Bucs OC Liam Coen as a HC candidate [interviewed with Jags on Jan. 15]
He might be a sneaky one this NFL HC cycle and is worth examining.
Coen has taken the Bucs offense from good to outstanding in just a year and turned Tampa Bay into an offensive juggernaut in 2024, evidenced by a 40-17 dismantling of the Los Angeles Chargers and the league’s No. 1 ranked scoring defense. Prior to kickoff, L.A. was surrendering just 15.9 points per game. That was before Coen returned to L.A. – where he spent years under the tutelage of Rams head coach and offensive wizard Sean McVay – and just took over SoFi Stadium on Sunday. The Bucs came into Sunday’s game with the NFL’s fifth-ranked scoring offense (27.9 PPG), the third-best mark in total offense (379.2 yards per game), the sixth-best passing offense (241.0 yards per game) and the eighth-ranked rushing offense (138.3 yards per game). Tampa Bay scored 40 points against L.A. and didn’t punt once on offense while racking up 506 yards of total offense. Led by Bucky Irving’s 117 yards, the Bucs ran for 223 yards and were 9-of-15 (60%) on third down. Baker Mayfield was 22-of-27 for 288 yards with four touchdowns and one interception and Mike Evans led all receivers with nine receptions for 159 yards and two touchdowns. So with the Bucs exceeding their averages in points, total yards, passing yards and rushing yards on Sunday – expect Coen’s unit to continue to climb near the top of the NFL rankings on Monday.
After finishing 32nd in the NFL in rushing in each of the previous two seasons, Tampa Bay currently ranks fourth in rushing yards per game (144.4) and second in yards per rush attempt (5.2). He's managed to get more than anyone could have reasonably expected from Mayfield.