Bo Jackson, Bill Parcells, and Other Notorious Bucs Rejects
With one final audible that resonated from Trinity to Treasure Island, Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen joined a notorious faction that includes Bill Parcells and Bo Jackson.
Henceforth, count Coen among those prominent players or coaches to leave the local franchise hanging out to dry.
One day after withdrawing his name from consideration for the Jaguars coaching job to remain in Tampa Bay as one of the NFL’s highest-paid coordinators, Coen secretly flew to Jacksonville on Thursday and agreed to become Jags coach, the Tampa Bay Times reported. The sudden about-face leaves the Bucs seeking their third offensive coordinator in as many seasons.
It also leaves Tampa Bay in a familiar embarrassing spot — as the once-glowing groom jilted by a runaway bride.
Anyone with a creamsicle-infused wardrobe can attest the Bucs have been spurned on a national stage since the hair-metal era. We’ve become adept at wiping eggshell off our collective countenance. Coen is only the latest to ditch us so conspicuously.
Here are the others. Read ’em and wail, for old times’ sake.
Bo Jackson, 1986
Chalk this one up to inept — or at least unscrupulous — ownership. The 1985 Heisman Trophy winner and arguably greatest two-sport star of his era, Jackson was flown to Tampa by then-Bucs owner Hugh Culverhouse for a visit and physical, which turned out to be an NCAA violation.
It cost Jackson the second half of his college baseball season at Auburn, prompting him to vow not to sign with the Bucs if they drafted him No. 1 overall. They did anyway, and Jackson signed with the Kansas City Royals, who picked him in the fourth round of the 1986 Major League Baseball draft.
Bill Parcells, 1991
Bedecked in his trademark creamsicle blazer, Culverhouse was poised to publicly announce Parcells as his new coach before Parcells had a last-minute change of heart. Less than a year earlier, Parcells had led the Giants to a victory in Super Bowl 25 at Tampa Stadium, then walked away, making him the most coveted free-agent coach on the market.
Culverhouse acknowledged he had guaranteed Parcells a five-year, $6.5 million contract (plus benefits) that would have given him complete control of football operations. “We were all set to execute the contract and we now feel as though we were jilted at the altar,” Culverhouse said in a hastily-called news conference at One Buc Place on Dec. 29. 1991. “I’m still at the altar, and for what it’s worth, there was no honeymoon.”
Bill Parcells, 2002
The Bucs’ second courtship with Parcells was more polarizing than the one a decade earlier. In a timeline that seemed dubious at best, the team reportedly had a tentative agreement on a five-year deal with Parcells before it even fired Tony Dungy, then the franchise’s most successful coach. Dungy was dismissed on Jan. 14, 2002; less than a week later, Parcells spurned the franchise again. “I’m not coaching anymore — period,” he told The Record of Bergen County, N.J. “I can’t make the commitment.” The Bucs instead turned to Jon Gruden, who led them to a Super Bowl title the following season. In 2003, Parcells was lured from retirement by the Cowboys.
Chip Kelly, 2012
After leading Oregon to a 12-2 record and No. 4 national ranking in 2011, Kelly — then one of college football’s hottest names — appeared on the cusp of a deal to coach the Bucs before an 11th-hour change of heart. “I enjoyed meeting with the Glazer family and (then) general manager Mark Dominik,” Kelly said in a statement. “But after numerous discussions, I concluded that I have some unfinished business to complete at the University of Oregon.”
Kelly spent one more season at Oregon, leading the Ducks to their third consecutive 12-win season before becoming head coach of the Eagles. After being spurned, the Bucs settled on Greg Schiano.
Other courtships never consummated
Share. 