The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost their offensive coordinator when Liam Coen was named the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and it does not sound like they want to do their in-state rival anymore favors.
After they hired Coen, the Jaguars requested to interview Buccaneers assistant offensive line coach Brian Picucci for a spot on Coen’s staff in Jacksonville. The Bucs denied the request, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Picucci worked with Coen at Kentucky before both coaches joined the Jaguars last season. It would make sense if Picucci followed Coen to Jacksonville, but the Buccaneers have closed the door on that for now.
Picucci is not the only coach who was denied permission to speak with the Jaguars. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on Thursday that the Bucs also blocked offensive line coach Kevin Carberry from interviewing with Jacksonville.
Coen was viewed as the favorite to become the new head coach of the Jaguars early last week. He then removed himself from consideration for the job and reportedly agreed to a new deal with the Buccaneers to return as their offensive coordinator.
The Jaguars then fired general manager Trent Baalke, and Coen did a 180. There were reports that Coen went dark on the Bucs after re-engaging with Jacksonville. There may have been a very specific reason for that.
Coen has been criticized over the way he handled the situation. His wife even felt the need to respond to some of the backlash.
It is probably safe to assume that the Bucs are not happy with the way things unfolded. That could be the reason they chose not to let the Jaguars interview Picucci or Carberry.
