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Tampa Bay Buccaneers News & Rumors

Lions To Promote OL Coach Hank Fraley

January 24th, 2025 at 4:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

Hank Fraley is out of the Seahawks’ OC search. As the Lions grapple with losing both their coordinators and their D-line coach, they will retain their O-line leader. It will take a promotion to ensure that happens.

The Lions will add a run-game coordinator bump to their O-line coach’s title, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. This will ensure Fraley stays in charge of one of the NFL’s top O-lines, and it takes a name out of consideration for the Seahawks. The Lions had lost Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn and Terrell Williams this week.

Fraley’s wife, Danielle, initially broke the news her husband would be staying. Danielle Fraley mentioned Chicago as a rumored destination, which would have made sense given that Johnson is now running the show there. But Hank Fraley will continue for an eighth season in Detroit. He had joined Johnson in arriving under Matt Patricia, though Fraley has been in Detroit longer — since 2018. The Lions had hired him as their assistant O-line coach, before promoting him in 2020. Fraley has overseen one of the NFL’s top blocking groups since.

The Seahawks met with Fraley twice about potentially replacing Ryan Grubb; the second meeting took place in-person earlier this week. Seattle has Klint Kubiak and Vikings assistant Grant Udinski as its other present finalists. Both Kubiak and Udinski met about the job January 17. This Seahawks process is now dragging a bit, and it will be interesting to see whether the team chooses between the Saints and Vikings staffers soon or adds another finalist.

Fraley has been Detroit’s O-line coach throughout All-Pro Penei Sewell‘s career, and Frank Ragnow has been a regular Pro Bowler under Fraley. The Lions also saw Graham Glasgow rediscover his best form when back with Fraley, after he had struggled to justify a Broncos free agency deal. While Dan Campbell has plenty of work to do elsewhere on his staff, he will not need to worry about his O-line setup for the time being.

It is a bit interesting the Lions did not need to dangle the OC title for Fraley to stay, but with no known interviews commencing, the team would have needed to comply with the Rooney Rule to make that happen. That would mean one external minority is interviewed. Fraley will be set to be a top lieutenant under Detroit’s to-be-determined next play-caller.

Elsewhere on the Lions’ staff, Campbell has added a replacement for Williams. Kacy Rodgers, whose Buccaneers contract had expired, will take over as D-line coach, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. Rodgers had interviewed for the Packers’ job as well. Rodgers, 55, had worked under Todd Bowles for the past 10 seasons, moving from Jets DC to Bucs D-line coach. The 55-year-old assistant has been in the NFL since 2003. Notably, Rodgers’ first NFL gig — as Cowboys DTs coach from 2003-04 — overlapped with Campbell’s time as a Dallas tight end. Rodgers moved up to Cowboys D-line coach during Campbell’s final Dallas season (2005).

Jaguars Hire Liam Coen As HC

January 23rd, 2025 at 11:16pm CST by Ben Levine

Following a stunning turn of events, it sounds like Liam Coen is destined for Jacksonville. According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, Coen is expected to be named as the next head coach of the Jaguars. Albert Breer of TheMMQB adds to this report, stating that the two sides have a verbal agreement in place. According to Jeff Howe of The Athletic, Coen has already informed the Buccaneers that he’ll be taking the job in Jacksonville.

The official announcement has now been made, with Russini noting that Coen went back home to Tampa Bay while his representatives finalized details with the Jaguars. Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports reported earlier this evening that the two sides were in “active negotiations.” This will be a five-year deal, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

It was only 36 hours ago that we learned Coen was backing out of the sweepstakes to stick around as the Buccaneers offensive coordinator. According to Breer, Tampa Bay was handing the coach an extension that would make him the highest-paid coordinator in NFL history. Coen would also get to stick in a familiar spot, would get to continue guiding Baker Mayfield‘s revival, and would be positioned to enter the head coaching cycle next offseason.

