The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a strange offseason. They were initially set to retain offensive coordinator Liam Coen after he reportedly agreed to stay with the Bucs, but he later went to the Jacksonville Jaguars and became their head coach instead.
The Bucs ended up promoting offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard from within, but it was still a strange saga, with Coen secretly heading to Jacksonville to take the interview and eventually become head coach. It was a back-and-forth affair, and Buccaneers tackle Tristan Wirfs got to observe it all while wondering which way it would go.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs blocks against the Denver Broncos. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Wirfs spoke with NFL personality Ari Meirov at Radio Row in New Orleans, during Super Bowl week, and he was asked about his perspective during the Liam Coen saga. Wirfs and the offensive line were in the Bahamas together, so they had to get updates through social media.
“It was kinda crazy because the whole o-line was together. We went on a little trip, so we’re all seeing it break on Twitter. We saw he was back with the Bucs, and then we saw like ‘No, he’s in Jacksonville’, and then they tried to block something. It was a whirlwind, really.”
Coen had verbally accepted his new contract, but things changed shortly after the Jaguars fired general manager Trent Baalke. Coen would go on to accept the job, leaving the Bucs to find another OC for the fourth time in four straight years.
That being said, Wirfs doesn’t hold any animosity. He knows these things can come one in a lifetime.
“And then he calked us and he told us that he loves us and appreciates us. It is a business — you don’t know when an opportunity like that to go live your dream and be a head coach is going to come around. We understood,” Wirfs said.
Now, though, the Bucs will go with offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard. Wirfs calls him a “wizard”, and with some continuity on the offense, the Bucs can certainly stay atop the NFL on offense this next coming season.
