Jason Licht: Return To Liam Coen’s Offense Will Be “Beneficial”
February 25th, 2026
Labeling the offense.
When current Jags head coach Liam Coen was running the Bucs offense in 2024, was that Sean McVay’s offense or did Coen tweak it so much that it was totally Coen’s creation, albeit influenced by McVay?
Joe asks this question because of the wording Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht chose when he spoke before the football world at the combine inside the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis on Tuesday.
Yesterday, Bucs coach Todd Bowles explained to Joe some factors tied to why he moved on from Josh Grizzard, who was in his first season as a playcaller.
Licht didn’t mention Grizzard’s name but did think reverting to the offense of the past will help the Bucs’ offense.
“[Beat up offensive line], I think that was the key [to the collapse],” Licht said. “Having that offensive line healthy and back, I think with [new offensive coordinator] Zac [Robinson], having a lot of [continuity] with Liam’s offense, I think will be beneficial for a lot of people, including Baker and everybody.”
The reference to “Liam’s offense” intrigued Joe. Like Robinson, Coen is a disciple of McVay. In fact, Robinson and Coen worked together on McVay’s staff in Los Angeles.
So is Licht implying that Robinson’s offense will be closer to what Coen did with the Bucs, or is Robinson more of a McVay clone?
February 25th, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Could have maintained continuity with his offense by promoting him to HC and canning Bowles when they had the chance. Will go down as another stupid organizational decision that will haunt them for years, like drafting Bo Jackson, trading Steve Young, etc.
February 25th, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Don’t blame Grizzard all the time, the poor guy was a scapegoat, and we all know this. He played with an injured offense all season long, on every single position.
But on todays world, where everything has to have somebody to blame for, Grizz was found guilty…..
February 25th, 2026 at 1:31 pm
here we go with the c word again…..
February 25th, 2026 at 1:32 pm
A return to a defense that ACTUALLY WORKS would be nice, too.
February 25th, 2026 at 1:37 pm
Just sounds to me like he’s saying they’re keeping the same general scheme from 2024 – implying they also kept it last year. Which they did, in theory, although it seemed like it was a very stripped down and very basic, poorly called, ultra predictable version of the 2024 Coen offense.
February 25th, 2026 at 1:37 pm
All I know is I want to see those 96/97 F Counter with an easy release runs we did two years ago with Ko Kieft lined up as a fullback again. We DEVASTATED opponents with those three tight-end runs and we need them back. We couldn’t use them this past year because both Kieft and Mauch and Bredeson (one of which pulls and flattens a defensive end depending on which way we run it) were all out at different times.
February 25th, 2026 at 1:39 pm
Talk about egg on your face! If returning to Liam Coen’s offense would be beneficial..then why the hell did the Bucs let Coen go and keep Bowles? Dumb.
February 25th, 2026 at 1:45 pm
They tried to keep Coen- even offered him the highest money for an O-coordinator in the league. So why are you saying they let him go?
February 25th, 2026 at 1:51 pm
I guess asking why the the D is like a screen door on a submarine is “no, no”. Wake me up when Bowles is fired.
February 25th, 2026 at 1:53 pm
Keeping Coen’s offense was the EXACT reason Grizz was hired as OC. What happened Jason? Even with the Oline issues, the offense seemed like a JV version of Coen’s. Bland, generic, unoriginal, too telegraphed.
Hoping for a healthy Oline in ‘26 and a return to offensive greatness!
February 25th, 2026 at 1:56 pm
By extension, these are all Mike Shanahans’ children
February 25th, 2026 at 1:57 pm
A good head coach would have insisted that his rookie play caller do just that. Use Coen’s offense. The playbook and film was all there
Surely Bowles insisted Grizzard do that but Grizzard just refused, so Grizzard was fired. Bowles is the kind of coach who corrects problems on the spot and never allows the same mistake twice.
3rd and 28 wasn’t his fault, it wasn’t 3rd and 42.
February 25th, 2026 at 1:58 pm
Joe’s I think it’s as simple as they had Liam Coen as their OC (I get Coen ran McVay’s offense) and not McVay, so why would they reference him instead of Coen? Coen was the coach on the team.
February 25th, 2026 at 2:00 pm
You answered your own question when you said waiting for a healthy O-line. That’s exactly what happened. Losing both guards was hugely bad for instance.
The defense needs personnel. There’s a shortage of talent and a bit of age kicking in now. We need lots of free agents and a draft full of defensive players.
