he’ll fail – most do.

  50. Nicholas Carlson Says:

    They should make nice and wish him well. This is a bad look

  51. jimmy Says:

    yea todd’s man boobs have alpha aura written all over them

  52. Pahpahmike Says:

    So Coen left, let’s move on and find the next OC and replace the defensive coaches that have or going to leave. Bucs have a season to play starting in September. Who cares what Coen did or how he did it now. He’s gone let’s move on. It’s always 3 sides to a story, your side, their side and the truth

  53. Rod Munch Says:

    westernbuc Says:
    January 24th, 2025 at 1:37 pm
    Honestly embarrassed to be a Bucs fan right now. Grown adults crying that our OC got a promotion. Bloviating on the Internet about “integrity.” Truly embarrassing.

    —————

    Agreed, although it’s hard to know what is real and what is ‘reporters’ just making up drama for clicks.

    But if the Bucs are seriously throwing a hissy fit over a guy taking a promotion, that’s a bad look. Certainly when you’re talking about hours – not weeks or even days, but a few hours of uncertainty.

    Hopefully this is all just nonsense media created nothing, because if the Bucs are truly crying about this, talking about a non-binding contract like it meant anything, it’s a very bad look. I hope Bowles and Licht speak directly to the people soon and clear this up.

  54. CobbtownBucFan Says:

    Whoever the moron was that told Coen there would be no promise of a Buc’s head coach position in his new contract is feeling very stupid right now. Now we can relax in the realization that Bowles’ job is now very secure until he blows next season!!!!

  55. MelvinJunior Says:

    He’s (almost) right… Not since Belichick & The Jets. Remember that ONE!? I don’t know which one has been worse, but those are the TWO, for sure. So, great… We’re now in the same category as the JETS LoL. All jokes aside, THIS is very disheartening. You couldn’t let HIM go. I’ve been saying it for the past couple of months. Everything just ‘clicked’ perfectly. You could really see-it! And, you could literally, see THIS ALL coming from a mile away! The Bucs FO Blew-It. And, they KNEW-IT (hence the desperate phone calls yesterday, all afternoon through the evening).

  56. JohnJohn007 Says:

    You do know Coen just ruined his career.
    So he better hope he wins at Jacksonville because that will most likely be his last job in the NFL.
    You do not piss off any NFL owner because other NFL owners don’t like that either.
    I wonder if he was a 🐍 to the Jacksonville owner?
    Telling him he told the Buccaneers that he was visiting Jacksonville.

  57. David G Says:

    Could have started off his HC job in a better way! Once your a liar you will always be known as a liar and players don’t like to play for liars! got to have trust to be a good HC!

  58. MelvinJunior Says:

    We just better hope and pray that it doesn’t turnout to be exactly like the JETS & PATRIOTS… Cause, we all KNOW what happened with all THAT. The Patriots WIN 6-Super Bowls, & the Jets are… Well, STILL THE JETS. Shew! Pretty Scary Stuff. And, you KNOW the entire Bucs FO and Ownership are about to shlt a brick right now!!!!

  59. Bucben1961 Says:

    Ashley Coen
    @ashleyfordcoen
    I hate that I even have to say this, but when people are negative about my kids, I will not be silent. Our son is sick, we were at the hospital yesterday seeing a specialist for his autoimmune disease. Please don’t spread misinformation and assume because you heard one side.

  60. Watch Daddy Sling It Says:

    There’s zero reason for Licht or Bowles to say anything. Get ready for Mobile, fill the vacancy, go to combine.

  61. stpetebucsfan Says:

    Rod

    You know I’m on the record as respecting your football knowledge and effort you put in to expanding it. IMHO sometimes your “feelings?” get in the way a bit but I totally agree with you on this!! I would add that recently you’ve seemed to make a concerted effort to tone down the insults. LOL

    “What a bunch of drama queen nonsense.”

    That’s a good one. No personal insults just if the shoe fits wear it.

