The Bucs And Offensive Coordinator Candidates – JoeBucsFan.com – Tampa Bay Bucs Blog, Buccaneers News

Bucs coach Todd Bowles.

The texts have been flooding Joe’s phone, actual calls even.

“Why aren’t the Bucs going after experienced offensive coordinators?”

It’s a fair question. But it is not like the names linked still to the Bucs don’t have NFL experience calling plays. That experience for two known candidates is either limited (Jim Bob Cooter) or not the desired experience (Klint Kubiak, part-time playcaller for the league’s worst-scoring offense in 2022).

Joe thinks there are two factors at play.

Of course, Joe pined for Bill O’Brien. Not only did BOB have a background working with Tom Brady, but if the Bucs chose to #CollaspeForCaleb, BOB has experience developing a star quarterback. Win/win.

If not BOB, Joe was hopeful Jim Caldwell would be interested. He’s got a damn good track record and Joe thinks Caldwell is one of the more underrated coaches out there.

And of course, Joe would love to have Todd Monken back. But given Monken’s recent comments about how he has to be very choosy if he chooses to leave Athens, the Bucs don’t seem to be a smart or reasonable destination for Monken unless he had an offer he couldn’t refuse (money and job security).

Joe thinks there are two reasons Bucs fans are not seeing high-profile coaches linked to the Bucs’ offensive coordinator opening.

The first is who the hell knows who the quarterback will be? Joe is getting conflicted intel about which way Brady is leaning. So Joe will take Brady’s calculated/scripted/rehearsed public words and type that Brady doesn’t really know.

It’s hard to hire a highly desirable candidate if the guy doesn’t know who the starting quarterback is. For example, Los Angeles has an opening to work with Justin Herbert. Who the hell wouldn’t want that job? In Baltimore, there’s an opening to work with Lamar Jackson. That would be fun.

In Tampa Bay? Who? Brady? Derek Carr? Blaine Gabbert? Anthony Richardson? Kyle Trask?

Joe cannot imagine there’s a line stretching down Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. waiting to be interviewed for a chance to guide Trask as an NFL starter with the head coach beginning the 2023 season on the hot seat.

Then there is the elephant in the room. Joe thinks it would be smart to have a sales pitch to guys like BOB or Caldwell or Monken, “Hey, come to the Bucs and if the team moves on from Todd Bowles, you’ll be our guy.”

Well, if you were Bowles, you’d consider that a damn threat. What reasonable man wants to work with a guy who is likely out for his job? Joe cannot imagine Bowles doesn’t have final say on his assistants.

And if you don’t trust a coach, how would Bowles be able to trust a coordinator to do what he wants?

Add this all up and it demonstrates the Bucs’ OC gig is not the sexiest and why the names currently seen linked to the job don’t exactly have résumés that blow fans over.