Bucs Offense Can Achieve Continuity In 2024 After All

In the aftermath of a season-ending loss to the Lions in the NFC Divisional Round, there was reason for optimism regarding the 2024 Bucs offense. Even if offensive coordinator Dave Canales did interview for the Carolina head coaching job, he surely wasn’t going anywhere, right?

Canales would stick around, the Bucs would ink quarterback Baker Mayfield and wide receiver Mike Evans to new, multi-year contracts and the offense was going to be able to soar to new heights in its second year together.

It was an exciting thought.

After all, the Bucs started slow on offense in 2023 and a lot of that was due to all of the new pieces and the fact that Canales was a first-time play-caller. But as the year went on, everything began to come together.

The offense scored 27,, points at Atlanta, 34 at Green Bay and 30 at home against Jacksonville. Then, after a couple of down performances to close the regular season, the Bucs offense scored 30 points against the Eagles in the first round of the playoffs and 23 in the season-ending loss to the Lions.

Mayfield threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns in both playoff games, and it left everyone excited for what was to come in 2024.

Then, Canales left. He’s now the new head coach of the Panthers, and all of a sudden, what looked like continuity for the Bucs offense turned into uncertainty.

But just when it looked like continuity was gone, general manager Jason Licht, head coach Todd Bowles and the rest of the Bucs’ brass may have managed to rescue it. It was rocky for a week, but with new offensive coordinator Liam Coen, the Bucs offense might be able to continue its ascent in 2024 after all.

Liam Coen Gives The Bucs Offense A Chance To Maintain Continuity With Personnel

Bucs OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Matt Matera/PR

One of the bigger wins that came with the Bucs’ hiring new offensive coordinator Liam Coen is the fact that he has worked with Baker Mayfield before.

The two overlapped in Los Angeles during the 2022 season and early signs appear to point toward them reuniting in Tampa Bay. The quarterback came to greet Coen at the team’s facility on Tuesday, a hot mic may have caught which way Mayfield is leaning and it sounds as if the Bucs have the “inside track” to re-signing the 2023 Pro Bowler.

Mayfield has also made it very clear that he wants Mike Evans back as his No. 1 receiver as well, and the feeling remains that it would be a surprise to see the Buccaneer legend playing anywhere else next year.

So if Mayfield and Evans are back with other core pieces like Chris Godwin, Rachaad White, Tristan Wirfs and the rest of the lot, that at least guarantees continuity for the Bucs offense in terms of personnel. That’s the first part of it.

The Philosophy Behind The Bucs Offense Will Remain The Same

The second part of keeping continuity is Liam Coen’s philosophy closely matching up with his predecessor’s, as well as Todd Bowles’. Both Coen and Bowles said as much this week.

“Liam best fits what we want to do offensively,” Bowles said at his new offensive coordinator’s introductory press conference. “There will be some similarities, but there will be some differences, as well. [He has a] very bright mind, very bright young mind, understands football inside and out, and we’re really happy to have him.”

Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by: USA Today

It’s no secret that Dave Canales loved running the football and always looked to establish balance. That was a reflection of what Bowles wants his offense to do, too, as it helps his defense out. So it’s not a surprise that Coen’s philosophy is along those same lines.

“The marriage of the run and the pass is what we’re striving for,” Coen said Tuesday. “We’re striving for balance, but to be explosive in both the run and the pass. That’s something that I honestly take a lot of pride in. I learned a lot from Sean [McVay] in terms of the run game when I first got to L.A. We understood and tried to study defense more than we tried to study ourselves – how to understand gap integrity, fits, fallbacks and things of that nature to try to be able to dissect the defense. How can we also run into better pictures?

“Now, we’re talking about, ‘Well, can we put a little more on the guys? Can we put a little bit more on the quarterback, the center and some of those guys to be able to change the play [and] get us into really advantageous looks, so that we run into better numbers and cleaner looks?’ That’s something that I think these guys are eager for just talking to some of them right now. They’re eager for more and it’s something that’s our philosophy, as well.”

Looking through the lens of the way Bowles views the game, Canales was an obvious fit in Tampa Bay. And the fact that Coen falls into the same category is another tally in the column for continuity. As a result, the Bucs look primed to enter 2024 with the same players and the same philosophy.

Similar Scheme Should Mean Smaller Learning Curve For Tampa Bay

The last piece of this is the scheme itself and the terminology within it. And that’s the third tally in favor of continuity.

Dave anales’ offense was largely born out of his time with Shane Waldron in Seattle. Waldron, of course, came from the Sean McVay coaching tree. Aside from his time at the University of Kentucky, Liam Coen has spent his NFL years under McVay in Los Angeles. That means, while the playbook may change and some of the buzzwords might be different, the learning curve for the Bucs offense shouldn’t be too steep.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

“I think it will be actually very similar in terms of some of the terminology,” Coen said. “The run game I think will be really similar in some ways. Formations – some ‘daffy’ might be ‘dixie’ or ‘double’ might be ‘deuce’ – some of those things may be a little different, but at the end of the day, those guys [know], ‘OK, well that was just this.’ They can put those things together. The protections I’ve got to believe will be very similar in some ways.

“Dave [Canales] was with Shane Waldron in Seattle, so there are a lot of similarities there. I don’t expect an overly difficult learning curve, but obviously, we’ll want to be able to put our stamp on things and be able to do things our way, as well.”

The Bucs offense is full of leaders and smart football players. What little learning curve does exist should be more than manageable as the group goes from Canales to Coen. Once that initial newness wears off, the group very well could pick up right where it left off at the end of the 2023 season.

Entering the year with the same personnel, the same offensive philosophy and a largely similar scheme could elevate expectations for the Bucs offense back to where they were just before Canales left. For Todd Bowles, who needs to win now and improve upon his 17-17 regular season record to cement his position in Tampa Bay, that has to be the hope.

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