WEBVTT - Bucs Hire OC Liam Coen, Pro Bowl Performances | Bucs Insider

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome in two Bucks Insider presented by Verizon Casey Phillips.

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<v Speaker 1>Here was senior writer and editor Scott Smith, And we

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<v Speaker 1>have an offensive coordinator to talk about, and did his one,

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<v Speaker 1>Liam Cohen. He's gotten introduced to the media this week

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<v Speaker 1>at his first press conference, met some of the players

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<v Speaker 1>around the building. So tell me for you initial thoughts

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<v Speaker 1>on what this hiring means to the team and to

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<v Speaker 1>the offense.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, the Bucks did a very thorough search. I think

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<v Speaker 2>they interviewed seven candidates and Liam was near the end,

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<v Speaker 2>but I think they had planned on interviewing them all along.

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<v Speaker 2>It was just how they were handling it at the

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<v Speaker 2>University of Kentucky, and I think they felt he was well.

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<v Speaker 2>Coach said he was the best fit for what they

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<v Speaker 2>wanted to do offensively. So Coach Bowles and his staff

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<v Speaker 2>went into this search with an idea of the offensive

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<v Speaker 2>philosophy that they wanted to follow, and they felt that

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<v Speaker 2>Liam was the best choice to probably provide some bit

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<v Speaker 2>of continuity between what they were doing last year under

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<v Speaker 2>Dave Canalis. A lot of good things, but how do

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<v Speaker 2>you continue that when you're coordinators and changing systems and

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<v Speaker 2>that starting over from ground zero? And now you have

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<v Speaker 2>a guy that has a lot of the same sort

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<v Speaker 2>of background as Dave Canals working with Sean McBay and

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<v Speaker 2>the Rams. Dave Canos didn't do that, but Shane Waldron

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<v Speaker 2>and the connection and all that. So I think it

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<v Speaker 2>was the best way to have continuity, but also a

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<v Speaker 2>guy that they felt really had the same philosophy as

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<v Speaker 2>to how to run an offense.

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<v Speaker 1>And part of that philosophy is something he talked about

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<v Speaker 1>in his press conference. And I think it's probably gonna

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<v Speaker 1>make a lot of the players pretty happy.

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<v Speaker 3>Excuge, man, when you have playmakers, life's a lot more fun.

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, like I said, you can call any play

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<v Speaker 3>in the world. But when you can just call a

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<v Speaker 3>slant or a hitch or an omaha and the ball

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<v Speaker 3>could potentially go in the end zone, er you call

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<v Speaker 3>a go ball in those fifty to fifties are now

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<v Speaker 3>eighty twenties or seventy thirties, that's not anything I can coach.

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<v Speaker 3>And so when you have those type of players, man,

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<v Speaker 3>the game is a lot more fun. And that's ultimately

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<v Speaker 3>what football is, right, It's about like it's about players,

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<v Speaker 3>not plays. But if we can put them in the

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<v Speaker 3>position to be successful with talent, you know, usually good

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<v Speaker 3>things happen. So I couldn't be more excited to get

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<v Speaker 3>to work with those guys. Man, they seem like really

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<v Speaker 3>good people and workers, just like everybody that I've heard

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<v Speaker 3>in this building. So really excited to get to work

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<v Speaker 3>with those guys.

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<v Speaker 1>So players not plays, which is interesting from a play

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<v Speaker 1>caller too.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, well, I think what he's saying is the job

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<v Speaker 2>of an offensive offensive coordinator is not to wow everybody

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<v Speaker 2>with your play design and your play calling. Improve that

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<v Speaker 2>no matter who you ghet the ball to, you can

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<v Speaker 2>make you can run an offense. It's not about you,

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<v Speaker 2>even though it is yours. And that was important to

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<v Speaker 2>him that this is his, whether good or bad, it

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<v Speaker 2>the buck stops with him. The job is to get

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<v Speaker 2>the ball to your best playmakers as much as possible,

