Analyst offers hard-hitting Buccaneers head coach question

Adam Schultz

Analyst offers hard-hitting Buccaneers head coach question image

© Nathan Ray Seebeck

One of the most interesting stats for Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is the number of offensive coordinators he's had since arriving in the NFC South.

Set to have No. 4 after Josh Grizzard was fired, it will be another offseason of learning for Baker.

But there is also another thread to pull here.

Todd Bowles has been the mainstay head coach, while Dave Canales and Liam Coen have moved on to coach their own teams, with good success.

And Sports Illustrated's Gilberto Manzano is wondering if Tampa Bay kept the wrong coach.

" The Buccaneers find themselves in a tricky situation because they might be thinking they retained the wrong coach after letting former offensive coordinators Liam Coen and Dave Canales go for head-coaching opportunities," Manzano wrote.

"Coach Todd Bowles struggled to get more from his defense and even threw them under the bus after their Week 15 loss to the Falcons. It also doesn’t help that Coen and Canales guided the Jaguars and Panthers, respectively, to the playoffs."

More: Buccaneers tipped to replace Super Bowl champion in mock draft

Did Bucs really move on from wrong coach?

Hindsight is 20/20.

This time last season, the Buccaneers were being lauded for keeping Bowles and tying him down until 2028. 

How quickly things can change.

There's no denying that Canales and Coen both got the most out of the offense and Baker Mayfield, but it was the defense this season that hindered Tampa Bay.

Could the Buccaneers have overcome their injuries better if Coen were the coordinator or head coach over Grizzard or Bowles?

We'll never know. But it is fun to think about.

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Staff Writer