Bucs search for offensive coordinator begins in-house but may not end there

Rick Stroud, Tampa Bay Times on Jan 25, 2025

Published in Football

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TAMPA, Fla. — The Buccaneers shouldn’t have any trouble attracting a good offensive coordinator to replace Liam Coen.

Not only has the job been an express route to becoming an NFL head coach — Dave Canales with the Carolina Panthers last year and Coen with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Friday — it comes with quarterback Baker Mayfield and stars at every turn.

Regardless of who is calling the plays, the Bucs have plenty of playmakers.

Unlike two years ago, when Kyle Trask was the only quarterback under contract when Canales was hired, Mayfield is coming off career highs in passing yards (4,500), touchdowns (41) and completion percentage (71.4).

The Bucs also have a 1,000-yard rusher in rookie Bucky Irving and a solid offensive line anchored by All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs as well as receivers Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan.

Many of the offensive coordinators who interviewed with the Bucs but lost out to Coen last year are available.

Home-grown options

— Thad Lewis, quarterbacks coach

Former Bucs head coach Bruce Arians always wanted to mentor Lewis and felt his experience as a quarterback with eight different NFL teams would serve him well as a playcaller.

Lewis has worked closely with Mayfield the past two seasons and watched him thrive with more than 8,500 yards passing and 69 touchdown passes.

The only drawback is that Lewis has never called plays at any level, which is more reminiscent of Canales than Coen.

— Josh Grizzard, passing game coordinator

Coen worked closely with Grizzard last season, and the efficiency of the pass game has never been better.

Mayfield made better use of his tight ends. Cade Otton (59 catches, 600 yards, four TDs) and Payne Durham (11 receptions, 115 yards, two TDs), especially while both Chris Godwin and Mike Evans were out.

The biggest gain was the development of rookie McMillan, who had seven touchdowns in his final five regular-season games. At 34, Grizzard is one of the promising young offensive coaches in the league.

Outside options

— Nate Scheelhaase, Rams offensive assistant/pass game specialist

Scheelhaase is a former Illinois quarterback who was Iowa State’s offensive coordinator before joining Sean McVay’s staff with the Rams in 2024. He’s the first outside candidate the Bucs requested permission to talk to. It’s no coincidence he is familiar with McVay’s system, which is similar to what the Bucs ran under Coen. Like Coen, Scheelhaase didn’t call plays for the Rams. But he did at Iowa State, where he benefited from working for a great offensive mind in head coach Matt Campbell.

— Jake Peetz, Seahawks pass game coordinator

For the sake of continuity, which wins in the NFL, Peetz may be among the best fits for the Bucs. He worked with Mayfield in 2022 and was on the Rams staff with Coen in Los Angeles under head coach Sean McVay.

Peetz interviewed with the Bucs last year and impressed them even though the job went to his friend. He has playcalling experience in college at LSU and had an important role with the Seahawks. Peetz is also close to Coen and may have an opportunity to join him with Jaguars.

— Jerrod Johnson, Texans quarterbacks coach

Johnson interviewed a year ago and impressed the Bucs. All you have to do is look at the development of quarterback C.J. Stroud to know he could be a future coaching star in the league. But is he better than Lewis, who is already on staff?

— Bobby Slowik, former Texans offensive coordinator

This was unexpected. A year ago, Slowick was the hot assistant due to the success of rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. But he was fired Friday and suddenly there is another viable candidate for the Bucs game on the streets. In 2023, the Texans averaged 22.1 points per game but fell to 19th in the league this season with 21.9. Slowick is proof you have to maximize your worth after a good season.

— Alex Van Pelt, former Patriots offensive coordinator

He coached Mayfield with the Browns. That’s a good place to start. The relationship is already built. But the downside is that the Patriots and rookie quarterback Drake Maye struggled at times this season. A head coaching change from Jerod Mayo to Mike Vrabel pushed him out.

— Dan Pitcher, Bengals offensive coordinator

The Bucs really loved Pitcher when he interviewed a couple years ago but he opted to go back the Bengals as their quarterbacks coach. He was promoted when Brian Callahan got the Titans head coaching job. Not sure why Pitcher would leave Joe Burrow for Mayfield.

— Ken Dorsey, former Browns offensive coordinator

Once considered a hot-head coaching candidate, Dorsey fell out of favor a bit with the muddy quarterback situation in Cleveland. Deshaun Watson tore his Achilles and Jameis Winston is, well, deliver him from pick-6's. But it wasn’t that long ago that Dorsey was getting credit for the development of Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

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