Buccaneers GM Jason Licht.
Like most Bucs fans, Joe is looking toward who will be coaching the team later this month.
Change feels not only inevitable, but a sound decision.
Every January the NFL has about 25 percent of its teams looking for new head coaches. Openings could pop soon in Las Vegas, Atlanta, Miami, Cleveland, Arizona, Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Tampa. Yes, Tampa!
So which of those potential openings would be most attractive to an incoming, offense-first head coach? Joe assumes Team Glazer would want an offensive mind to escape the merry-go-round of changing playcallers every year.
Joe looks at that list of teams and objectively thinks the Bucs could be the most attractive job.
Would any coach with a sober mind prefer the total mess that is Vegas, Cleveland or Miami? Or quarterback-challenged Atlanta?
Arizona and Pittsburgh have quarterback issues, too. That leaves Baltimore and Green Bay as potentially glowing options. But Joe assumes a head coach candidate would want to stay far away from Green Bay in the punishing NFC North.
That’s a tough division to look good in out of the gate, and you’d be following a coach that lost two NFC Championship games and went to the playoffs in 6 of 7 seasons.
In Baltimore, a new head coach would be following a legend, though Lamar Jackson and a strong front office are huge draws.
That leaves the Bucs.
The Bucs’ roster, with a still young and devastating offensive line when healthy, and a talented veteran quarterback, would make any playcaller salivate. And don’t forget the Bucs’ stunning stable of wide receivers.
Tampa Bay also has an A-list front office that hasn’t tossed away draft picks and isn’t sitting in a salary cap nightmare. Team Glazer treats coaches very well. And don’t forget the miserable NFC South; that’s an attractor. Living large in Tampa isn’t so bad, either.
Joe doesn’t expect the Bucs would have any hiccups courting a new head coach.