Things rapidly changed. The Jaguars fired Trent Baalke following reports that the GM was a deterrent to HC candidates. Following that development, it didn’t take long for Coen to reenter the conversation, as the coach reportedly took a secret trip to Jacksonville to meet with Jaguars leadership in person. We heard earlier tonight that the Jaguars were persistent in their attempts to get Coen to reconsider, and Russini says ownership called the coach directly to explain that they’d let him pick the next general manager while also paying him “Ben Johnson-level money.”

That last-ditch effort has apparently worked, as Coen is all but certain to be named the Jaguars next head coach. The offensive coordinator recently emerged as the favorite for the position after the team’s initial target, Johnson, landed with the Bears. Shad Kahn wasn’t going to let another candidate get away, especially after the Jaguars had to pivot off top option Byron Leftwich in 2022.

During that last hiring cycle, the team ended up opting for Doug Pederson, who lasted only three seasons in Jacksonville. While the Jaguars brought in a number of offensive and defensive coaches during their active search, it was believed that the organization was prioritizing a coach who could get the most out of franchise QB Trevor Lawrence.

Coen has recently garnered a reputation as someone who can maximize their QB, as he helped guide Mayfield to a career-best season in 2024. That showing also helped put Coen back on the head coaching radar following a few bumps with the Rams and Kentucky. This head coaching job will now represent Coen’s sixth unique gig in the past six years, and both the coach and the Jaguars are surely hoping he’ll be sticking around for the long-term.

Liam Coen Reenters Jaguars’ HC Mix; Deal Close?

January 23rd, 2025 at 5:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although Liam Coen agreed to a Buccaneers extension, the Jaguars’ update to their front office setup looks to have changed the equation. Coen is back in the mix for the Jags, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports.

[RELATED: Liam Coen Bows Out Of Jaguars’ HC Search, Agrees To Bucs Extension]

The Tampa Bay OC backed out of a second Jacksonville interview Wednesday; hours later, the Jags fired GM Trent Baalke. With Baalke gone, Coen appears more interested in the job. He is back on the radar, joining Robert Saleh, Patrick Graham and hopeful second interviewees Joe Brady and Kellen Moore in this search. With Coen back in play, it will be interesting to see if the Jags stick around to meet with Brady and Moore or if the former favorite lands a deal before then.

The Bucs had agreed on a raise for Coen to stay for a second season, but NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo connects the Baalke development to the young candidate being more interested in the job. Reports earlier this month indicated Baalke’s presence had turned off Jags HC candidates, and Coen almost definitely looks to have been among that group. After seeing Ben Johnson choose the Bears and Coen momentarily exit the picture, Shad Khan changed up.

Jacksonville is expected to hire a head coach before settling on a GM search, giving said HC considerable power. That understandably is appealing to Coen, who is huddling up with Jags brass barely 24 hours after initially refusing to do so. Coen is in Jacksonville, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, who notes a deal may be close. Coen is only in the mix for the Jags job, but this would keep Brady and Moore in play for the other HC-needy teams.

In addition to the team’s decision to move on from Baalke, it sounds like the Jaguars’ persistence also helped lure Coen back to Jacksonville. Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz says the Jaguars “reached out repeatedly” with the logic that the coach would have to deny their inquiries multiple times. While the Jaguars are considering multiple candidates for the job, it sounds like Coen is the clear favorite. Schultz notes that a deal hasn’t been finalized, but Khan has identified Coen as “his guy.”

Meanwhile, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times says the Buccaneers haven’t spoken with Coen since yesterday afternoon, although that wasn’t due to a lack of trying. The Bucs tried reaching out to their OC but haven’t been able to reach him. Instead of immediately inking a new contract with Tampa Bay, Coen “secretly” traveled to Jacksonville to meet with the Jaguars. While The Athletic’s Diana Russini says the Buccaneers’ multiple calls to Coen have gone unanswered, ESPN’S Adam Schefter reports that Coen reached out to Todd Bowles directly to inform his boss of the renewed interest in the Jaguars job.

