For the second year in a row, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be breaking in a new offensive coordinator.
Dave Canales left the post after just one season to become the head coach of the division-rival Carolina Panthers, and he’ll be replaced by Liam Coen.
Coen has play-calling experience at the college level at Kentucky, and also has a rapport with Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield, since both spent time together with the Los Angeles Rams in 2022.
Bucs head coach Todd Bowles recently gave his first impressions of Coen’s offense as the team works through Organized Team Activities (OTAs) this offseason.
“The precision is the big thing – everybody being on the same page and understanding. It’s like a string – all 11 guys have to be on the same page, all 11 guys have got to have a great understanding of what the defense is doing and what they have to do off of it,” Bowles said. “We’re building that and we’re getting there. This is the first time it was full speed for everybody and there were some plays that were successful and some plays we’d like to have back. It’s a process and it’s him getting to know them and them getting to know him. It’s been good so far.”
When asked about what challenges Coen’s offense could present against a defense, Bowles wouldn’t take the bait and give away any trade secrets.
“I can’t giveaway game plans that’ll stop us, guys [laughs],” Bowles said. “That makes no sense. He has a very wide variety of plays that he can do from certain formations. It’s not just the same thing. The action may look the same, but the play may not be the same and the tweaks and the adjustments off of it [are] very difficult and complex that way. That’s what we’ve got to get down, offensively.”
Coen’s primary objective this season will be improving a ground game that was among the league’s worst yet again last year, while ensuring that Mayfield’s impressive 2023 campaign doesn’t prove to be a fluke.
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