Tampa Bay Buccaneers Bitterness Toward Jaguars, Liam Coen Not Unexpected

It is far from surprising to see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers blocking Liam Coen's attempts to build his staff in Jacksonville.

Feb 28, 2023; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht speaks to the press at the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

It is far from a surprise the Jacksonville Jaguars have been unable to bring some familiar faces to new head coach Liam Coen's first staff.

It is, however, another clear sign of how icy things have gotten between the Buccaneers and one of the best play-callers in their franchise's history.

Coen and the Jaguars put in two interview requests with Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistants that Coen had relationships with that pre-dated their time together in the NFC South -- offensive line coach Kevin Carberry and assistant offensive line coach Brian Picucci.

Coen worked with Carberry in Los Angeles 2022 and brought him to his Buccaneers staff in 2024 when he became offensive coordinator. He did the same for Picucci, whom he worked with at the University of Kentucky.

As a result, the well-traveled and well-connected Coen is evidently looking to other avenues for offensive line coaches and other assistants.

This all is far from shocking, and isn't even that rare in the NFL in general. After how things ended with Coen and the Buccaneers, it never seemed like Tampa would be willing to help Coen pillage their coaching staff for assistants.

It is even less surprising considering the Buccaneers have seemed to place an emphasis on continuity when it comes to replacing Coen. The Buccaneers made an in-house hire in Josh Grizzard as offensive coordinator, which would logically mean they see Carberry and Picucci as pivotal pieces to remain in their role.

But no matter how it is framed, the Buccaneers prevented two coaches from using a pre-exisiting relationship to climb the football coaching ladder with raises and promotions. It is not surprising, but nonetheless a questionable look for a franchise that has not handled the last week week.

The manner of which Coen left the Buccaneers to take the Jaguars job has been argued for a week. At the end of the day, Coen did what most coaches would do and took the oppurtunity to land a dream job in football and a gaint pay raise.

There was some drama, of course, around the communication between Coen and the Buccaneers on the evening he met with the Jaguars for an in-person interview. Regardless of the context surrounding the Buccaneers odd request that Coen's contract extension hinge on him not taking a second interview with the Jaguars, the Buccaneers have clearly been on the receiving end of some hurt feelings over the whole situation.

Eventually, the Buccaneers and general manager Jason Licht and head coach Todd Bowles will get over the way Coen left town. And eventually, Coen will be able to fill his staff with whatever coaches he likes as assistants see their contracts in Tampa expire down the road.

Until then, though, the cold feelings between the two franchises will likely remain.

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