Liam Coen pulled a fast one on the Bucs, Now he may be a Jag

by:Nick Roush•about 12 hours•

RoushKSR

liam-coen-tampa-bay — Aug 23, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen looks on before the game against the Miami Dolphins at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Either Liam Coen is the most indecisive person in the world or he’s an evil genius. Either way, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got the wool pulled over their head.

The former Kentucky offensive coordinator was a top candidate to be the next Jacksonville Jaguars head coach. He pulled his name out of the race on Wednesday to remain in Tampa. According to Adam Schefter, the deal to remain with the Bucs would have made him the highest-paid coordinator in the NFL.

Folks in Tampa were operating as if Coen was gearing up for next season. All he needed to do was sign the contract, simply a formality.

In the meantime, Jacksonville made a major move to make Coen reconsider. They fired general manager Trent Baalke. That was enough to convince Coen to return to North Florida to chat with Jaguars officials.

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According to Dianna Russini, Tampa Bay had no idea that Coen was spending the day in Duuuval. Tmpa Bay officials tried calling and texting Coen. He left them on unread. Brutal. Ian Rapoport has been breaking NFL news for years, and even he was surprised by this development. “Coaching searches get crazy. This is a new one,” he said on social media.

This “snip-snap, snip-snap” behavior from Coen should not shock Kentucky fans. After all, he did this multiple times in Lexington. He coached for a year, then left. He returned a year later and then interviewed for a few jobs. It looked like he wasn’t going to get one, then Tampa Bay hired him and he put together one of the best offenses in the NFL.

As easy as it may be to mock his indecisiveness, I’m impressed. He clearly wanted to coach Trevor Lawrence and Brian Thomas Jr., but wanted no business with Trent Baalke. Coen made a big gamble by playing hard to get with Jacksonville, the kind Littlefinger would make in Game of Thrones, and it looks like it’s about to pay off.

Eye-Opening Update

Is anyone buying this?

To be clear, the Liam Coen contacted head coach Todd Bowles around 5 p. m. Thursday. He said he had been with one of his kids, who had taken ill, at a doctors office. He mentioned the Jaguars situation only briefly, saying he wanted to look back into it.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) January 24, 2025