Coen’s stint as the Rams offensive coordinator didn’t go as planned, but the coach rehabilitated his image with a strong season in Tampa Bay. The new OC helped guide Baker Mayfield to the strongest season of his career, as the QB tossed 41 touchdown passes — 13 more than his previous career-high mark. As a result, Coen found himself on the head coaching radar, and it sounds like he’s currently in a can’t-lose situation. The coach can either return to a familiar spot in Tampa Bay before reentering the hiring cycle next offseason, or he can join a relatively attractive situation in Jacksonville.

Ben Levine contributed to this post.

Lions Expected To Interview Larry Foote For DC Job

January 23rd, 2025 at 2:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Needing to pick up the pieces after the past week has brought a divisional-round loss and their top two assistant coaches booking HC jobs elsewhere, the Lions are set to start moving forward. One of their recent playoff opponents has produced a DC candidate.

Buccaneers inside linebackers coach Larry Foote is expected to interview for the Lions’ DC job, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz tweets. Also known for his playing career, Foote is a Michigan alum and a Detroit native. He was with the Lions in 2009 and has been in the coaching ranks for 10 years now.

Aaron Glenn‘s extensive run on the coaching carousel ended Wednesday, as the Jets hired the four-year Lions DC. This marks new territory for Dan Campbell, who has yet to make an outside hire to replace a coordinator. Campbell promoted Ben Johnson to replace Anthony Lynn as OC in 2022 but faces the prospect of needing to look outside to replace Johnson and Glenn. Though names like Tanner Engstrand and Kelvin Sheppard have come up as options for the gigs, Foote looks set to have an opportunity on the defensive side.

A Bruce Arians hire immediately after his playing career ended in 2015, Foote jumped into a position coaching role. Arians hired Foote as his ILBs coach ahead of a 13-3 Cardinals season that ended in the NFC championship game. Foote followed Arians to Tampa in 2019 and has coached both the Bucs’ outside and inside ‘backers over the past six years. His stint as OLBs coach overlapped with the Bucs’ pass rush-driven surge to a dominant Super Bowl LV win, which featured Shaq Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul provide consistent pressure to close out the franchise’s second championship.

Coming up on the early PFR pages as a player, Foote spent most of his career with the Steelers. The off-ball ‘backer started for both modern Pittsburgh Super Bowl-winning teams, being part of the 2008 squad’s elite defense, before signing with his hometown Lions in 2009. Foote signed with Detroit in March of ’09, inking a one-year deal. He did not overlap with Campbell on the Lions’ roster; the current Detroit HC’s playing career wrapped after the winless 2008 slate.

Foote,44, returned to the Steelers after that Lions one-off and closed out his career with the Cardinals under Arians in 2014. He is now on Campbell’s radar to replace Glenn, and his Detroit ties make the candidacy a bit more interesting.

Coaching Rumors: Bears, Washington, Packers, 49ers, Allen, Giants, Pats, Bengals

January 23rd, 2025 at 12:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although the Panthers and Colts are recent examples of an incoming coaching staff keeping a coordinator in place, the Bears‘ 2024 coordinators will not stick around like Ejiro Evero and Gus Bradley did elsewhere. Neither Thomas Brown nor DC Eric Washington will be retained under Ben Johnson, The Athletic’s Adam Jahns notes. O-line coach Chris Morgan, quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph and interim OC Chris Beatty are also out in Chicago. This is not especially surprising, as new staffs regularly want to bring in their own hires.

Brown, 38, will be on his way to a fourth team in four years. The former Sean McVay assistant spent the 2023 season alongside Evero, as Carolina’s OC, and moved from pass-game coordinator to interim OC to interim HC in Chicago last year. The Bears went 1-4 under Brown, who has received OC interest elsewhere. Washington came over from the Bills in 2024, when Matt Eberflus replaced Alan Williams after calling the signals himself for most of the 2023 season. Washington, 55, only took over play-calling duties in 2024 when the Bears fired Eberflus.

