The Buccaneers thought they had their offensive coordinator role locked up for at least one more season — after Liam Coen verbally agreed to terms to return as Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator on Wednesday — and the continuity that came along with that development immediately provided a certain peace of mind to the team and their fans.

Not so fast.

Less than 24 hours later, reports broke that Liam Coen had evaded the Bucs’ front office most of Thursday in order to secretly iron out details to become the Jacksonville Jaguars’ next head coach, thus placing the Bucs into an uncomfortable and precarious situation.

Now, not only is Tampa Bay without an offensive coordinator for the third year in a row, but they are behind the eight-ball in terms of their search for a new one. Throw in the fact that Assistant General Manager and valuable front office executive, John Spytek, has since joined the Raiders, and it feels like Tampa Bay is now in a situation where they need to scramble to find a replacement for a role they expected to be a massive advantage this season, with Liam Coen entering his second year running the offense.

Thankfully for the Buccaneers, they have a couple of things working in their favor. Not only have they spent the last half decade as either NFC South or Super Bowl champions, but they’ve got a ton of established talent on offense, some exciting young players at key positions, and valuable continuity on that side of the ball — with the majority of their best players all expected to return.

As a result, the Bucs’ newly vacant offensive coordinator position is widely considered to be a desirable one, if not the most desirable, for prospective candidates.

Well again, not so fast.

On Friday, news broke that the Houston Texans have moved on from offensive coordinator, Bobby Slowik.

Just a year ago, after guiding C.J. Stroud to a remarkably successful rookie season, Slowik was widely considered to be one of the most talented offensive coordinators in the NFL, and a potential head coaching candidate to boot.

Now, his departure creates some serious competition for the Buccaneers.

Houston is a great opportunity for any offensive coordinator to walk into, as they’ve got a talented quarterback still on a rookie contact, plenty of established weapons, and a defense that is emerging as one of the league’s best.

It’s worth mentioning, though, that Slowik’s availability could be intriguing for the Buccaneers in their own search for a new offensive coordinator. Slowik comes from the Kyle Shanahan tree, having worked closely under him with the San Francisco 49ers from 2017-2022. As a result, Slowik’s offensive principles have derived from an offensive philosophy that has plenty of similarities to that of Liam Coen.

Despite so much uncertainty, one thing is for sure. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will need to act swiftly as they search for the right person to lead their offense next season. Based on this new development with the Houston Texans, they’ll have some competition.