As the NFL’s 2024 regular season winds down, so does the shortlist of head coaching candidates for teams opting to move on from their current coaching staff on the infamous “Black Monday” following the last game of the regular season. Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen’s name has been a mainstay on that list as the mastermind behind the Bucs high-powered offense, which ranks third overall.
If Coen takes a head coaching job with another team, the Bucs will need to find their third new offensive coordinator in as many years. However, addressing the rumors during yesterday’s press conference, the Buccaneers fans and organization may find solace in learning that Coen isn’t currently looking to move on from Tampa Bay anytime soon.
“There’s literally only one goal,” Coen said as the Bucs eye their fourth-straight NFC South division title. “There’s just no time in the day. I’ve got a kid at home, sick, throwing up last night. There’s just no time to even truly think about these things,” Coen told reporters when asked about the head coaching rumors. “Is that a goal? Is that a dream? Yeah, but that’s not at all what’s on my mind right now.”
The Buccaneers head into Dallas for a Week 16 bout with the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, which is the one thing on Coen’s mind regarding football. “How are we going to try and score points and stop Micah Parsons in this game on Sunday Night Football? That’s truly one of the focuses and where it has to be, and you really don’t have enough time to think otherwise right now,” Coen stated.
While the Buccaneers have not secured a spot in the postseason yet, they do hold an 86% chance of doing so, along with 78% odds of winning the NFC South, per The Athletic’s Playoff Projections. With the battle for the NFC South as tight as ever with the Atlanta Falcons, the Bucs control their own destiny if they win out; however, the waters get muddied because the Falcons hold the head-to-head tiebreaker- should they finish with the same record. The good news for the Bucs is that they are favored in all three remaining games. The bad news is that two of three are division games, which are always tough.
Baseball fans saw what happens when a team gets hot at the right time with the Detroit Tigers just a few months ago. The same remains true in the NFL, as Coen is laser-focused on having his offense be the catalyst behind a potential seven-game winning streak to end the regular season.