Here is the latest from the coaching carousel:

  • Teams making HC hires will expand the OC and DC carousels, and the Bears’ entrance on the coordinator market revealed interest in Dennis Allen. The rumored favorite to follow Johnson to Chicago, Allen may also have heard from the 49ers, as ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner indicates the NFC West team showed some interest in the ex-Bengals DC. Allen, though, may have been a Robert Saleh contingency plan. Although Allen has been closely linked to the Bears, Saleh is still in the mix for the Jaguars — with a second interview scheduled — and Raiders. The Cowboys also met with the former Jets HC, who would seem likely to rejoin the 49ers if his HC paths close.
  • Speaking of Washington, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones adds the Packers interviewed him for their defensive line coach role. Prior to his one-season Bears stay, Washington was the Bills’ D-line coach for the previous four years. He was Carolina’s DC from 2018-19. With a few DC gigs yet to open, it will be interesting to see if Washington would return to the position coach level early rather than wait on a potential lateral move. Green Bay is also interviewing Tampa Bay D-line coach Kacy Rodgers for the role, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, who adds Rodgers’ Buccaneers contract is up.
  • Former defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel will change facilities, but he will (presumably) not need to relocate. The four-year Jets safeties coach is joining the Giants as their DBs coach, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. A former NFL safety who ascended to the role of Falcons DC in the late 2010s, Manuel has been an NFL staffer since 2012. The Giants went 3-14 but did not fire their head coach or their coordinators, but Shane Bowen — after retaining some holdover staffers last year — is bringing in his own guy to replace Jerome Henderson, who spent five years in the role.
  • The Patriots already have a “new” OC-DC tandem, with Josh McDaniels’ third stint in the play-calling role accompanying Terrell Williams‘ arrival as the team’s defensive boss. But Mike Vrabel is retaining special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes. Springer was not a Bill Belichick hire, but rather a Jerod Mayo addition; he came over from the Rams last year. Pro Football Focus graded the Pats’ ST units second overall in 2024.
  • Vrabel did not retain Mayo’s O-line coaches, and both have found new gigs. The Bengals are hiring Scott Peters as offensive line coach, with Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson adding ex-Pats assistant O-line coach Michael McCarthy to the same role in Cincinnati. Peters spent four seasons under Bill Callahan as Browns assistant O-line coach and, per Hobson, had spent previous time serving as a UFC trainer for Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez. Zac Taylor played under Callahan at Nebraska, creating a natural tie here. The Bengals fired Frank Pollack from the O-line coaching role at season’s end.

Liam Coen Not Expected To Return To Jaguars HC Mix; Joe Brady, Kellen Moore Still On Radar

January 23rd, 2025 at 12:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

12:16pm: It now appears the Jags will stay with their HC search and conclude it before deciding on a GM. Going coach before GM is not entirely uncommon, but CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones points to the team not beginning a true GM hunt until a coach is in place. It would not surprise to see interview requests go out to execs, but if the team intends on separating the searches entirely, it will be a bit before that step happens.

10:37am: Liam Coen‘s decision to pass on a second Jaguars HC interview, and thus remove himself from consideration for the open job, looks to have been significant. Hours later, Shad Khan reversed course on his plans with Trent Baalke. The veteran GM is out, leaving more questions in Jacksonville.

Baalke’s presence had been seen as a deterrent in the Jaguars’ coaching search. Would removing the GM mean Coen could move back into play? It does not appear that will happen, with the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud reporting the Buccaneers‘ OC is expected to sign his extension today.

Prior to Khan’s decision to boot Baalke, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler noted Bills OC Joe Brady would be a name to watch in light of the Bucs play-caller bowing out. The young assistant impressed in his virtual meeting. Indeed, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport adds the Jags’ list of second interviews is expected to include Brady and Eagles OC Kellen Moore. As of now, the Jags’ finalists include Robert Saleh and Patrick Graham. Each will conduct their second interviews this week. The Athletic’s Michael Silver initially indicated the search will expand beyond these two.

