INTRO: The Bucs have certainly had success at the offensive coordinator position since firing Byron Leftwich after the 2022 season. Now, pass game coordinator Josh Grizzard has the chance to be the next great Bucs offensive coordinator after Dave Canales and Liam Coen did it so well that they were hired as NFL head coaches after just one season calling plays in Tampa Bay in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

Here are five reasons why Grizzard was the right hire by the Bucs organization to replace Coen in a new SR’s Fab 5 column. Enjoy!

FAB 1. Josh Grizzard Helps Bucs Keep Continuity On Offense

Bucs pass game coordinator Josh Grizzard – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

It was clear from the candidates the Bucs chose to interview for their vacant offensive coordinator position that continuity on offense was a priority. Head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Jason Licht wisely recognized that the team’s success on offense last year was a function of the entire offensive staff and not just play-caller Liam Coen.

To that end, Bowles and Licht wanted to keep the Rams-based system, which includes the verbiage from last year and the concepts that Coen imported, such as heavy use of motion and bunch formations, intact as much as possible moving forward. While there were plenty of candidates who were interviewed who had ties to the Rams organization and were Sean McVay disciples, Bucs pass game coordinator Josh Grizzard was here to witness the team’s success and be part of the reason why Tampa Bay had so much success offensively in 2024.

Promoting Grizzard, who is a Yale graduate and considered to be incredibly bright and full of ideas, makes a lot of sense despite the fact that he has no play-calling experience. He already has a working relationship with the staff, and it’s clear that the Bucs wanted to hang on to their current assistants rather than bring in an outside offensive coordinator who would want to bring in his own staff to work with.

That was clear with Tampa Bay blocking Coen from hiring offensive line coach Kevin Carberry away to be Jacksonville’s offensive line coach on Wednesday and did the same with blocking assistant offensive line coach Brian Picucci on Thursday. It seems like Grizzard will carry on with most of – if not all of – the Bucs offensive assistants from last year. The fact that Bowles and Licht spent a full offseason and season with Grizzard also helped give him the edge over Rams tight ends coach and pass game coordinator Nick Caley because Grizzard is a known commodity within the building.

The Bucs offense was incredibly unpredictable because each week was a different game plan designed to attack the weakness of opposing defenses. Some weeks saw Tampa Bay use 11 personnel and pass the ball more to the wide receivers, while other weeks saw the offense use more 12 and 13 personnel groupings with multiple tight ends and run the ball more. The diversity of the run package from wide zone to gap made Tampa Bay’s rushing attack incredibly effective, and Baker Mayfield was able to spread the ball around to receivers, tight ends and backs because of the diversity of the passing attack, too. These are concepts that the Bucs want to continue to deploy under Grizzard.

Bowles issued this statement in the team’s press release announcing Grizzard’s hire.

“Josh is bright and innovative and was instrumental in our game planning and play design over the last year,” Bowles said. “After interviewing several outstanding candidates throughout this process, it ultimately became clear that our best option was here in our building. We had a lot of success offensively last season and during our conversations, Grizz provided some great ideas on how we can build on that. His familiarity with our offense, our players and the staff will ensure the continuity that is crucial for sustained success.”

FAB 2. Josh Grizzard Spent Time Working With The Entire Bucs Offense In 2024

Bucs RB Bucky Irving and pass game coordinator Josh Grizzard – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Josh Grizzard served as Liam Coen’s sounding board on offense last year as the pass game coordinator, in addition to doing some advance scouting work for the upcoming opponent each week. As the pass game coordinator, Grizzard was not just working with quarterback Baker Mayfield. He would spend different portions of each practice working with the different position groups on offense.

“I move around a good amount,” Grizzard said during his lone Bucs press conference in the spring. “I’ve been in the receiver room. I have been in the quarterback room the last couple of weeks. I do have the history of coaching the receivers, so it might be on the field where we’re helping with drills and things like that. Even with the tight ends or could be the backs, as well. But it does allow me to move around to different spots.”

