The Bucs fired offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich on Jan. 19, just days after Tampa Bay’s offense underwhelmed again in a 31-14 playoff loss to Dallas. It’s been three weeks and head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Jason Licht have yet to fill the vacant offensive coordinator role despite interviewing multiple candidates.

Are the Bucs just being deliberate and doing their due diligence to make sure they hire the right person? Or are they struggling to find an offensive coordinator who wants the job?

Tampa Bay has interviewed eight offensive coordinator candidates, the most recent being Rams assistant head coach and tight ends coach Thomas Brown, who met with Bowles and Licht on Friday. Before Brown, the Bucs interviewed Denver quarterbacks coach Klint Kubiak, Minnesota wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell, New York Giants quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney, Jacksonville passing game coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, New Orleans passing game coordinator Ronald Curry, Seattle quarterbacks coach Dave Canales and Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken in addition to Bengals QBs coach Dan Pitcher, who interviewed twice with the team.

Pitcher’s first interview was virtually, prior to the AFC Championship Game. His second interview was done in person on Wednesday and he might have been considered the front-runner, but the Bucs interviewed Canales and Brown this week after Pitcher’s second interview.

Houston offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton previously turned down an interview with the Bucs weeks ago. He opted to stay with the Texans, especially since his son, Jackson, is a star quarterback in Pearland High School in Houston and didn’t want him to relocate for his senior season. But with new Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans wanting to go in a different direction at offensive coordinator – perhaps Kliff Kingsbury – Hamilton was let go on Friday.

So, why hasn’t the team found Leftwich’s replacement yet? There could be multiple reasons. Let’s take a look.

Maybe The Bucs Haven’t Found The Right Fit

Bowles won the NFC South division in his first season as head coach in 2022, replacing Bruce Arians, who abruptly retired on March 30. But the Bucs finished the regular season 8-9 and lost their home playoff game to the Cowboys, 31-14. While Bowles isn’t on the hot seat entering the 2023 season, he’s not a sure bet to be employed as Tampa Bay’s head coach in 2024 without improving on the team’s record.

Bengals QBs coach Dan Pitcher – Photo by: USA Today

Bowles contemplated replacing Leftwich during the season as the offense struggled to score points, score touchdowns in the red zone and convert on third downs. But he didn’t see a clear-cut option on the coaching staff who would be an improvement, evidenced by his decision to fire receivers coach Kevin Garver and running backs coach Todd McNair. Quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen retired at the age of 66 after the 2022 season or he would have been fired, too.

Bowles went through three offensive coordinators – Chan Gailey, John Morton and Jeremy Bates – in four seasons as the head coach of the New York Jets from 2015-18. That degree of inconsistency partially led to Bowles’ firing after the 2018 season. Bowles inherited Leftwich and Arians’ coaching staff in 2022 and wasn’t permitted to make any changes until the 2023 offseason, so he’s already on to his second offensive coordinator in as many years.

And Bowles has to get this hire right. The Bucs offense doesn’t necessarily have to average 30 points per game as it did with a much more talented roster from 2020-21, but it can’t average 18.4 points per game again. Tampa Bay needs to average at least 23 points per game, which would rank in the NFL’s top dozen offenses.

Are Bowles and Licht being picky? Maybe, but the fact that the Bucs have interviewed eight candidates and haven’t found the right guy for the job by now seems a bit suspect. It’s likely that some of the candidates who were interviewed weren’t right for the job from the Bucs’ perspective, but Bowles and Licht had to have liked some of them, right? After all, Pitcher interviewed for a second time.

Perhaps Bucs’ Current QB Situation Is Scaring Off Candidates

Bucs QB Kyle Trask – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

All offensive coordinators know that the quarterback position drives the offense, especially since the NFL has become a pass-first league in the modern day. Could it be that the Bucs’ current quarterback situation is scaring off potential hires? That seems likely, especially with just Kyle Trask, who is unproven entering his third year in the league, as the only QB under contract until free agency starts.

The Bucs will eventually wind up with a veteran, but it will likely be a journeyman like Jacoby Brissett or Baker Mayfield. But the uncertainty may be giving several of the candidates pause over taking the play-calling duties in Tampa Bay. Remember, when the Bucs started the interview process in late January, Tom Brady had not officially retired.

Some of those early interviews could have taken place with the chance that Brady could return to Tampa Bay. Since he officially announced his retirement on Feb. 1, that has certainly made the Bucs’ offensive coordinator opportunity far less enticing. The fact that a new offensive coordinator would have to focus on getting a less talented veteran journeyman ready to play while developing a young, inexperienced quarterback isn’t ideal and doesn’t make for a situation that has strong job security.

Todd Bowles’ Tenuous Situation Might Be A Factor

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Speaking of job security, is Bowles’ job in jeopardy? Is Bowles in a make-of-break season after the Bucs just finished a disappointing 8-9 season? The Glazers have given every head coach they’ve hired at least two seasons, but Greg Schiano (2012-13) and Lovie Smith (2014-15) only lasted two years before being fired. Raheem Morris and Dirk Koetter lasted three seasons because both had at least one winning season in their tenure.

If Bowles doesn’t improve on the team’s 8-9 record in 2023 and make the playoffs, it will be considered a step back and the Glazers might want to do a course correction with a new head coach in 2024. Given the Bucs’ uncertainty at the quarterback position, it’s hard to believe Tampa Bay is in position to three-peat as the NFC South division winners.

The Bucs went 8-9 with Brady at quarterback last year. Thinking that the team will fare better with a lesser quarterback this season is quite the assumption.

Are there some of the offensive coordinator candidates who might not want to leave their current position for a raise and a promotion that may only last one year? Perhaps. Whoever the Bucs hire will receive a two-year contract, which is standard practice for most assistant coaches. So, it’s not like whoever becomes the offensive coordinator has to worry about getting paid in 2024. But finding another ideal job in 2024 if it doesn’t work out with Tampa Bay might be difficult.

Remember, it’s not just a job to most coaches. It’s uprooting a family from one NFL city to move to Tampa for perhaps just one year if Bowles is fired after the 2023 season. And if that ends up being the case, it means moving the family to a third city in as many years.