After an incredibly productive first season in Tampa, Liam Coen has decided to stick around for another campaign.
The Buccaneers' offensive coordinator has taken himself out of the running for the Jaguars' head coaching job and will return to Tampa on a new contract, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Wednesday.
Coen's production in 2024 rocketed him up the ranks of coordinators with head-coaching potential. Under his direction, Baker Mayfield surpassed his career year of 2023 by throwing for 41 touchdowns and 4,500 passing yards in an offense that was not afraid to take chances. Despite being run by a defensive-minded head coach, these Buccaneers became an offensive team in 2024, finishing third in total yards per game, third in passing and reviving the ground game well enough to produce a fourth-place finish in rushing.
With years of experience as an assistant under Sean McVay in Los Angeles and Mark Stoops at the University of Kentucky, Coen joined the Buccaneers after Tampa Bay found itself in need of a new OC following Mayfield's previous career-best season of 2023 under former play-caller Dave Canales. Mayfield's renaissance and the Buccaneers' resulting success made Canales an ideal head coaching candidate in last year's cycle, leading the Panthers to hire him away -- and watch him begin to extract legitimate progress from Bryce Young -- in 2024.
Coen seemed to be on the same track after guiding Mayfield to an absurdly prolific passing season in 2024. The coordinator became a logical fit for another Florida club: The Jacksonville Jaguars, a team that has paid its franchise quarterback in Trevor Lawrence but might be starting to get anxious regarding his long-term development. The partnership between since-fired coach Doug Pederson and Lawrence produced quick results, but after a couple of injury riddled seasons for Lawrence and a significant regression in performance on the part of the Jaguars this season, Jacksonville fired Pederson earlier this month.
Instead of being asked to both guide the Jaguars out of irrelevance and attempt to put Lawrence on the track toward explosive success -- as he did with Mayfield in just one season -- Coen has decided he'd rather stay with the team he just helped reach the postseason in thrilling fashion.
After all, those explosive Bucs were upset by the Washington Commanders on Wild Card Weekend. With a handsome raise in his pocket, Coen has unfinished business to address in Tampa.