The Buccaneers bold hire of this OC is due to more than knowing Rams HC Sean McVay

It seems as though if you passed LA Rams Head Coach Sean McVay in a hallway at some point in your coaching career, you find yourself on a short list of candidates to fill a vital role on an NFL team's coaching staff. That certainly seems to be the case this season, as the team has been impacted by the exodus of five coaches from the staff already. Thankfully with the hiring of seven new head coaches, the pace of adding coordinators and positional coaches seems to be slowing down.

The thirst for the team's offensive coaches is not quite quenched, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are rumored to be hiring former Rams OC Liam Coeh as their next offensive coordinator. If you recall, Coach Coen leveraged a year as offensive coordinator as the University of Kentucky's OC to become the Rams' OC in 2022. While his chapter as OC only lasted one season, he did gain valuable NFL experience in running a team's offense.

So why is he queued to become the next offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

There are several reasons:

III: He can run an NFL offense

Coach Liam Coen has several years of experience in the NFL, all of it with the LA Rams in varying roles of coaching on the offensive side of the football. When the team traded away QB Jared Goff to the Detroit Lions in exchange for veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, Coen took his cue to accept an opportunity to become the offensive coordinator of the University of Kentucky football team. He returned to the team one year later to become the team's offensive coordinator for the 2022 NFL season.

II: He has strong knowledge of the LA Rams offensive strategy

Once more, the short list of potential new offensive coordinators who seem to appear each year invariably includes a number of positional coaches who had at some point in their careers interacted with Rams HC Sean McVay. While that connection for some candidates is somewhat remote, the connection of Coen to McVay is obvious and solid.

Having served as the team's offensive coordinator, he has a better comprehension of the overall offensive strategy employed by Coach McVay than most candidates. And he has used that familiarity and knowledge to make a positive impact on Kentucky's offense.

I: He has strong ties to Buccaneers starting QB Baker Mayfield

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed veteran QB Baker Mayfield to a one-year $4 million contract that included a $2.875 million signing bonus, plus a number of perfomance incentives for the 2023 NFL season. It's safe to say that the Bucs were overjoyed with his performance, as he led the team into the 2024 NFL Playoffs and advanced as far as the Divisional Round.

They would love to lure Mayfield back to a reasonable multi-year deal, and hiring Liam Coen as the next offensive coordinator would enhance their ability to extend him. After all, Mayfield stated repeatedly that he rediscovered his passion for football during his time with the LA Rams.

It seems as though the Tampa Bay Buccaneers bold hire of Liam Coen as their OC is based on more than his familiarity of LA Rams HC Sean McVay after all.