Liam Coen Will Be An NFL Head Coach In 2025, Just Not For The Buccaneers
With Instant Success Stories In Both College Football And The NFL, Liam Coen Should Find Work As An NFL Head Coach If He Wants The Job
The old saying goes opportunities don’t happen, you create them.
For a number of NFL offensive and defensive coordinators around the league, that opportunity is presenting itself as there are six remaining head coaching positions looking to be filled in the very immediate future. The largest rumors surrounding Detroit Lions OC Ben Johnson and DC Aaron Glenn, Minnesota Vikings DC Brian Flores, and Los Angeles Chargers DC Jesse Minter.
Of course throwing into the mix now former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, and former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll among other former experienced head coaches in the NFL.
It’s a tough and thorough process to find someone to lead an NFL franchise. You would expect that to be the case since nearly every NFL franchise’s net worth is a minimum of over five billion dollars, and the NFL product is the most profitable and most viewed both traditionally and digitally in the United States.
In other words, I don’t find myself applying for any of these jobs anytime in my lifetime.
However one name that is starting to get a lot of attention is Tampa Bay Buccaneers first year offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who replaced former Bucs OC Dave Canales who accepted the open Carolina Panthers position back in January of 2024.
At age 39 Coen has been the offensive play caller for two NFL franchises (Tampa Bay, Los Angeles) and one NCAA football team in Kentucky , albeit it was two separate trips to lead the Wildcats offense.
Coen is a football lifer as following high school he also played quarterback at UMass from 2004 to 2008 where he was a four-year starter, wearing the jersey number 12 in honor of his favorite athlete, Tom Brady. Coen found himself to be roommates with future NFL wide receiver Victor Cruz. As of February 2019, Coen holds six of the eight UMass career passing records, the other two being career interceptions and career yards per game average. In 2022, he was inducted into UMass Athletics Hall of Fame.
The 2024 story of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came to an end this past weekend in a loss to the Washington Commanders in the NFC wild card round, following the first season where Tampa Bay saw double digit wins since the Super Bowl year of 2020. Coen in his first year as head coach did the impossible as he was a fresh face and elevated the game of quarterback Baker Mayfield reaching career highs in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and yards per completion. Coen also elevated the Buccaneers rushing attack in a single season which finished dead last in the NFL in 2023, to finish 2024 fourth in the league.
Does Liam Coen want to be a head coach?
“Yeah, I do believe I’m ready to do so,” Coen said about his readiness to be an NFL head coach on January 2nd. “I don’t think you’re ever truly fully ready but yeah, that is a dream. Does that need to happen when I’m 39 years old and having probably the most fun of my life coaching, working and being here? No, that doesn’t mean that needs to occur right now but yeah, that is the goal. That is absolutely the goal, but like I said before, that goal can hold off for a while here and continue to do what we’re doing. That would be pretty special.”
Following the Buccaneers loss on Sunday there has been a swell of fans calling for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to elevate Liam Coen to the head coaching position to protect him from leaving for other teams. This would not be foreign to the franchise as they basically did that very same notion elevating Dirk Koetter to the head coaching position in 2016.
Whether of not the Buccaneers will repeat history is probably not up for debate being head coach Todd Bowles has led the organization to three straight seasons of NFC South championships, whereas Lovie Smith finished during his tenure with an 8-24 overall record. For the record Koetter would finish his tenure with Tampa Bay with a 19-29 overall record in three seasons.
If Liam Coen believes he’s ready for the job, if Liam Coen’s dream is to be an NFL head coach than there is no better time than the present to take the opportunity he has created. There are two main reasons why Coen should be the near the top of the list for any of the six remaining teams in the NFL looking for their next head coach.
INSTANT SUCCESS ON OFFENSE WHEN CALLING PLAYS
Coen earned his first stint as an offensive coordinator in division one college football in 2021 at Kentucky. The Wildcats on offense improved in almost every major category under Coen.
With this success, Coen earned his first NFL offensive coordinator position with the Los Angeles Rams who were coming off a Super Bowl victory during the 2021 season. Coen replaced Kevin O’Connell who took the vacant Minnesota Vikings head coaching position, but while Coen had the title of OC head coach Sean McVay was still the head play caller for the LA Rams offense.
The Rams struggled with injuries and finished a dreadful season 5-12 with the third most players on injured reserve behind the Tennessee Titans and Denver Broncos including quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp.
Coen feeling the need to have control over the play calling decided to go back to Kentucky as take his old job back, and led the Wildcats to the same results with improvements in nearly every offensive category.
Coen was hired as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator in February of 2024 and led the Buccaneers offense to new heights that Dave Canales didn’t see in his one year as OC of the Bucs.
In every metric where Coen entered as the offensive coordinator both in division one college and the NFL the numbers show instant success, what every NFL team is looking for in a “win now” league.
DAVE CANALES FACTOR
If Liam Coen takes an NFL head coaching position, the most recent impression of a Tampa Bay Buccaneers first time offensive play caller turned head coach the very next season is a very fresh and successful memory. Dave Canales walked into the Buccaneers facility in the winter of 2023 with no previous collegiate or NFL play calling experience and in one season with Baker Mayfield taking the reigns from Tom Brady led the Buccaneers to an NFC South crown and a playoff victory, the only one during Todd Bowles’ head coaching tenure in Tampa Bay.
Canales took a job that very few candidates wanted and led the Carolina Panthers to five wins in 2024 which is three more than than the previous year, and found the first signs of progression in their 2023 top overall draft pick Bryce Young this season. Canales is the fifth head coach for the Panthers in the past five seasons but the first showing immediate signs of progress.
Canales’ success in Carolina only helps the attraction to a potential candidate like Coen because of the instant success factor as a first time play caller in the NFL, but also add on the multiple instances of success in college to assist with the spotlight on Coen. Success leaves clues for NFL executives, and Coen could cash in because of the clues left behind by his Buccaneers offensive play calling predecessor.
Liam Coen is a young, successful, and goal oriented NFL coach which franchises have begun their discussions with about their current openings. Coen has created the opportunity to earn his stripes, now it’s up to him if he wants to grasp the challenge.
It just won’t be with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.