Getty The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could make a coaching move that Tom Brady would welcome.
After the biggest offensive drop off since 1976, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will likely make a change at offensive coordinator.
Bucs insider Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times proposes that the team realistically could pursue Bill O’Brien for the job in place of Byron Leftwich. Much of the blame for the Bucs’ offensive demise gets pointed toward Leftwich — fairly or unfairly — Stroud noted.
Bringing in O’Brien could help keep quarterback Tom Brady in Tampa Bay. Brady played under O’Brien as an offensive coordinator in New England from 2007 to 2011. That includes the season where Brady posted 4,806 passing yards and 50 touchdowns in 2007.
O’Brien currently coaches offense at Alabama with head coach Nick Saban. Alabama ranked third in the nation for points, 41.7, and 12th for total yards per game, 473.1, in 2022.
Bucs front office staff also has familiarity with O’Brien, Stroud noted. General manager Jason Licht worked with O’Brien in New England, and the Bucs contacted O’Brien about the job last year when it looked like Leftwich was leaving for Jacksonville, Stroud reported.
Instead, the Jaguars passed on Leftwich, and he stayed with the Bucs amid a head coaching change. Todd Bowles took over for Bruce Arians in March, so Bowles “virtually no time” to make any coaching staff changes of his own, Stroud noted.
Bowles admitted he would have liked to build his own staff, but he has shown support for Leftwich throughout the season as Stroud noted. Brady likewise has expressed support of Leftwich amid all of the struggles of an 8-8 season.
Can O’Brien Turn Around Bucs Offense?
Hiring O’Brien won’t be an elixir for the Bucs offense as Stroud noted. The Bucs offensive line will need improvement, the team could lose talent in free agency, and a dire salary cap situation could lead to personnel moves.
Tampa Bay sits at $43 million over the salary cap, per Spotrac. Notable Bucs who could hit free agency, besides Brady, include wide receivers Julio Jones, Scotty Miller, and Breshad Perriman plus offensive linemen Aaron Stinnie, Josh Wells, and Nick Leverett.
O’Brien would inherit an offense that didn’t sink solely on Leftwich’s shoulders. The Bucs lost an array of key players from the dominant offenses of the 2020 and 2021 seasons, which averaged 30.8 points and 30.1 points respectively. The Bucs offense plummeted to 18.5 points per game this year amid the losses.
Bucs Offense Lost Too Much from 2021 Squad
Tampa Bay lost star wide receiver Antonio Brown on the second day of 2022 when he quit the team. Pro Bowl-caliber guards Ali Marpet and Alex Cappa left by retirement and free agency respectively. Tight end Rob Gronkowski retired in June 2022.
Then came the injuries to Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen followed by Stinnie during training camp. Brady played with three inexperienced interior offensive linemen this season, a problem ESPN forecasted before the regular season kicked off. As Stroud noted, “Brady didn’t trust his protection” amid 6.4 yards per passing attempt. The Bucs running game evaporated with the weakened offensive line at 76.4 yards per game.
Experienced players such as Jones and tight end Kyle Rudolph joined the Bucs to help fill skill player voids, but neither have looked like they did at their respective career peaks. Established stars such as running back Leonard Fournette and wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin couldn’t continue their prior success from 2020 and 2021.
“This was never a Super Bowl roster on offense,” Stroud wrote.