Liam Coen Attempting to Poach Coaches from Former Team
Say this for Liam Coen: he’s not afraid of rejection. The new Jaguars coach, who reneged on an agreement to return to the Bucs as the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the NFL, nonetheless is trying to take assistants from his former team.
For the second time in a week, the Bucs thwarted an attempt by Coen to poach a member of their coaching staff. First, the Bucs refused to let Coen hire offensive line coach Kevin Carberry, one of the biggest reasons why the team went from last in the NFL in rushing offense the previous two seasons to fourth.
Denial of Permission to Interview Assistant Offensive Line Coach
On Friday, the Bucs denied permission to Coen and the Jaguars to interview assistant offensive line coach Brian Picucci. Coen and Picucci have a long history of working together. In fact, Picucci was the offensive line coach at UMass when Coen played quarterback there roughly 20 years ago.
History of Coen’s Coaching Staff
A year ago, when Dave Canales was named head coach of the Panthers, he took several Bucs assistants with him to Charlotte. Receivers coach Brad Idzik was promoted to offensive coordinator. Teams cannot block a coach from interviewing if it involves a promotion from position coach to coordinator. Canales also was allowed to take offensive line coach Joe Gilbert and run game coordinator Harold Goodwin.
Surprising Actions of Coen
It’s somewhat surprising Coen would even ask to take some Bucs coaches with him. He had agreed to withdraw from consideration for the Jaguars job to become the highest-paid offensive coordinator at $4.5 million per year before reversing that decision a day later. After going off the grid from the Bucs for about 26 hours, he resurfaced in Jacksonville a day after the team fired general manager Trent Baalke.
Conclusion
The Bucs may not have been able to hang onto Coen, but they’re not giving him any parting gifts, either.
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FAQs
Q: Will Coen succeed in poaching any more coaches from the Bucs?
A: It remains to be seen as the situation continues to unfold.
Q: How will this impact the coaching staff of both the Bucs and the Jaguars?
A: The potential for further conflicts and adjustments is high as the coaching carousel turns.