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<v Speaker 2>and especially in key moments. And he said at one

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<v Speaker 2>point that when he's in a game, he has a

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<v Speaker 2>play calling you know, the play call sheet that they

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<v Speaker 2>all hold up on the back. He has boxes for

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<v Speaker 2>those players and he can look at that and go, Okay,

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<v Speaker 2>we haven't done this to him. We need to get

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<v Speaker 2>the ball to him this many times. We need to

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<v Speaker 2>get to him, you know what I'm saying. So it's

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<v Speaker 2>a reminder to him to get the ball in the

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<v Speaker 2>hands of and when you have Mike Evans and Chris

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<v Speaker 2>Godwin and Rashad White and Kate Ott and even it's

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<v Speaker 2>a good idea, right yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, And even he was saying it almost didn't matter

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<v Speaker 1>what the defenses would be or the coverages would be.

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<v Speaker 1>That it was like, sometimes sometimes you're just gonna get

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<v Speaker 1>You're gonna try and get it to them. Who cares

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<v Speaker 1>what they're doing. We want to get it into our

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<v Speaker 1>play caller's hands, which is great. And one of those

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<v Speaker 1>players that he hopes is maybe making some plays for

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<v Speaker 1>him is Baker Mayfield because they do have some familiarity

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<v Speaker 1>with each other. Right.

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<v Speaker 2>Baker Mayfield was claimed by the Rams in that twenty

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<v Speaker 2>twenty two season where Liam Cohen was the Rams offensive coordinator.

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<v Speaker 2>He wasn't a play caller. That was the year after

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<v Speaker 2>they won the Super Bowl. Matt Stafford got hurt, Cooper

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<v Speaker 2>Cupp got hurt, They started four different quarterbacks. It was

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<v Speaker 2>just kind of a lost season offensively, and by the

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<v Speaker 2>time they claimed Baker off waivers in early December, they

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<v Speaker 2>weren't having a lot of fun, and Liam said Baker

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<v Speaker 2>immediately brought the fun back to the whole team, he

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<v Speaker 2>brought competitiveness back on the practice field, and those two

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<v Speaker 2>in a pretty short amount of time formed a pretty

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<v Speaker 2>good relationship. And so Liam coming here, he said it

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<v Speaker 2>was one of the attractions that he had a shot.

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<v Speaker 2>Now he's the potential to work with Baker Mayfield because

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<v Speaker 2>as we know, he's a pending free agent, so a

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<v Speaker 2>new contract has to be done before that happens. But

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<v Speaker 2>I think Liam came here with an optimism that it

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<v Speaker 2>would happen. And of course Baker has said on multiplications

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<v Speaker 2>that he likes it here and would like to stay here.

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<v Speaker 2>So hopefully they can work that out because that was

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<v Speaker 2>a draw for Liam Cohen.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and then I know, but not only is he

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<v Speaker 1>going to be planning to put Baker in the best spot,

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<v Speaker 1>he definitely does still want to continue the emphasis on

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<v Speaker 1>the run game that the team had been working on

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<v Speaker 1>and the growth in that area. So what did you

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<v Speaker 1>hear about how he wants to continue the growth there?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, Dave Canalis wanted to have a balanced offense, and

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<v Speaker 2>to his credit, he did in terms of play calling.

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<v Speaker 2>He kept it very bounced and he stuck to his

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<v Speaker 2>word that he would not abandon the run. But at

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<v Speaker 2>the end of the day, the Bucks run offense was

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<v Speaker 2>still at the bottom of the league in terms of

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<v Speaker 2>yards per game. So how do you fix that. There's

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<v Speaker 2>a number of ways, but one I found intriguing that

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<v Speaker 2>Liam Cohen said that hopefully the Bucks could get to

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<v Speaker 2>is giving the quarterback and the center a little bit

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<v Speaker 2>more autonomy at the line of scrimmage before the snap.

