The Buccaneers’ 16-3 lead vanished, Pittsburgh won in overtime, and now Tampa Bay is staring at a 1-5 start with Todd Bowles’ job security under even more scrutiny. Baker Mayfield was already out because of injury, so the loss wasn’t exactly a shock on paper. Still, the way it unfolded only turned up the pressure.
If Tampa Bay does decide to move on, the next question is obvious: who would step into that chair?
One name that jumps out is Grant Udinski. The Jaguars’ offensive coordinator is only 30, but his rise has already put him on the radar.
He was in the mix for the Browns’ head coaching job this past offseason and was also considered for the Bills’ opening before staying in Jacksonville. With Trevor Lawrence looking terrific early in the year, his stock has not taken a hit.
For a Buccaneers team that may want an offensive-minded leader, Udinski fits the profile, especially if Tampa Bay wants to pair him with an experienced defensive coordinator.
Mike Tomlin is the splashiest possibility, even if it feels like a long shot. The former Steelers coach spent nearly two decades in Pittsburgh, and it’s fair to wonder whether he’d even be interested in jumping back in this winter.
But if Tampa Bay is going to ask, why not? The weather, the relatively calm setup, and a division that doesn’t exactly loom large could make the job attractive if Tomlin is open to a fresh start.
Nate Scheelhaase also belongs near the top of the list. The Rams’ offensive coordinator is in his first season in that role under Sean McVay, and his reputation continues to grow.
He was another serious Browns candidate in the last hiring cycle, and teams seem to come away impressed after interviewing him. The bigger question for Tampa Bay is whether it wants to hand the whole operation to someone who is not the one calling the plays under McVay.
If the Buccaneers believe in his football mind, that might not matter.
Zac Taylor is a more complicated fit, but not an impossible one. The Bengals are known for sticking with their head coaches, yet if they miss the playoffs again, the pressure around Taylor would get real.
With Joe Burrow in his prime, a change would not be hard to imagine. For Tampa Bay, Taylor would bring something the franchise has been chasing: stability at offensive play-caller and a coach with Super Bowl experience.
And with less competition in the division, a fresh start in Tampa Bay could make sense for him too.
Klay Kubiak is another rising offensive name worth watching. He isn’t the 49ers’ play-caller, but he comes from a football family with serious pedigree, being the son of Super Bowl-winning coach Gary Kubiak and Raiders coach Klint Kubiak.
The Shanahan-McVay coaching branch keeps producing head-coaching candidates, and Kubiak looks like someone next in line. For the Buccaneers, he would represent the kind of offensive mind they seem to need after so much turnover.
If Tampa Bay wants to chase the same kind of energy it had when Liam Coen was on staff, Anthony Campanile could enter the conversation too. The Jaguars’ defensive coordinator has impressed in his second season as a play-caller and picked up interviews in the last cycle. He would not change the basic challenge, though: like Bowles, he would still need to keep searching for the right offensive play-caller.
In Other News...
Jaguars Have One Trade Deadline Need They Cant Ignore
The Jaguars hit their Week 7 bye at 4-2, but the break comes with a clear reminder of where the roster still needs help. Even in a strong start to the season, the defense has shown cracks in pass coverage, and those issues have been most obvious at cornerback, where opposing quarterbacks have found too much room to work.
Jacksonvilles front appears steadier, and other areas of the roster look more settled, but cornerback depth remains a concern that is hard to ignore with the trade deadline approaching. If the Jaguars want to protect what has been a promising start, adding at least one more capable cover man looks like a priority rather than a luxury. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Loss To Jalen Hurts Looks Different After Disturbing Update
Jalen Hurts performance against the Jaguars in London already stood out as one of the more impressive showings of the season, and the latest medical update has only sharpened the context around it. Before the diagnosis was fully understood, Hurts was dealing with a blood clot in his calf and had to stay awake for roughly 36 hours as a medical precaution, yet he still took the field and guided the game through all four quarters.
The Eagles quarterback was later diagnosed with the clot and placed on injured reserve, ending his season and making that trip overseas look even more extraordinary in hindsight. Against Jacksonville, he still finished with 220 passing yards, a touchdown and no interceptions, a line that now reads very differently given what was going on behind the scenes. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Snap Counts Raised A Bigger Question About Hunter And Brian Thomas
A closer look at the Jaguars Week 6 snap counts against Houston added another layer to the conversation around how Jacksonville is using Travis Hunter and Brian Thomas Jr. Hunter logged a season-high nine offensive snaps and made the most of the limited chances with four catches, while Thomas was on the field for just 15 snaps, all of them coming in the first half. For a team still sorting out its weekly distribution of targets and roles, those numbers stood out as much as the final score.
On the defensive side, Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen carried the heaviest workload, each playing 56 of 62 snaps, which is hardly a surprise for two of the units most important pieces. The more interesting part for the Jaguars is what the offensive rotation might mean going forward, especially with Hunters usage trending upward and Thomas playing time dipping in a game where both players were expected to matter. [Read more 🡒]