  62. william seidenfeld Says:

    Look at Coen’s history, he changes jobs about every year. He got a perceived better job and he took it. We still get to keep the o-line, receivers, backs, tight ends and Qb. I can,t shame him for bettering himself.

  63. MelvinJunior Says:

    Well, it says A LOT about the Bucs FO (freaking out and scrambling around all over the place, in full blown, all out PANIC MODE trying to contact Cohen, & etc.)… It says, that they KNEW they should have already ‘pulled-the-trigger’ on making Cohen the new HC, to begin with!!!! BUT, they ‘tried’ having their cake and eating it, too. They assumed and they LOST. They ‘tried’ taking the EASY way out, & they got BURNT. They had THEIR guy! And, they let HIM go. They absolutely, BLEW-IT 💯. THEY ‘allowed’ HIM to get away.

  64. Dr. Bucenstein Says:

    With our offensive talent any coach would love to be the next OC. I think we will be fine. We may not score as much, but I think we will still be a force.

  65. stpetebucsfan Says:

    Couch

    “Im pretty sure a room full of guys most dont care whether or not their coach is a good looking guy. Most coaches are not good looking guys. Lol.What?”

    You really need to quit while you’re behind as they say. I’ll forgo the insults and simply explain…Do you now what a metaphor is?

    How about the googles- Metaphor -a thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, especially something abstract.

  66. BallHawk75 Says:

    I’m sure Bowles will lead us to our third title in 2025.

    Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!

    28-27

  67. MelvinJunior Says:

    “lambchop” NOT even CLOSE to the ‘same thing’ as last season. Schefty is only reporting on the fan and FO reaction, and it’s NOT even CLOSE. Cohen versus Canales. You people FORGET soooo easily, when making these RIDICULOUS comparisons to Canales. It’s just not even CLOSE to being the same thing. HE was NOT “special.” Cohen Was. REMEMBER… Our “Offense” was NOT good, explosive, or exciting, or anything. Hell, we COULDN’T SCORE (never scoring an ‘opening’ drive TD, etc.). Really STRUGGLED even moving the ball AND the chains. It was SLOW. NO Tempo. ZERO Rhythm. And, just waaaayyy too many WASTED ‘running plays’ (and downs) up the gut, & etc. Could NOT RUN the ball, or generate ANY kind of a ‘running game’ whatsoever, to save our LIVES. Also, THE ONLY Reason HE Got That (Carolina) Job In The First Place, was because HE WAS THE ONLY ONE They Could GET, Who Was Willing To Take It. He just got a lot of credit for rejuvenating Baker’s Career, Blah, Blah, Blah. BUT, he had to take-it and I didn’t blame him for doing so either, not one bit. Cause, hell, there was a DAMN GOOD chance that he would never get such an opportunity ever again!!!! With Cohen though, that was never even close to being the case. There is ZERO comparison between the two, & it isn’t even CLOSE.

  68. stpetebucsfan Says:

    Why must we make it more complicated than it needs to be?

    Two sides bargaining with BOTH sides trying to get all the leverage they could.

    Liam won out. It’s as simple as that. Would anybody here feel sorry for Liam if the Bucs “won” and he didn’t take the offer and NEVER again got another HC opportunity. Perhaps he learned from BL eh?

  69. The Buc'n Waterboy Says:

    Those that are comparing Canales’ departure to Coen’s are way off the mark. Canales was open and honest on what he was doing and wanted. No hard feelings there. Coen was shady AF. Anyone who has ever been in sales knows the feeling of a client/customer agreeing to terms with you and then going with someone else. Just be honest. Those whining about Bowles, how long have you been a fan of the Bucs? We have had some T.E.R.R.I.B.L.E HC’s. Bowles has increased his W-L record every year he’s been the coach. That’s pretty dang good. We got bounced by a damn good Commandoes team with a decent rookie QB. They’re playing in the NFC championship against a team we beat last year in the playoffs. So you want to toss him overboard and bring back Schiano/Raheem/Koetter/Lovie? C’mon man. The common demonitor of the last 2 OCs that got HC jobs elsewhere is Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans, and the rest of the offensive players. Whoever the next OC will be is going to be happy to have that arsenal for sure. Coen…he gets to try to build a team in Jax that is…uh…less than what we have here to say it nicely.