The prospect of a second Jags run at Coen would make sense, but the retooling organization has some issues to sort out. And Coen may well be eyeing a spot on the 2026 HC carousel rather than seeing where the Jaguars are at GM once they launch a search. A new GM may also be the team’s second priority now, as Bovada’s Josina Anderson indicating the franchise is considering a few scenarios in terms of how to proceed with its HC and GM spots. If nothing else, the Jags may be OK hiring a head coach before a general manager.

Given this year’s remaining candidates, it would be a bit surprising if the Jags gave their next head coach power over a GM. Baalke held roster control following Urban Meyer‘s firing, but it is fairly clear the recently fired GM’s presence was, much like in 2022, not helping attract candidates. Although Khan gave Meyer power in 2021, he had pursued the formerly successful college HC for a while. That experience going so poorly may well influence Khan to keep a traditional power structure post-Baalke, but the Jags are in need of a solution after Coen and Ben Johnson turned them down.

As far as replacing Baalke goes, no known candidates have emerged. The Jets are the other team looking, after the Titans (Mike Borgonzi) and Raiders (John Spytek) have made their choices. Commanders assistant GM Lance Newmark appeared the favorite for the Jets’ job, but Trey Brown and Darren Mougey are still in the mix; each will conduct second interviews today. Newmark may be in play for the Jags, ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini writes, but it is not known if a candidate that had been linked to following Johnson to Las Vegas and then join Aaron Glenn in New York would be coveted without the presence of an ex-Lions staffer.

After Baalke’s 2024 extension spree preceded a 4-13 season and a complete overhaul, the Jags are in the unusual spot of having paid a potential franchise QB (Trevor Lawrence) while carrying HC and GM vacancies. The Chargers managed to find good solutions here when in this spot last year, but they had vacancies from the start and used Justin Herbert‘s presence to attract Jim Harbaugh. After Coen and Johnson did not see enough positives about Jacksonville’s situation, will Lawrence help sway Brady or Moore?

Raiders To Add John Spytek As GM

January 22nd, 2025 at 10:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

With the Raiders going in a different direction after Ben Johnson chose the Bears, they are circling back to a GM candidate not tied to the Chicago-bound coach. Tom Brady will turn to one of his college teammates to join him in Las Vegas.

Mentioned as a candidate early in this process, John Spytek landed the job. The Buccaneers’ assistant GM is finalizing a deal to join Brady in Vegas, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports. Spytek and Brady overlapped at Michigan in the late 1990s and with the Bucs. This will be a five-year deal, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com adds.

Although the Raiders became connected to pairing Johnson with former Lions coworker-turned-Commanders AGM Lance Newmark, the young assistant’s Monday choice changed that path. But Spytek has been on the Raiders’ radar for a bit longer. Earlier this month, when it became clear Brady was the lead voice in the Raiders’ GM search as well as their HC interview process, the team became tied to Spytek. The latter has been with the Bucs since 2016 and has been an NFL staffer for 21 years.

Spytek, 44, trekked to Ann Arbor a few years after Brady. The two only overlapped in 1999, before Brady’s NFL journey began, but Spytek crossed paths with the former Wolverines quarterback in 2020. Spytek was in place as Tampa Bay’s director of player personnel when the Bucs signed Brady in free agency. He remained one of Jason Licht‘s top lieutenants during Brady’s three-year tenure and climbed to an assistant GM post in 2023. Both Spytek and Mike Greenberg held that title in Tampa; Greenberg is still in the mix for the Jets’ job, but Newmark — especially after Aaron Glenn accepted the HC job — may be the most likely to land it.

As the Titans recently reminded via their Mike Borgonzi hire, not all GM posts are designed equally. As Borgonzi prepares to work with another exec (Chad Brinker) who holds final-say responsibilities in Tennessee, Spytek will walk into a situation that has changed significantly since NFL owners approved Brady as a minority Raiders stakeholder. Mark Davis has since given the all-time great/lead FOX analyst carte blanche in Vegas, entrusting him to lead the HC and GM searches and then perhaps do the same when it comes time to identify a quarterback. Spytek will now rejoin his former teammate and coworker to bring in HC and QB answers.

