Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans have spent parts of the last four offseasons wondering who the new offensive coordinator is going to be.

The past three have been a mixed bag.

The Bucs picked a pair of winners in Dave Canales and Liam Coen, who went on to become playoff head coaches.

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The last hire, Josh Girzzard, didn’t work out so well, and the Bucs fired him after just one season.

As of now, the Bucs have interviewed seven people for the job, and here’s a breakdown of the seven.

Mike McDaniel, former Miami Dolphins HC

McDaniel completed his interview Friday, and he’s the most prominent name among those who have interviewed for the job so far. Not a lot of coaches have led their teams to the NFL playoffs, and McDaniel did that in each of his first two seasons with the Dolphins.

The last two seasons didn’t go as well, and thus, McDaniel’s is looking for a job.

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Reportedly, he would rather take a coordinator job with a winning organization than a head coaching job with a losing one. If that’s the case, the coordinator jobs with the Buccaneers or the Philadelphia Eagles would make the most sense.

Todd Monken, Baltimore Ravens OC

This dream — for those who dreamed it — is life support.

John Harbaugh is the new head coach of the New York Giants, and if that happens, it’s been reported that Monken would join him as offensive coordinator.

The Bucs interviewed Monken on Wednesday, and he used to work at Tampa in the very same position (2016-2018).

Mike Kafka, New York Giants’ interim head coach

Speaking of the Giants, Kafka won’t be promoted to full-time head coach, and if the Harbaugh deal ends up being signed and Monken becomes the Giants’ OC, Kafka will need to find a new coordinator job.

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Tampa Bay did a virtual interview with Kafka Tuesday morning.

A former quarterback, Kafka had a cup of coffee with the Bucs in 2014. He began his NFL coaching career with Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017 and stayed there through 2021, winning a Super Bowl ring as quarterbacks coach for the 2019 season.

In 2022, Kafka got his first offensive coordinator job with the Giants and stayed there through this past season, helping the team to a playoff win in his first season.

After 2023, Saquon Barkley left for the Eagles, and the Giants’ offense hasn’t gotten back on its feet yet.

Zac Robinson, Atlanta Falcons’ OC

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Tampa interviewed Robinson virtually Sunday. Under Robinson, the Falcons had some monster individual seasons, with Bijan Robinson going for more than 1,400 yards rushing in each of the past two seasons and Drake London having nearly 1,300 yards receiving in 2024.

But collectively, the Falcons finished 13th in scoring in 2024 and regressed to 24th this year.

Israel Woolfork, Arizona Cardinals QB coach

Woolfork met with the Bucs virtually early in the process, and he’s a guy you’ve probably never heard of. After eight seasons as an assistant at Miami of Ohio, Woolfork’s NFL journey started in 2021 with the Cleveland Browns, where he spent the 2021 season coaching as part of the Bill Walsh NFL diversity coaching fellowship and then the next season in the Bill Willis coaching fellowship.

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When Jonathan Gannon became the head coach of the Cardinals in 2023, he hired Woolfork as QB coach.

Yes, the Cardinals were lousy for all of Gannon’s three seasons (15-36), and plenty would dismiss Woolfork because of that.

But if you look at the numbers, quarterbacks Kyler Murray and Jacoby Brissett combined to throw for more than 4,300 yards and had a 29/11 TD/INT ratio.

At 35, Woolfork could make a name for himself if Tampa goes in that direction.

David Shaw, Detroit Lions pass game coordinator

Like McDaniel and Bill Callahan (see below), Shaw has head coaching experience.

The difference between McDaniel and Callahan is that Shaw’s experience is at the college level.

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Shaw led the Stanford Cardinal team from 2011-2022, going 96-54 overall and 65-40 in the PAC-12, and leading his team to four top-10 finishes.

After leaving Stanford in 2022, Shaw returned to coaching this year at the NFL level, becoming Detroit’s pass game coordinator. With Shaw’s help, the Lions finished third in the league in passing yards per game.

Shaw’s never been an NFL OC, but he knows how to lead, and at 53, he’s younger than most who have his credentials.

Brian Callahan, former Tennessee Titans head coach

The first NFL head coach fired this season, Callahan was cut loose after Week 6, with the Titans at 1-5. In his second season at the helm for Tennessee, Callahan’s tenure was ended with an overall record of 4-19.

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But Callahan has had success as an OC before, helping Joe Burrow become a MVP-worthy with the Cincinnati Bengals, and that’s the job the Bucs would be hiring him for.

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