  70. Bucamania Says:

    Coen is a JAGOFF. Now we know. He’s getting what he deserves with that poverty franchise. He’s a playcaller not a culture changer.

  71. MelvinJunior Says:

    And, NO ONE even cared about losing Canales. The ONLY few who did were the same ones who always, take it as a ‘personal’ shot at THEMSELVES, and then get all ‘butt hurt’ over ANYTHING that could be considered ‘negative’ towards the Bucs. The only ones who gave the first damn over losing Canales. NO ONE Cared.

  72. Tony Says:

    Yeah we’ll be fine. I’m sure we’ll probably just promote Captain Fear or one of the cheerleaders & make them the new OC.

  73. Jeff Says:

    Rubes! The NFL is a business. This is how corporations work.

  74. Ed Says:

    Coen did a very good job with a team with good skill players and good offensive linemen. Jacksonville has one very good WR to build on but the rest of the team is like the Bucs were pre-Tom Brady, disfunctional.

    I see Coen as a great playcaller but he moved around so much I have my doubts that he will stick around long enough to turn Jacksonville around. Lawrence has the arm strength but doesn’t look very good whenever I watch him. Yeah maybe Liam can help him but he is already a semi-bust and has been very injury prone.

    The Bucs have so many good skill players on the offensive side of the ball and with some free agent vets they will be better next season. They really just need a coordinator that can keep the Coen offense in place and is willing to work within the current system. If I were Licht, I’d hire a coordinator that can best run Coen’s offense. I’d stay away from any that run a different type of system as the Bucs can’t run offenses like the Ravens or Commanders do as we do not have a QB that can run 10 times a game and make broken plays.

    Stick with this offense and just make it better.

  75. Coburn Says:

    Apparently Coen has a track record of flip flopping around. The sequence of events also plays out as described..the only details that seem to be in question would be whether he used the sick kid excuse me about the no second interview clause. We know he went for an interview, we know he agreed on a new figure with the Bucs to stay and reached out to everyone after, we also know the very next day he went to jags. That’s bad enough on its own imo.

  76. Tony Says:

    Maybe we’ll bring Antonio in as the new OC.😁 But then again he might do the same thing. After awhile he might just run away, too!

  77. Rod Munch Says:

    stpetebucsfan Says:
    January 24th, 2025 at 2:13 pm
    Rod

    You know I’m on the record as respecting your football knowledge and effort you put in to expanding it. IMHO sometimes your “feelings?” get in the way a bit but I totally agree with you on this!! I would add that recently you’ve seemed to make a concerted effort to tone down the insults. LOL

    ———–

    Oh not worry, I’m not toning down my insults in the least, I just need to conserve material so I’m not repeating myself over and over again. I’ll have plenty of very personal insults coming soon for everyone, so just wait and see, I can always be counted on!

  78. BillyBucco Says:

    Lol
    My Boss: Hey lets arm wrestle and if you lose we are gonna triple your salary!!!!
    Me: Go for it.

  79. Erik w/ UniqueModernArt.com Says:

    Hey, Joe…

    Think Chucky is humbled enough at this point in his life to take a humble OC job with the Bucs? (One in which he wouldn’t have autonomous power personell decisions and could just focus on creating an effective modern day offense)

    I’d be cool with that if we did it.

  80. Bucswin! Says:

    Hire Suh!

  81. Gipper Says:

    stpetebucsfan,

    Don’t care what Liam Coen does or doesn’t do. He wasn’t around when Baker was winning the Heisman Trophy.

    I do care when you slobber on Rod Munch who is a complete football fraud. You and Kenton Smith have impressed me as men of great reasonableness. Don’t get you two being solicitous of Muncher. I am hoping Munch takes his “talents” to Jacksonville. Have been checking out the Jag blogosphere as a nice landing spot for Munch. Will advise.