The Raiders have now hired three GMs since January 2022, and the most recent dismissal came due to Brady seeking alignment to go with the team’s next head coach. While Tom Telesco equipped Brady’s team with All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers, the ex-Chargers front office boss was shown the door in an effort to start fresh following the Antonio Pierce firing. The Raiders have one half of their next duo in place, but the other will probably be more significant — especially when considering how involved Brady figures to be on the personnel side.

With this GM job potentially a second-in-command post to Brady, the Raiders need a head coach after their Johnson push failed. Going by early favorites can lead to shaky ground — as the Jaguars’ search most recently reminded — but Pete Carroll has suddenly moved into serious contention for the job. The ex-Seahawks leader would be the oldest head coach in NFL history, at 73. No head coach older than 66 has ever been hired. It would mark a wild swing for the Raiders to zero in on a 38-year-old staffer only to hire a coach 35 years older soon after.

Spytek was in Tampa when the Bucs acquired Bruce Arians‘ rights in 2019, being part of the Bucs’ roster-building mission that eventually attracted Brady. The Bucs built a team that rolled to four playoff wins to close out the 2020 season, the last a dominant Super Bowl LV win that has aged well thanks to the Chiefs’ rebound effort. Spytek also played key roles in Tampa Bay reaching the playoffs with a $70MM-plus dead money bill, largely created by Brady’s retirement, and the team reaching agreements with Mike Evans, Baker Mayfield, Antoine Winfield Jr. and Tristan Wirfs this past offseason. Those re-ups helped produce the Bucs’ fourth straight NFC South title.

The Raiders have not formed cores strong enough for mass retention projects in a while, and their plans to replace Derek Carr fizzled quickly. Brady and Spytek will certainly make that continued effort their centerpiece task this offseason, as the Raiders have seen the AFC West strengthened by the arrivals of Sean Payton and Jim Harbaugh. This duo improving the fortunes of the Broncos and Chargers has made life more difficult for the Raiders, who have been looking up at the two-time reigning champion Chiefs for many years.

After the Telesco-Pierce and Josh McDaniels-Dave Ziegler regimes failed, Davis will entrust Brady and Spytek to take a crack at restoring the Silver and Black to a consistent contender for the first time in more than 20 years.

Liam Coen Bows Out Of Jaguars’ HC Search, Agrees To Bucs Extension

January 22nd, 2025 at 10:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

Entering Wednesday as the rumored favorite for the Jaguars’ head coaching job, Liam Coen is prepared to pass. The young offensive coordinator will stay with the Buccaneers.

Coen will sign a new Bucs contract that makes him one of the game’s highest-paid coordinators, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. This deal comes with an extension but not a coach-in-waiting clause, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones adds. Robert Saleh and Patrick Graham remain Jags finalists, but after Coen-to-Jacksonville buzz had steadily built, this could certainly be labeled a setback for the AFC South franchise. The deal is believed to be in the $4.5MM-per-year neighborhood, per the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud.

Ben Johnson recently showed this path can be effective. The former Lions OC backed away from a potential Panthers hire in 2023 and then informed the Commanders last year he was out of that mix as well. Johnson remained a top candidate and just accepted a Bears offer. Coen’s profile checks in south of Johnson’s, however, and he was only in the mix for the Jags job. While this could be deemed a risk by a coordinator who has yo-yoed between the pro and college ranks this decade, it also could represent hesitancy involving the Jaguars.

Today was to be Coen’s second Jags interview (and first in-person meeting with team brass), but the Stroud reports the Bucs’ OC did not board the plane for Jacksonville. Coen, 39, was negotiating with the Bucs as well. He will stick around and continue to work with Baker Mayfield, after the two enjoyed a promising start that resulted in another NFC South title for the Bucs.

This marks the second time this week a coveted candidate has exited the Jags’ search. Johnson was believed to be considering the Jags (and a Trevor Lawrence partnership), but the high-profile play-caller was not overly thrilled about the franchise’s setup. We heard shortly after Black Monday that the Jags’ decision to retain GM Trent Baalke, who is running their HC search, had influenced some candidates to steer clear. For a second HC cycle, Baalke’s presence appears to be affecting the Jags’ viability as a destination.