2 years ago we lost our entire secondary due to injury, this past year we lost almost our entire offensive line and wide receivers due to various injuries. It’s a looooong season and to prepare for this war of attrition we need depth and some luck in reducing injuries dramatically.
February 25th, 2026 at 2:36 pm
I’ve been reading all the articles on the site and I thought I’d chime in to help everyone out.
I don’t like to say nasty things about people but
We suck, the coach is terrible, the GM is sub par.
We will lose, we will not be good-
Trying to patchwork recreate a staff member who left is a losers game.
FAIL
Just clean house already.
February 25th, 2026 at 2:38 pm
FYI: Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds may be on his way out of Chicago and available in a trade.
February 25th, 2026 at 2:40 pm
Stpetematt Says:
February 25th, 2026 at 1:45 pm
They tried to keep Coen- even offered him the highest money for an O-coordinator in the league. So why are you saying they let him go?
_________________________________________________________________
Ref Coen – I meant the Bucs should have kept Coen as the HC and let Bowles go. They offered him more money to stay as the OC but when a HC job was offered..Coen bolted.
February 25th, 2026 at 2:43 pm
I hate coming to the comments on this page. Ya’ll be so negative just keep the same energy when we win the division again in 2026.
February 25th, 2026 at 3:02 pm
Im with you, Fred.
February 25th, 2026 at 3:06 pm
In response to Lt. Dan- owners don’t typically like coordinators telling them who can coach their team. The Glazers are happy with their Super Bowl winning defensive coordinator/now head coach which is their right. They also were happy with Coen and tried really hard to keep him. To have them both. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out and teams sure seem to love poaching Bowles/Licht’s offensive coordinators. They must be doing something right. Grizzard already has another job too…
February 25th, 2026 at 3:10 pm
@Fred
I hear you bro. Some of these guys show up just to share misery and hatefulness and blame somebody for it. Rarely, if ever, hear any actual football discussion from the same old gang – just beating the same dead horses over and over and over again. Never seen anything like it. I think it’s a form of tourettes or something 🙄
February 25th, 2026 at 3:20 pm
12-5 Fred.
February 25th, 2026 at 3:21 pm
This guy has reached his ‘Use By’ date.
February 25th, 2026 at 3:22 pm
Sorry 5-12.
That’s what I get for typing in the dark without glasses.
February 25th, 2026 at 3:24 pm
Nice. A new Pom Pom brigade. I agree. As I’ve been saying, the head coach can’t be expected to take corrective action with his assistant coaches during the season, or adjust the gameplans and schemes to fit the players, or to ensure that the playcaller is calling plays consistent with the gameplan and what was practiced during the week, or adjust in game or game to game when the same mistakes are being made repeatedly. Don’t blame Todd. As head coach, he has other things to worry about. What is the job description of a head coach, after all?
And don’t bring up 3rd and 28. That was definitely not Bowles’ fault.
February 25th, 2026 at 3:25 pm
The KEY to the Collapse. These mean NFL teams beat up his Buc Gang. Holy Makerel.
February 25th, 2026 at 3:45 pm
You could have kept Liam by firing Bowles and promoting Liam
February 25th, 2026 at 3:51 pm
Some real brain sturgeons on the pompom squad.
February 25th, 2026 at 4:04 pm
Look, Coen isn’t really all that. He took a loaded Jacksonville team that was a perennial power and got them to the playoffs. The Bucs season was far more exciting, needing to finish 3-6 to win the NFC South and falling just short. We should be grateful we retained Bowles and let Coen go. The results speak for themselves. Winning is hard and there’s more to being a dual head coach / defensive coordinator than just winning. Todd excels at the non-winning stuff.
February 25th, 2026 at 4:06 pm
The difference between Coen/Robinson & Grizz is that Grizz had never called plays , there is an art to it and Grizz never really figured it out ,,, if Robinson does what he is supposed to then He will be someone’s next Head Coach in 2027 , maybe ours if that D doesn’t drastically improve
February 25th, 2026 at 4:07 pm
He’ll do fine whether he’s a Coen or Robinson clone. The offense should improve either way.
February 25th, 2026 at 4:33 pm
This is the prelude to a rebuild.
-Bucs will have a lot cap next year.
-Great picks.
-A ton of Young talent.
-Baker will be off contract.
Next year is the perfect setup for a new GM and HC.
February 25th, 2026 at 4:42 pm
Aqualung: I give Bowles a participation trophy for trying…I give him the gold medal of excuses, saying that he was too busy trying to fix the offense to worry about the defense! 😂🤡😂🤡😂🤡😂🤡
February 25th, 2026 at 5:09 pm
Coen really lives inside of the bucs organizations head if nothing else oh boy they must have been pi$$ed when he went to Jacksonville.
