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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could be looking at a major name to replace one of their fired coaches.
As the Buccaneers look for a new offensive coordinator following the dismissal of Byron Leftwich, they may be looking at a familiar name. As JoeBucsFan proposes in a recent column, Tampa Bay could be looking at former Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien as their next offensive coordinator. O’Brien currently serves as the offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama.
“O’Brien, 53, has strong ties to Bucs general manager Jason Licht,” said JoeBucsFan. “They worked together in New England and were good friends there and after their Belicheats time ended. To the best of Joe’s knowledge, they have the same agent. Joe would be pleased to see O’Brien paired with Todd Bowles, but the Bucs may be O’Brien’s second choice.”
Buccaneers Almost Landed Bill O’Brien as Coordinator in 2022
As mentioned in the column, the New England Patriots are likely O’Brien’s first choice. Prior to his stint with the Texans from 2014 until 2020, he served in a variety of coaching roles for the Patriots from 2007 until 2011.
O’Brien being linked to the Buccaneers isn’t exactly surprising considering the previous report that Tampa Bay was going to hire the former Patriots assistant to call plays last season if Leftwich had bolted, per Rick Stroud of The Tampa Bay Times.
“A year ago, then-Bucs coach Bruce Arians was pretty confident that Leftwich was going to be hired as head coach by the Jacksonville Jaguars to replace Urban Meyer,” said Stroud on Jan. 7. “The Bucs contacted O’Brien, who would have replaced Leftwich. But it all fell apart when the Jaguars hired Doug Pederson, who won a Super Bowl with the Eagles.”
Bringing O’Brien in May Be Bucs’ Last Chance at Re-Signing Brady
It’s also of no coincidence that O’Brien has familiar ties with Tom Brady, whom he coached for five seasons as a member of the Patriots. Bringing O’Brien in as offensive coordinator is a likely way of enticing Brady to return for a fourth season as a member of the Buccaneers.
As reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, several Buccaneers players believe Brady is done with Tampa Bay.
“Yet several players already have a feeling which direction he is leaning,” said Rapoport on Saturday, January 21. “Based on their final interactions with Brady, it felt to them as if Brady was leaving Tampa with no intention to return.”
The Buccaneers struggled drastically on offense during the 2022 season, ranking 25th in the league with just 18.4 points per game. It was a stark drop-off from the previous season when Tampa Bay averaged just 30.1 points per game, ranking second in the league.
Entering the final week of the season, Tampa Bay’s offensive unit ranked in the bottom half of many categories despite featuring star players such as Brady, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
Via Stroud:
“While Tampa Bay ranks 11th overall in total yards (354.5), it is 24th in scoring (18.5), 22nd in third-down percentage (36.91) and 25th in red-zone scoring (51 percent),” said Stroud. “In fact, the Bucs have only scored more than 23 points twice in 16 games. They have 29 offensive touchdowns this season, compared to 56 entering the final week of the regular season a year ago.”
Given what appears to be the Buccaneers’ slim hopes of bringing Brady back, luring O’Brien may be Tampa Bay’s final chance at having the 45-year-old quarterback under center for the 2023 season.
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