Tampa Bay has moved on from their (somewhat) ugly breakup with former offensive coordinator Liam Coen after he spurned the franchise to become the highest-paid coordinator in NFL history to become the next head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, promoting this season’s pass game coordinator, Josh Grizzard, to Coen’s former position as the OC.

In 2024, the Bucs’ offense flourished under Coen’s watchful eye and play-calling, ranking as one of the best units in the league in multiple offensive categories. Despite being down star wideout Chris Godwin for about half the season, Coen and his offensive staff were able to quickly adjust on the fly to reach the heights they did. The running game was turned around and Baker Mayfield was able to spread the ball around to all his receivers, even Mike Evans who once again reached the 1,000 receiving yard mark.

Speaking of Mike Evans, for his work this season he was awarded his sixth Pro Bowl invitation, and when speaking to reporters during media availability, Evans commented on Tampa Bay’s new OC by mentioning that he doesn’t really care about who the OC hire is and that it’s his job to get open no matter what.

While Evans doesn’t seem to care who is calling plays for him and the offense, he is extremely hopeful that Grizzard will emphasize him the way that his predecessors, Dave Canales and Liam Coen, have in the past. Grizzard had an important role under Coen as the pass game coordinator as he likely had a hand in drawing up the plays that the Bucs ran each week, and by Coen’s own words, Grizzard played a major role in the Buccaneers’ third-down success on offense.

The Buccaneers’ offense fired on all cylinders last season, and if not for an injury that cost him a few games, Evans likely could have had one of the best statistical seasons of his career. Grizzard is expected to come into his new role to keep the continuity amongst the offense but was also highly thought of for his innovative ideas that he plans to implement.