February 25th, 2026 at 5:11 pm
The PomPom squad admits that you Negatrons have some valid points but the negativity has reached Randy Quade like levels in Major League!
February 25th, 2026 at 5:28 pm
Yes Accountable. Btw, nice likenesses of the genius on your bottom line.
February 25th, 2026 at 5:43 pm
You could not fire Bowles after he had gone from eight wins to nine wins to 10 wins, simply wasn’t going to happen
February 25th, 2026 at 5:47 pm
Did anyone there ask this guy about the Defensive collapse? Anyone?
February 25th, 2026 at 5:52 pm
Is Licht on ozempic or smoking crack? He lost a considerable amount of weight.
February 25th, 2026 at 6:07 pm
I vote for crack. The way the Bucs imploded and collapsed, and then reading the poignant insights of Todd Bowles, it’s tempting. But then I realize, none of the negative can be attributed to Todd. Definitely, he was the only one on a ship of fools who knew the right things to do. He smartly chose to keep those things to himself.
February 25th, 2026 at 6:10 pm
Dewey Selmon Says:
February 25th, 2026 at 5:52 pm
Is Licht on ozempic or smoking crack? He lost a considerable amount of weight.
———
The only people not on ozempic are poor people, and I’m sure they’ll be getting it for free soon.
Amazing stat, due to ozempic and other meds like it, airlines are supposed to save over half a billion dollars a year in fuel charges. Plus, they can make the seats even smaller now and jam even more people on the plane – it’s a win-win!
February 25th, 2026 at 6:10 pm
You can fire a coach anytime you want as the owner. They would have still paid him based on contract unless he violated said contract.
You have to be prepared to deal with the optics if they’re bad, which is what you’re referring to.
What many of us have stated is that it was beyond obvious after ‘24 to anyone that wanted to open their eyes, is that you knew what Todd was, and Coen had a much higher ceiling with Mayfield here. That’s a risk worth taking.
The argument that because he had 10 wins doesn’t hold water in many of our opinions.
February 25th, 2026 at 6:15 pm
There was definitely an offensive evolution that occurred with Coen before taking the Bucs OC job in 2024.
Coen took the McVay offense he learned in LA & made tweaks…That occurred at Kentucky over 2 different stints as the UK OC (2021-2023)….Intertwining McVay’s outside zone with inside zone run concepts (learned from Eddie Gran at UK), then meshed them with the McVay-Shanahan bunched set play action passing attack he was so familiar with…Taking the best of both worlds, so to speak.
Griz tried to keep the same basic concepts…He was just too inexperienced as a play caller to understand how to handle the full process & lacked the feel that Coen had…The ebb & flow of the game, how to setup his shots with one play early in a drive or game – to show something similar later while creating mismatches off what happened earlier in the game…(IE…Griz did not have the same mind for the game that Coen had).
The fact that Griz only played QB in HS & was a FCS S…vs Coen being pretty good FCS level QB (UMass / 4yrs starter) might have something to do with that difference.
Zac has more experience in that regard (solid career as starting QB at Ok State – journeyman in the NFL)… & has shown a better feel for managing the full responsibilities of running an NFL offense over the last 2yrs in ATL.
It’s the difference between playing chess & checkers…You may be using the same board but you are playing 2 completely different games.
February 25th, 2026 at 6:15 pm
What a joke. Is he admitting he is a fool for not hard selling Coen to the Glazers? Instead, in his bovine way, he just munches on the $h!t smeared patch of grass he knows. No vision, never proactive, unless BA is there to cattle prod him. Btw, Todd& Jason, YOU picked Grizzard as your OC. And it’s not like he was an unknown, you had more than a year to interview and observe him. This GM is way over rated….McKay won a SB, how come the Joes aren’t bowing before him. I guess McKay has no sway over the press box salami sandwiches
February 25th, 2026 at 6:20 pm
Wright off…. It seems this year ai a write off.
February 25th, 2026 at 6:33 pm
Wow. It just keeps getting worse.
February 25th, 2026 at 6:35 pm
Can we ever have a post about something and people not sit here and talk about the head coach being fired last year? Cope more people! The defense had us in all but two games and the offense could barely score more than 20 for the final 10 games of the season. Last year’s defense with the previous years offense would have won easily 12 or 13 games. Anybody who thinks otherwise didn’t watch buccaneers football last season. Defense wasn’t the reason we lost 90% down the stretch
February 25th, 2026 at 7:11 pm
We now have two Todd Bowles on staff.
