Jenna LaineJan 20, 2026, 10:00 PM

CloseJenna Laine covers the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for ESPN. She started covering the Bucs for ESPN in 2016, but she has covered the team since 2009. Jenna is a former cheerleader at the University of South Florida and speaks to the consistency of the program as being one of the top best in the nation.

TAMPA, Fla. — The Buccaneers‘ quest for an offensive coordinator has now included interviews with the likes of New York Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka, former Tennessee Titans coach Brian Callahan, Detroit Lions passing game coordinator David Shaw, Arizona Cardinals quarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork, former Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken and former Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel.

What are they looking for? It doesn’t have to be a young up-and-comer. Monken, 59, already has done a stint as the Bucs’ offensive coordinator (2016-18) under Dirk Koetter.

“It’s not the right guys depending on how smart or good they are … it’s about the right guy [for] how your team is built and how you think your guys can get the most out of what they’re coaching,” Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said at last year’s NFL combine after switching OCs for the third straight offseason.

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Tampa Bay finds itself in this position once again, but this time it’s after firing offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard instead of losing its OC to a head coaching job like the past two.

In 2023, Bowles thought Dave Canales would be best for helping quarterback Baker Mayfield resurrect his career because, as Mayfield jokingly put it, Canales is an “optimist bully.” His ability to empathize with Mayfield and rebuild his confidence paid dividends.

When Canales left for the head-coaching job in Carolina, it was no longer about rebuilding Mayfield’s confidence but taking things to another level. It was about building off what Canales did schematically, with more freedom for Mayfield to make checks at the line of scrimmage, more pre-snap motion and motion at the snap and more ways to get out of trouble so he never felt handcuffed at the line of scrimmage.

And Liam Coen filled the bill perfectly in 2024.

Then in 2025, with Coen taking the Jacksonville job, Bowles promoted Grizzard from pass game coordinator. It was then about continuity, something Mayfield hadn’t had. The Bucs wanted to still be able to get the ball into the hands of the franchise’s leading scorer Mike Evans and build off of a monster rookie season for running back Bucky Irving.

Those things didn’t happen, though, for a multitude of reasons — including injuries to both and players at other skill positions.

That, mixed with the offense taking a step back, were key factors as to why Bowles decided to move on from Grizzard.

So how attractive is the Bucs’ opening? It stands out for four key reasons based off talking to some of their candidates from the past two years and sources around the league: Talent, culture, autonomy and development.

Todd Bowles can brag about the success of former Bucs offensive coordinators Dave Canales and Liam Coen. AP Photo/Chris O’Meara

Even with the status of Evans in limbo (he told ESPN he would need a month or two to make a determination at the seasons’ end on whether he’ll return for a 13th year), the Bucs have one of the most talented wide receiver rooms in the league with Chris Godwin Jr., Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan. There also is Irving, tight end Cade Otton and an offensive line anchored by three time All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs.

“Obviously, any offensive coordinator has leeway coming in, but you understand what we have to do,” Bowles said last year. “He has to read the game when we’re playing well defensively, when he might have to outscore someone, and it’s never just run, run, pass, he has leeway to call his plays. I’ll have the say so on whether to go for it on fourth down, things to do on two-minute, and so forth — as well as red zone — but he has a lot of leeway.”

Bowles has also shown patience with first-time playcallers, knowing there will be a learning curve — something Canales appreciated early on.

“First and foremost, I want to make Coach Bowles proud. I want to make him right,” Canales said in 2023, fighting back tears. “[He is] just a guy who believed in me and gave me a shot.”

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Even in the interview process, Bowles tests and challenges candidates. That’s one of the ways in which Grizzard won Bowles over. He was, as Bowles put it, “very calm under pressure.” Bowles felt the same way about Canales when he interviewed.

Bowles said last year, “You do a thorough coaching search just so you can see what everyone is. I can’t go by just names of people; you have to find what’s right for you and your team. It’s not just [scheme]. Everybody’s going to have a scheme coming in. It’s not the scheme that attracts you to him. It’s understanding your scheme, and then if someone stops it, then what do you do? Can you think after that?”

He does have many conversations with them about football strategy and does so from a defensive perspective. Both Coen and Canales have talked about how Bowles prepared them for this next step in their careers. They have not only gone on to become successful head coaches but have managed to lead their teams to division titles within two years.

Sources say the Glazers, who have always been very private in their ownership style, do like Bowles and are happy with the job he’s done, even with the disappointment of this past season. A source also told ESPN that ownership did not pressure Bowles into making the coaching changes, but many were made. Outside of Grizzard, the Buccaneers fired special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey, quarterbacks coach Thad Lewis, defensive line coach Charlie Strong and cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross — and two long-time coaches retired.

These were moves he felt needed to be made. Still, the shakeup of assistants does suggest that 2026 will be important for Bowles to get things back on track, starting with the OC hire.