  82. Murph Says:

    Glad things shook out like they did. Coen not a man of his word. I guess “every man has his price” certainly applies to Coen. Those who believe Coach Bowles should have been fired to make way for Coen demonstrate their ignorance when it comes to running an organization. Many of the players would have been disgusted by such a move. Talk about destroying team morale. Just gets old hearing the same posters over and over again the same thing. Guess they have little to add.

  83. Obvious Says:

    This is the glazers fault. They didn’t want to do what was necessary and move on from Bowles. They thought they had Coen in waiting when the team goes on its annual month long losing streak. I’m sure there are reasons and that’s fine. But you have to own it.

    We’re about to see how much they ‘believe’ in Bowles since he’s going into the last year of his deal. My guess is there’s no extension or at best a one year extension, meaning they don’t believe in him.

    Back to the drawing board in ‘26 for a HC. At least we have a world class GM and personnel department. Finding the right offensive HC to pair will be key.

  84. Rod Munch Says:

    Obvious Says:
    January 24th, 2025 at 3:20 pm
    This is the glazers fault. They didn’t want to do what was necessary and move on from Bowles.

    ———-

    Again, play this out…

    The Glazers want to keep Coen, what is the process?

    They can’t just go to Coen and say, hey, want Bowles job – no, they have to literally fire Bowles first before they can do anything. Then, after firing Bowles, they have to go through the nonsense racist Rooney Rule BS before they can even offer a job to Coen. So now he’s just one of multiple candidates they have to interview. In the meantime, anyone else can come along and hire Coen as their head coach.

    Additionally, who is to say Coen would even take the job when everyone in the building would know he stabbed Bowles in the back to get that job? From what I understand, Bowles is very liked and respected by players and people in the building there, and that would make for a very uncomfortable working situation compared to just taking the Jags job and not having to deal with all that drama.

    Coen did a great job, and because of that, someone wanted to hire him. For the Bucs to make a move to hire Coen as HC, it would have been very risky since they could have ended up firing Bowles only to then lose both guys and you’re suddenly scrambling to fill a bunch of spots, and it looks like the team is in total chaos.

    There’s no one to blame for anything.

  85. stpetebucsfan Says:

    “There’s no one to blame for anything.”

    AMEN!

  86. Coburn Says:

    Munch making some sense with the whole fire Bowles thought. You not only risk hurting the locker room, but if he doesn’t pan out then the next candidates for HC may decide to avoid this organization

  87. StormyInFl Says:

    “Then, after firing Bowles, they have to go through the nonsense racist Rooney Rule BS ”

    The Jags obviously didn’t. I hope they get fined or lose draft picks.

  88. GhostofTomBrady Says:

    I like where this reply thread is going. Tampa should have fired Todd Bowles the moment we got knocked off in the first round. Letting another rookie QB beat you in the last minute of a game is a Bowles specialty. If we’re in this situation again next year with another ex-Ram’s offensive acolyte taking us to another top 5 offense and we get booted short of the NFC Champ game, elevate and get rid of Bowles.

  89. Obvious Says:

    All fair points. Your scenario is exactly what I was referring to: doing what it takes to move on from Bowles.

    They didn’t want to do what you wrote. Which is fine. But when the inevitable happens: time management, lack of situational awareness and what happens as a result – a month long losing streak, someone will be blamed and it should be the owners.

    We’ve hit a ceiling with this coach. As long as the glazers are willing to live with it, so be it.

  90. David Says:

    We may never know but I do not buy it- “strong armed” him into being one of the highest paid Coordinators. That seems laughable. All speculation but it seems he verbally took the deal, maybe even a HC in waiting type deal, then jumped to a big offer with control over the GM hiring in Jax before signing the dotted line.

    Can’t really blame him BUT the way it was handled was horrible.

