The future of Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen has been a hot topic in Tampa Bay and across the NFL. It is not a surprise with the way his offense has played this season. The Bucs rank in the top five in most offensive categories, and Coen has directed a unit that has played well from top to bottom.
Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds has written plenty about the league taking notice of the next up-and-coming playcaller and about a couple of teams that may pursue him this offseason. Coen has the team’s playoff push on his mind right now, but he shared on Thursday that being an NFL head coach is his ultimate goal.
Bucs OC Liam Coen Thinks The Head Coaching Talk “Can Wait A Long Time”
Bucs OC Liam Coen and HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Liam Coen is having fun conducting the Bucs’ offense this season. With quarterback Baker Mayfield running Coen’s offense, the team has averaged 29.7 points a game.
All parts of the offensive machine have been on the same page, between Mayfield having a career year, Tampa Bay’s offensive line making his life easier, and the run game reaching another level led by rookie running back Bucky Irving.
After a four-game losing streak once had the team on the outside looking in in terms of the NFC playoff picture, a win against the Saints this Sunday would have them in the playoffs – and the offense’s success is largely what has gotten them to this point.
Coen has quickly built a resume that makes him a strong NFL head coaching candidate for every open vacancy, but he has not had much time to consider it. Between his current job responsibilities and being a dad off the field, his main focus has remained on the task at hand.
“Last week when we go out onto the field and you play that game… we were hoping our guys would come out and play the way they did,” Coen said. “We come off the Dallas game, everybody is not thrilled. You go out and do that, that was one of the best Sundays I’ve had in a long time, man. I wasn’t thinking about anything else besides this. Really, at the end of the day, that stuff can wait a long time. If it’s the right thing and for us to keep moving forward doing the right things, we can wait a long time on that one.”
Being An NFL Head Coach Is “Absolutely” Liam Coen’s Goal
Liam Coen does not need to rush into any available NFL head coaching gig. At only 39 years old, Coen has plenty of time to wait for the right spot and the right time before taking on the added responsibilities of not just leading an offense, but a whole team.
Take, for instance, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Lions OC Ben Johnson – Photo by: USA Today
Johnson, 38, has had plenty of opportunities to leave Detroit to become a head coach. Over this past offseason, he was rumored to be the Commanders’ No. 1 option to fill their open position. Yet he declined to take that spot and other options to remain under head coach Dan Campbell and wait for the ideal situation to come about.
Coen can do the same, and the ideal situation for him could mean staying in Tampa Bay.
Should the Bucs win on Sunday and make the playoffs, head coach Todd Bowles is more likely than not to stick around unless they get blown out in the Super Wild Card round. It would be highly unlikely that Tampa Bay would fire Bowles if he leads the team to a 10-7 season and a playoff berth, especially if they go on a deep postseason run. At 61 years old, he has gone on record saying that he would not like to coach much longer than a few years, and one would expect him to retire at that point.
Would the team’s hotshot offensive coordinator be willing to wait for the opportunity to succeed Bowles? Coen is ready for the chance, but he is also having the time of his life in Tampa Bay.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
“Yeah, I do believe I’m ready to do so,” Coen said about his readiness to be an NFL head coach. “I don’t think you’re ever truly fully ready but yeah, that is a dream. Does that need to happen when I’m 39 years old and having probably the most fun of my life coaching, working and being here?
“No, that doesn’t mean that needs to occur right now but yeah, that is the goal. That is absolutely the goal, but like I said before, that goal can hold off for a while here and continue to do what we’re doing. That would be pretty special.”
There will be plenty of time to discuss Liam Coen’s future with the Bucs, but he has made it clear that he wants to be an NFL head coach at some point. Will that expedite the clock on Todd Bowles’ time in Tampa Bay? That remains to be seen, but after seeing Dave Canales bolt to the Panthers in the offseason, the team cannot afford for Coen to do the same.
