Report: Liam Coen hiring Kentucky analyst Brian Picucci as Buccaneers' assistant offensive line coach

After taking over as Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator, Liam Coen is preparing to bring another Kentucky staffer with him. Senior analyst Brian Picucci is also heading to Tampa, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.

Picucci is set to join the Buccaneers as an assistant offensive line coach. He and Coen go back to their time together at UMass from 2005-08. Picucci also has NFL experience with the Detroit Lions, where he served as an offensive assistant under Matt Patricia from 2016-17.

Picucci coached at UMass in two stints – from 1998-99 and again from 2004-12 – as offensive line coach and, eventually, offensive coordinator. He joined Kentucky this past season after serving as the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at the NFL Alumni Academy.

Coen returned to Kentucky in 2023 after one year as the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive coordinator. He also spent the 2021 season in Lexington, where he played a key role in the development of Will Levis. During this coaching cycle, Coen also received interest from the Chicago Bears for the offensive coordinator vacancy that ultimately went to Shane Waldron.

In 2021 under Coen, Kentucky put together a strong year, averaging 32.3 points and 424.1 total yards of offense per game. After he returned this past season, the Wildcats had an up-and-down season, averaging 339.5 yards per game — which ranked 11th in the SEC — and 29.1 points to finish eighth in the conference.

With the Rams in 2022, though, it didn’t go quite as well. Los Angeles ranked 27th in the NFL in scoring offense, averaging just 18.1 points per game while rotating through a few quarterbacks after a Matthew Stafford injury.

Liam Coen: Buccaneers opportunity was ‘something we could not turn away from whatsoever’

While Coen said he didn’t necessarily plan on an NFL return, he called his decision to take the Buccaneers job “a no-brainer” after he was hired. Of course, he’s also reuniting with Baker Mayfield, who was one of the quarterbacks in Los Angeles during that 2022 season.

“I mean obviously the opportunity to work with Baker, to get back with him potentially, John Wolford’s in the room that I coached with the Rams for multiple years,” Coen said. “The skillset on the perimeter, obviously, youth in the running back room, tight end, and one of the best tackles in the National Football League.

“This was altogether really something we could not turn away from whatsoever. This is something that we’re really excited about as a family. My father lives an hour and a half from Tampa, I’ve spent a lot of time down here, and this was just a no-brainer for us.”