The Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaching staff suffered a major loss when offensive coordinator Dave Canales opted to take the head coaching job with the Carolina Panthers. That leaves Todd Bowles’ staff with a huge void to fill as Canales thrived in his first chance at being a playcaller.
The team produced some excellent numbers with him leading the way, not looking any worse for the wear despite Tom Brady opting to retire in the offseason. Under Canales, quarterback Baker Mayfield experienced a career renaissance and he will now be tasked with getting Bryce Young, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, on track.
Replacing Canales won’t be easy. It will be a major decision as he did about as well as you could have hoped anyone stepping into that role could have done. Replicating his success will not be easy, especially if Mayfield isn’t retained as the starting quarterback.
The offensive coordinator position is even more important for Bowles to get right as his job security could be tied to that decision. That is because, in the opinion of Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, his job could be one that emerges as a landing spot for Bill Belichick in the future.
“Teams to watch include (in my own assessment) the Bills, Browns, Jaguars, Giants, Eagles, Vikings, and Buccaneers,” Florio writes. “That’s still not a long list of potential options. It’s seven.”
Belichick looks like he will not be coaching in the NFL during the 2024 season. He took part in a few interviews but was not hired during this cycle after being fired by the New England Patriots. From the sounds of it, he wanted more player personnel control, something the Atlanta Falcons, whom he interviewed with twice, was unwilling to give.
The most recent connecting of the dots done by Florio isn’t the first time he has mentioned Belichick with the Buccaneers. He did once during the regular season before Tampa Bay went on their run to win the NFC South and qualify for the postseason.
“You put Bill Belichick on the Buccaneers — that stadium was half-empty the other day between the Buccaneers and the Titans. They’ve lost all their sizzle with Brady gone. The sizzle could return to a certain extent with Belichick,” Florio said on his “PFT Live” podcast.
It would certainly be a wild turn of events if Belichick ended up in Tampa Bay to finish out his illustrious career just as Brady did. But, with a general manager already in place, it is hard to envision Belichick taking over the Buccaneers unless something drastic changes between now and the 2025 offseason.
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