  91. What it is Says:

    Old Rod Munch always ready and willing and has the right to hurl insults at people when he himself is afraid to debate his own screwups. He is a tough keyboarder. What a joke

  92. stpetebucsfan Says:

    @Gipper

    I totally get your take. Rod and I have fought tooth and nail on this blog and we still have major differences. I think i get Rod and at the risk of getting him really peoed I think like virtually everyone here he has some insecurity issues. I certainly have had them all my life.

    So I consider the times when my “motivation” was less than pure…satisfy my ego etc. and so I try to give slack to the guys who really love this place, their virtual home. All humans wish to be heard and that is at the core of what drives most of us. I HEAR you Gipper and totally get your take, I also happen to HEAR Rod and respect his honest, if sometimes misguided, takes.

  93. Pewter Power Says:

    Maybe they don’t have as much faith in Bowles as they pretend to. This is really really pathetic! Fans can act this way but grown man running a billion dollar franchise can’t. Dave Canales was only averaging 18-19 points a game so had he done it Bucs wouldn’t have cared. No way you freak out like this over one guy when you have the head coach in place you think will lead you to the promise land. I wonder how Bowles is feeling right now

  94. stpetebucsfan Says:

    Pewter Power

    “I wonder how Bowles is feeling right now”

    Really? Be careful now because the lies you tell yourself are the worst lies?

    Do you wonder what he feels or are you hoping he feels as miserable as the fans over losing Coen?

    Here’s what I suspect he’s feeling. Bitter personal loss. These two were in the NFL trenches together! They are brothers in arms, or at least were.

    I think Todd feels a lot of things tonight! I don’t think he feels an ounce of fear about what it means to his record next year. He’s a confident man who is probably already swamped by agents and friends of the next Bucs OC.

    What Todd feels tonight is far deeper than any jackwagon fans, it was PERSONAL for him.

  95. Obvious Says:

    Can anyone confirm that Todd has only one year left in his contract?

    If that’s the case then the relationship status with ownership becomes really easy to decipher: no extension or 1 year extension means they don’t believe in him.

    If there’s a longer extension then maybe they want him around longer.

  96. Dom Says:

    Oh how they strong armed him by giving him the largest contract extension for an OC ever and just asked him not to use this contract as additional leverage for a HC job

  97. Kevin Says:

    Hire Doug Pederson

    #1- he came from Andy Reid coaching tree
    #2- one a superbowl with Nick Foels beating the patriots while throwing up 40 pts
    #3- he would be here for at least 2 seasons in order to restore his rep.

  98. Ted Says:

    To all of the fans including Joe who is openly campaigning for Lincoln Riley, how is that going to happen exactly? He has gone through two down years as a HC at USC but is genuinely seen as one of the best and brightest Head Coaches in Football period. He makes between 11 and 12 million dollars a year with USC, so will the Bucs pay any OC 13-14 million a year just to cover up up all of Bowles inadequacies? Lastly, why would Riley take a demotion to come to Tampa? Chip Kelly left UCLA and went to OSU because he hates to recruit and despises NIL….he just wants to coach and call plays. Riley loves to recruit and has all the money he can spend on players available to him at USC with no salary cap. If Riley continues to underperform at USC, he may be fired but will be paid the balance of his 110 million dollar gurranteed contact he signed in 2021.

  99. SamN Says:

    It’s very interesting. Both Coen and Canales left to be a Head Coach after 1 year. Canales went to a division rival while Coen went out of conference, but I don’t think you could find one Bucs fan who doesn’t hope Canales does infinitely better than Coen.

    Todd will figure this out. Our offense will be fine.

  100. orlbucfan Says:

    Coen sounds like a flakey snake. This is very different from Canales’ departure. IF Coen hid behind the sick kid excuse, that’ll just add another negative to his work history which sounds unstable. Bouncing from team to team? My gripe was with his gameplan with the Bucs O. He never totally unleashed the talent. I HOPE the next OC has clear eyes and sees the abundance of talent he’s got to work with.

 

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