The Buccaneers will be the first team to lose an offensive coordinator in two consecutive seasons since the Ravens in 2013-14, but this development comes after the NFC South team initially appeared to have agreed to keep Liam Cohen. Ta. A decision by the Jaguars’ front office appears to have changed Cohen’s plans.
According to ESPN.com, when the Jaguars fired manager Trent Baalke shortly after Cohen declined a second interview, the AFC South club contacted the top candidate and reconsidered in light of the GM shake-up. He said he asked him to do so. Baalke’s presence was thought to be a deterrent to some coaching candidates this year, including Cohen, but ESPN’s Michael DiRocco reported that Cohen was initially the Jags’ second interviewee. It is pointed out that the main reason for refusing the offer was not GM. However, Cohen’s call on Wednesday “embarrassed” the Jaguars, resulting in the Jaguars abruptly changing course.
When he fired Doug Pederson on Jan. 6, Shad Khan called the overhaul (which Baalke’s firing meant) “suicidal” for the organization. But just two weeks later, he was gone. As Baalke was being searched, the Jags had indicated that Ben Johnson had problems with the set-up, but depending on their use, the Jags could end up ejecting him. That definitely would have influenced the Jags GM for four years to move in a certain safe direction. Instead, he will step down and Mr. Cohen will now have a greater say in who replaces the embattled executive.
Coach Cohen told general manager Jason Licht that he wants a record-breaking OC fee to continue commanding the offensive line, reports Albert Breer of SI.com and Fox Sports. ‘s Greg Orman suggested the Bucks would be willing to pay him close to $4.5 million per year. We heard Wednesday that this number would put him in the Vic Fangio area among the top coordinator salaries. Mr. Cohen will make even more money working with the Jags, who are tied to the authorization of “Johnson-level funds.” Bouyer added that the Bucks’ ownership approved Cohen’s raise, but did not agree to continue the one-year negotiation battle with the OC. But the two sides aren’t done talking about money.
The initial offer from Tampa Bay surfaced before Cohen had a virtual interview with the Jaguars, and the Glazer family encouraged him to interview. However, the Bucks’ owner said the offer to Cohen was contingent on him not interviewing for a second time with the Jaguars. (However, even if Cohen had signed with the Bucks, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio added that the Bucks would not have been able to prevent further meetings with the Jags due to NFL rules.)
Cohen certainly saw a big opportunity with the Jags job, and once again asked the Bucks for more money. Blair said Tampa Bay’s owners responded by confirming that no additional increases would be made. The Bucks had asked Cohen for an answer on the initial proposal by Monday, but Cohen stalled until Wednesday. During that wait, there were reports that the Bucks were ready to lose Cohen. However, this was all before the Jags’ decision on Baalke. Baalke’s previous time in Jacksonville appears to have kept Tampa Bay’s offer from coming to Cohen.
Cohen, 39, has indicated he intends to remain with the Bucks and sign a contract extension. However, the Jags were the only team believed to be seriously considering Cohen, but that didn’t deter him. This would limit Mr. Cohen’s influence. After all, he hasn’t stayed with the same employer since his first stint with the Rams in 2018-20, and staying with the Rams OC in 2022 didn’t work out. The Cowboys, Raiders and Saints did not interview Cohen. But meeting with the Bucs also served as his other option, strengthening his position in this Florida fight.
Thursday’s report said the Bucks were unable to contact Cohen, who was scheduled to sign the contract Wednesday afternoon, but Cohen asked Richt if he could sign the contract on Thursday instead. As of Thursday morning, there had been no word from the Baxes. Assistant GM Mike Greenberg contacted Cohen about signing another offensive assistant. Breer added that Cohen’s representatives then told the Bucks that his client was dealing with personal matters. Mr. Bax tried unsuccessfully to contact Mr. Cohen, but on Thursday afternoon he spoke to Mr. Bowles about a personal matter, while also informing his superiors that he was still considering the job in Jacksonville. . Jags sources then tipped off that Bucs Cohen was in Jacksonville.
While this element doesn’t necessarily make Cohen’s handling of the situation look great, Breer suggests that the Jags wanted Cohen to keep his belated visit to Duval County a secret. But he has successfully climbed the coaching ladder, albeit in a roundabout way, by having the rare opportunity to virtually choose the general manager as a rookie head coach. Kyle Shanahan had this opportunity in 2017, but by the time the 49ers gave him that power, he had certainly ascended to a higher position in the NFL. Cohen is a two-time NFL OC, but former Sean McVay only lasted two years (plus two more years in college, at Kentucky).
Cohen’s delay also gave the Jaguars a chance to fulfill the Rooney Rule requirements. They had already interviewed several minority candidates, but only one of them (Robert Saleh) was an in-person interview. While Cohen was negotiating, the Jags met with Raiders DC Patrick Graham, but Graham might have canceled the meeting if word of the Cohen meeting had leaked.
This also doesn’t shed a good light on Jacksonville’s search, but Jacksonville isn’t the only team to use the Rooney Rule as a checkbox rather than strongly considering taking a minority candidate. do not have. Saleh’s second interview never materialized as Cohen’s case neared the finish line, and Cohen is now back with the 49ers as a DC.
Despite Cohen’s uneven history, many within the Bucks organization viewed him as ready to be head coach, tweeted Jeff Darlington of ESPN.com. In fact, Darlington added that had Week 18 ended without a playoff berth, there was a scenario in which the team would have fired Bowles and promoted Cohen. This was reminiscent of the Bucks’ decision to fire Lovie Smith and promote their own OC (Dirk Koetter) in 2017. The Bucks also promoted from within to fill their current head coach position, with the departure of Bruce Arians leading to the promotion of Bowles, who is currently searching for a replacement. Another new play caller.
Bowles has avoided firing rumors in recent years, going on to earn the Bucs a playoff home game berth in coach Tom Brady’s final season before winning the NFC South title in each of the past two. I have been trying. Bowles is a part of this messy divorce, so it’s worth monitoring his status next season, but for now, he’ll likely set his sights on finding another OC.