The knowledge gained from being exposed to every position group on offense gave Grizzard some insight into every player on offense where he observed their level of focus as well as their practice habits and what makes them tick up close. That’s a lot of insight that will help him understand the strengths and weaknesses of each Bucs player on offense from firsthand observations – not just asking other position coaches for their opinions.

FAB 3. Josh Grizzard Proved Himself Within The Organization On Third Downs

Bucs pass game coordinator Josh Grizzard and RBs coach Skip Peete – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Former offensive coordinator Liam Coen gave each one of his assistants a game plan role for the 2024 season, and Josh Grizzard’s role was Tampa Bay’s third down package. The fact that the Bucs offense finished first in the league on third downs with a 51.1% conversion rate was not lost on head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Jason Licht. The Bucs even converted 55% on third downs in the team’s 23-20 playoff loss to Washington in the NFC Wild Card round.

In some organizations, the pass game coordinator role is simply an assistant to the offensive coordinator. It’s someone who is just above a quality control coach and is responsible for personnel substitutions and cutting up film. But that wasn’t the case in Tampa Bay.

Coen empowered his assistants in Tampa Bay to take part in the game plan, and gave Grizzard a big responsibility with the third down package. Other assistant coaches were responsible for the four-minute offense, the two-minute drill and red zone. Grizzard certainly excelled in his role and Todd Bowles and Jason Licht took notice.

FAB 4. Collaboration Is Key On Offense

Bucs pass game coordinator Josh Grizzard and former OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

One of the best things about Liam Coen’s success as a play-caller in Tampa Bay last year was the fact that it was a collaborative process. On several occasions, Coen noted how little time he spent in his own office and how much time he spent in the offensive meeting room working with the entire staff in concert together.

Coen was a big believer in collaboration, and that was good exposure for Josh Grizzard. Coen’s collaborative style helped the offensive assistants get to know each other better and form a stronger bond due to all of the meeting time spent together in one room. It also helped the assistants become more accountable to each other and to the offense as a whole.

The Bucs hope this practice continues with Grizzard, and with the team focused on continuity on offense, it likely will. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Look for Grizzard to continue to work in collaboration with his offensive assistants and carry on that practice that started last offseason during the OTAs and continued throughout the regular season.

FAB 5. Experience From Working For 4 Head Coaches, Numerous NFL Play-Callers

Bucs pass game assistant Josh Grizzard – Photo by: Miami Dolphins

Despite being just 34 years old, Josh Grizzard has 13 years of coaching experience, including eight years in the NFL – the first seven of which occurred in Miami where he was an offensive quality control coach (2017-18), quality control coach (2019), wide receivers coach (2020-21) and offensive quality control coach again (2022-23). Perhaps the most impressive thing about Grizzard’s stint with the Dolphins is that it spanned three coaching regimes.

Grizzard began coaching at Yale, his alma mater, in 2012 before moving on to Duke where he was a grad assistant and quality control coach from 2013-16. He was then hired by Adam Gase and made such an impression on the Miami organization that he was held over by not just Brian Flores, who coached the Dolphins from 2019-2021, but also Mike McDaniel, who was hired in 2022. To cross over three different regimes is incredibly rare for any assistant coach, but it speaks to the value Grizzard brought to the organization.

Todd Bowles makes the fourth NFL head coach that Grizzard has worked for. And he’s had exposure to a number of different offensive coordinators and play-callers, including Gase, four different coordinators who worked for Flores in Chad O’Shea, Chan Gailey, George Godsey and Eric Studesville, and McDaniel in addition to Liam Coen in Tampa Bay.

Grizzard has had exposure to the system that Peyton Manning ran when Gase was his offensive coordinator in Denver, in addition to Kyle Shanahan’s system, of which McDaniel was a disciple. And through Coen, Grizzard has had his share of Sean McVay’s influence with the current Bucs playbook, which worked so well in 2024. Simply put, Grizzard has a wealth of experience to draw from – and from a lot of different offensive systems as he takes over the reins as Tampa Bay’s offensive play-caller.