It has been a tough week for the Buccaneers.
In the past few days, the Bucs have lost their assistant general manager John Spytek as he was poached by Tom Brady’s Las Vegas Raiders.
After that, the Jacksonville Jaguars turned their attention to Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen.
This was a worrying prospect for us Tampa Bay fans, as Coen was one of the bright spots in an otherwise mediocre – at best – coaching staff.
Many, including myself, had been calling for Coen to be promoted to head coach in place of Todd Bowles.
The prospect of losing the main reason why the Bucs’ offense was so effective last season was a big concern.
Then, in an amazing turn, as reported by Adam Schefter, Coen asked for his name to be removed from the running for Jaguars head coach.
This was fantastic news, and the Bucs had prepared a huge contract for Coen.
But then, while everything seemed to be going back to normal for Tampa, it all went wrong.
The saga continues
Jaguars owner Shad Khan announced on Wednesday that they had parted ways with general manager, Trent Baalke.
This was interesting news, but did not seem to concern the Bucs too much at the time.
But, it transpired that it was Coen who had refused to work with Baalke in Jacksonville.
In a stunning turn of events, Coen was then spotted in Jacksonville, one day after agreeing to stay in Tampa.
He was not there for a short trip up the Florida coast, he was back negotiating with the Jags.
He would have become the highest payed coordinator in the league, but it seems that he used the Bucs to get Baalke out, so he could run the team as he pleased.
Lack of respect
While I admire the negotiation tactics, the move was done with a total lack of respect towards the Bucs.
Coen had gone “missing” and the Bucs could not contact or locate him to get him to sign his contract.
Coen has betrayed the Buccaneers organisation, the Bucs fans and his own players back in Tampa, at least from what we know so far.
This move is very disappointing, as not only will Bowles likely be returning, but this time without his impressive OC.
The Bucs have a lot of work to do on the management and coaching side this offseason.
Coen was a great servant to the Bucs and he will probably do well in Jacksonville, but it could have been done in a more respectful manner.
