Future head coach?

Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away. And the week after Thanksgiving is when the coaching rumor mill really starts to heat up.

Already Jeremy Fowler of ESPN tossed out Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard as a possible candidate. Grizzard’s name was not the only assistant that Fowler floated.

Over at NFL.com, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com did a little more than float Grizzard’s name. Pelissero published a list of what he deemed the 24 top young coaching candidates for jobs that will open up in a few weeks.

In no particular order, Pelissero had Grizzard’s name among his top-24.

Bucs OC Josh Grizzard, 35: A former Yale player turned student assistant, Grizzard interned with the Panthers in 2012, coached Daniel Jones at Duke and returned to the NFL in 2017 with Miami, where he held a variety of roles under three head coaches before joining the Bucs last year. Injuries have decimated the Bucs’ offensive line and receiving corps this season, Grizzard’s first as OC. But the Bucs still rank in the top half in scoring (10th, 25.2 points per game) and lead the NFC South at 6-4. Dave Canales and Liam Coen got head-coaching jobs after their first seasons as Bucs OC. Could Grizzard make it three in a row?

We all know the last two Bucs offensive coordinators were one-and-done under Bucs coach Todd Bowles.

Dave Canales hooked his wagon to Baker Mayfield, a guy no other NFL team wanted as a starting quarterback (Baltimore and Los Angeles wanted Mayfield as a backup).

Much of the NFL had already given up on Mayfield. Under Canales, Mayfield turned into a Pro Bowl quarterback and he actually gave the Bucs a little ride in the playoffs.

If you are credited with fixing a quarterback, you’re pretty much going to get a job. And sure enough, David Tepper hired Canales, in part, to save Carolina quarterback Bryce Young.

Canales, in his second year, is nipping at the Bucs’ ankles in the NFC South race.

Then there was Liam Coen who replaced Canales. Coen had a fantastic offense. The Bucs’ run game went from one of the worst in the NFL to one of the best.

Coen, too, bolted after one year and is now the head coach of the Jags.

Joe doesn’t know if Grizzard has made so much of a mark in his first year as the Bucs’ offensive coordinator to get a job right away like Canales and Coen did. The Bucs offense has been pretty mediocre this year, largely due to injuries.

If the Bucs make a deep run in the playoffs, that may give Grizzard the boost he needs to get on teams’ radars.

In the last 15 years, there have been 107 coaching changes, or an average of seven openings a year. With Grizzard being one of the top-24 young candidates for a head coaching job, that means Grizzard’s odds to get a head coaching gig this winter seem a bit long.