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After Liam Coen bolted to take the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching position, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had to find a new offensive coordinator. They now have their new hire, and it’s a familiar face within the organization, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
“The Bucs are promoting Josh Grizzard to offensive coordinator, sources tell The Insiders. A Yale alum, Grizzard spent seven years with the Dolphins before joining Tampa Bay last year as pass game coordinator. Now the 34-year-old replaces Liam Coen as OC,” Pelissero wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The Bucs interviewed Grizzard for the vacancy, and he was the first internal candidate to interview for the position.
It was an extensive search for the Buccaneers, as they also interviewed Rams quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone, Rams offensive assistant/pass game specialist Nate Scheelhaase, Rams tight ends coach/pass game coordinator Nick Caley, Chargers pass game coordinator Marcus Brady, and Vikings assistant offensive coordinator/assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski.
The hope is that Grizzard can pick up where Coen left off, and the Buccaneers will continue to have a strong offense going into next season.
It was a bizarre weekend for the Buccaneers after they thought that Liam Coen would return to the team to be the league’s highest-paid coordinator. Things quickly changed, as Coen decided to take the Jaguars head coaching position and Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated shared what happened behind the scenes.
“During the 5 p.m. hour [Thursday], Coen called Bowles and told him he was still dealing with his personal matter. He also told him that things had materially changed in Jacksonville, and that he was going to travel there to explore the opening,” Breer reported. “Within an hour of that phone call, a Bucs staffer got tipped off by someone in the Jaguars’ facility that Coen was already in the building.”
The Jaguars now have a head coach after trying for weeks to land someone but not having any luck. Coen showed during his time with the Buccaneers that he can get the best out of his players on offense, and the hope is that he can do that with the Jaguars. With a team that already has solid pieces on that side of the ball, it should be easy for them to get things going quickly.
As for the Buccaneers, there’s no doubt that they feel blindsided, but with Josh Grizzard, they should have some success.
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