Liam Coen and former Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady both have ties to Tampa Bay, obviously — Coen is currently the offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady won a Super Bowl ring with the franchise in 2020.

Before that, though it was the Boston area that tied them both together. Coen went to college at UMass and played quarterback there for four years, and he wore the No. 12 in honor of Brady, his favorite football player from his time with the New England Patriots. Since Coen has made it back to the NFL as an offensive coordinator for the Bucs, he’s had some time to talk to Brady before the Bucs games that Brady commentated on FOX, and he said Thursday that he has gotten a lot out of those conversations.

“Just listening to somebody’s experiences and learning from him, even in those short conversations, you can learn so much from just the way he attacks things, the way he approaches the game, how he sees things,” Coen said of Brady. “It’s like talking to another coach, essentially.”

Brady himself has been very positive when it comes to Coen, and for someone who has emulated him in his playing career, that’s high praise. It’s well earned, though — Tampa Bay is the No. 5 scoring offense in the NFL, and that is largely in part due to his playcalling.

That work doesn’t go unnoticed by the GOAT and former Bucs signal caller, and it’s something Coen is grateful for.

“That is pretty cool,” Coen said. “You always want to put the best product out on the field, for sure, and to have somebody that you look up to as a kid acknowledge that work and appreciate what you’re doing, that’s pretty cool.”

Coen will hope to impress more with his offense when the Buccaneers face off against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at 1 p.m. with a playoff berth on the line.