That means we are now twice as good as we were in 2025.
The offense will now put up 40+ points per game.
And the defense won’t allow an opponent to cross the 50 yard line all year.
It’s a great day to be a Bucs fan by golly.
#SuperBowles
February 25th, 2026 at 7:52 pm
Aqua bla bla bla
February 25th, 2026 at 7:56 pm
Mob and munch need therapy so negative! Its nice to be perfect,im sure your wives say so
February 25th, 2026 at 8:03 pm
Licht looking like a fool this off-season so far. Spytek gone. Brady gone.
Dude is getting exposed for being a .449% loser.
February 25th, 2026 at 8:24 pm
If they thought that highly of Coen’s offense, and given the landscape of the offensive NFL today, what in the world were they thinking keeping Bowles instead of Coen?
They kept Koetter and sent Lovie home for the sake of a toad like Winston, but they wouldn’t do the same for Mayfield?
What happens next offseason after Bowles leads a bottom 10 defense again and Zac Robinson brings the offense back to a top 10 unit? Bowles get to reap the benefit of that again as Robinson leaves for a head coaching job and Baker, on a max QB contract, gets to transition to another offensive coordinator?
February 25th, 2026 at 8:25 pm
@Steve V
These trolls have been spitting out the same posts daily for years. Their mission in life it seems is seeing Todd fired. They’re a$4holes not because they don’t like Todd but because they won’t shut up about it.
And they like to try bullying anyone who puts the slightest positive, hopeful, or even balanced spin to any conversation/s. If you don’t think Todd is THE problem or that he should be fired you’re a “pom pom shaker” – lol.
Inevitably they will outlast the non- trolls and rule the comments section. They pretty much already do. I watch the news to cheer up after visiting here
February 25th, 2026 at 8:56 pm
It’s both, Sir Joseph.
February 25th, 2026 at 9:05 pm
To the comments that Bucs FO tried to keep Coen … they didn’t.. offering highest paid OC, when he was getting HC consideration? With maybe a handshake for Bucs HC in a year? Especially, when the D was heading downward, following Bowles history with Bucs and Jets? Yup , they tried, for all the wrong reasons….
February 25th, 2026 at 10:34 pm
Right on, Lynch .
Two Todds for the price of two. It’s glorious.
February 25th, 2026 at 11:31 pm
I smart, strong, shrewd, aggressive GM with strong convictions would’ve NEVER lost Cohen. He would’ve KNOWN it was the time to just rip the bandaid OFF and pulled the trigger. I said it THEN. It’ll end up haunting us. And, it’s moves like these (or in this case “non moves”), that can be franchise altering… For potentially, DECADES. Especially, with given Coen’s age. I said, still with 4-5 games left in that season, that THEY BETTER BE getting their ‘ducks in a row’ RIGHT NOW, with how they are going to approach and handle this upcoming “Bowles-Coen” situation this offseason. That, the decision HAS TO BE already made. And, that no matter WHAT it takes, they CANNOT LOSE HIM. “Whatever. It. TAKES.” 💯
February 26th, 2026 at 7:01 am
I read the article twice and didn’t see where JL said why the defense was so bad.
February 26th, 2026 at 7:05 am
Hey guess what! All 4 Todd Bowles apologist’s are here in the same thread!
The REAL Buc fans am I right?
February 26th, 2026 at 7:06 am
(eyeroll)
February 26th, 2026 at 7:36 am
DEFENSE DOESNT ONLY NEED PERSONNEL IT NEEDS A COORDINATOR/ BOWLES HAS OUTLASTED HIS USEFULNESS
February 26th, 2026 at 9:24 am
I wish someone would ask both Licht and Bowles if they would consider bringing a Defensive Coordinator? Let Bowles just be a figure head HC.
February 26th, 2026 at 1:53 pm
There are some good Buc fans on here you know who you are. The others should just kick rocks. YOUR NOT REAL FANS
February 26th, 2026 at 3:50 pm
An offense that works at all times is the best offensive. Not all situations can be copied from LIAM
February 26th, 2026 at 9:29 pm
Now ya know!! According to Licht the offenses woes last season was the beat up OL. All the idiots that denied it and blamed Mayfield are once again embarrassed by their denial of the facts or just hatred for Mayfield. Whichever it is you few should be done with this blog because you haven’t been right yet. So do us all a favor and move on.