In 2022, the Jags appeared close to a deal with Byron Leftwich. Baalke’s presence impacted that search, leading to the Doug Pederson hire. Pederson had also expressed apprehension regarding Baalke, and as last season progressed, the three-year Jags HC was not on good terms with his top coworker. Many expected Baalke to be fired along with Pederson, but Shad Khan retained the polarizing exec. Rumors about Baalke being kicked to another position within the organization emerged, but Johnson and Coen’s decisions may not point to that actually happening.

Coen had been the Rams’ 2022 OC, with that stay sandwiched between two seasons as Kentucky’s play-caller. Helping Will Levis to a breakthrough 2021 season with the Wildcats, Coen did not impress as L.A.’s non-play-calling OC — albeit during an injury-plagued Rams season — and returned to the SEC program in 2023. After the Wildcats again improved under Coen, the Bucs hired him.

Mayfield soon took steps forward this past season, throwing 41 touchdown passes — 13 more than his previous career-high mark — and powered Todd Bowles‘ team to a 10-7 record and a fourth straight division championship. After losing Dave Canales to the Panthers, the Bucs still ranked fourth in scoring offense. This will mark Mayfield’s first instance of play-caller carryover since his 2020-21 Browns seasons.

Graham is slated to interview for the Jacksonville post Thursday, while Saleh is heading to Duval County on Friday. Saleh has a history with the Jags, being their linebackers coach from 2014-16, but has also met with the Cowboys and Raiders. It will be interesting if Jacksonville adds another finalist now that Coen is out, as both Saleh and Graham are defensive-minded leaders. The Jags have also interviewed OCs Joe Brady, Todd Monken and Kellen Moore. Kliff Kingsbury was believed to be on the team’s radar, but teams will have to wait until the Commanders’ season ends to meet with the resurgent play-caller.

Buccaneers Preparing For Liam Coen To Land Jaguars’ HC Position?

January 21st, 2025 at 10:12pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Jaguars were one of the three teams heavily linked to Ben Johnson. The in-demand staffer wound up being hired by the Bears, though, leaving Jacksonville in need of pivoting to a contingency plan.

It appears a favorite amongst the remaining candidates has emerged. Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports the Buccaneers are bracing for offensive coordinator Liam Coen to be offered the Jaguars’ job. Coen is on Jacksonville’s list of finalists, having lined up a second interview for tomorrow.

The Jags are also slated to speak with former Jets head coach Robert Saleh as well as Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, but Stroud notes there is an increasing sentiment that the Jacksonville HC posting is “Coen’s to lose.” It was reported last week (when Johnson was still on the market) that the 39-year-old was in contention for the position. As a result, this latest update comes as little surprise.

Dave Canales had a successful single season as the Buccaneers’ offensive play-caller in 2023. He parlayed that into the Panthers’ head coaching gig, leaving Tampa to bring in Coen for this past campaign. The former Rams and Kentucky OC enjoyed a very strong debut season with the Bucs. The team ranked top-four in the league in total and scoring offense in 2024, remaining efficient on the ground and through the air along the way. Tampa Bay finished fourth in the NFL in rushing yards per game after posting the worst figure in that category each of the two previous campaigns.

The Jaguars moved on from Doug Pederson after his third year with the team concluded. Several candidates with an offensive background were interviewed once as part of Jacksonville’s ongoing search process, though, and the continued interest in Coen is a sign the team is willing to make another hire from that side of the ball. Stroud confirms Coen’s first interview went well, noting his potential to help Trevor Lawrence as a key factor which could land him the job.

If Coen were to depart, the Buccaneers would need to find a new OC for the fourth consecutive offseason. It remains to be seen if that will be the case, but such a scenario is obviously one the team is preparing for.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/21/25

January 21st, 2025 at 7:13pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s reserve/futures contracts:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Detroit Lions

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • DB Cameron McCutcheon

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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