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<v Speaker 2>So you have a lot of plays that he said,

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<v Speaker 2>were on a can, which means you have on the

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<v Speaker 2>front of the can, like a can of soda. On

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<v Speaker 2>the front of the can, you have the play you

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<v Speaker 2>want to run on the back of the can. There's

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<v Speaker 2>a companion play that you can go to that one instead,

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<v Speaker 2>and the Rams have that on ninety five percent of

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<v Speaker 2>their plays. Liam said he didn't know if how soon

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<v Speaker 2>the Bucks could get to that, but if you can

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<v Speaker 2>have your quarterback out there recognizing defenses, understanding what the

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<v Speaker 2>defenses are trying to do to you, and being able

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<v Speaker 2>to put your run plays against better looks, that will

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<v Speaker 2>improve the game. So it may take a little while

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<v Speaker 2>to get there, but that could help quite a bit.

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<v Speaker 1>And I know you mentioned that Liam Cohen, You mentioned

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<v Speaker 1>Kentucky and the Rams, and some of these stops tell

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<v Speaker 1>us a little bit about his path to this point.

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<v Speaker 2>So he had three years on Sean mcvay's staff, I

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<v Speaker 2>think there would be eight twenty eighteen to twenty twenty

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<v Speaker 2>and a couple positions like assistant wide receiver, assistant quarterback,

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<v Speaker 2>and then he got hired by Kentucky to be their

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<v Speaker 2>offensive coordinator, which is something he always wanted to do,

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<v Speaker 2>have his own offense call plays. But then the Rams

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<v Speaker 2>were interested in hiring him back, and he went back

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<v Speaker 2>to Los Angeles in twenty twenty two because, as he said,

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<v Speaker 2>he wanted to help out his friend Sean McVay and

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<v Speaker 2>he wanted to be involved in that. But when he

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<v Speaker 2>was there in Los Angeles, he realized what he was missing,

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<v Speaker 2>that he wanted to be a play caller, that he

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<v Speaker 2>wanted to be running an offense that was his. So

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<v Speaker 2>when he got a shot to go back to Kentucky,

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<v Speaker 2>that's why he did that. But now this opportunity arrives

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<v Speaker 2>and it's really his lifelong dream to be calling plays

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<v Speaker 2>in the NFL.

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<v Speaker 1>And one of the interesting things about the Bucks offense

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<v Speaker 1>in recent years is how Chris Godwin has been used

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<v Speaker 1>outside slot. We've seen he can have success anywhere. He's

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<v Speaker 1>an incredibly talented wide receiver. What insight have we gotten

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<v Speaker 1>into how this new offensive coordinator wants to use it.

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<v Speaker 2>It looks like Liam Cohen will want to use Godwin

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<v Speaker 2>a lot more like he was in the Tom Brady

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<v Speaker 2>era when he was really a weapon in the slot.

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<v Speaker 2>And he just says he can be such a weapon

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<v Speaker 2>in there. And as you said, last year, Dave Canalis

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<v Speaker 2>decided to use him a lot of different ways and

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<v Speaker 2>a lot more outside and it still worked. He still

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<v Speaker 2>had roughly the same amount of yards as a year before.

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<v Speaker 2>But if you look at some of the numbers, you

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<v Speaker 2>can see that he's had so much, so much success

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<v Speaker 2>working out of the slot. And look at the percentages

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<v Speaker 2>in the percentage calumn there, that's the number of percentage

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<v Speaker 2>of plays that Chris ran out of the slot or

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<v Speaker 2>tied against the line, because we know what a great

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<v Speaker 2>run blocker he is when he's there. See the big

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<v Speaker 2>drop from seventy two percent to thirty nine percent, And

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<v Speaker 2>if you look at it, his catch percentage went way

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<v Speaker 2>down and his yak went way down. Now, that's a

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<v Speaker 2>function of the different type of plays that you're running.

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<v Speaker 2>But if you look at that year in twenty twenty one,

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<v Speaker 2>when he caught seventy percent, i mean, played seventy percent

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<v Speaker 2>in the slaughter tight almost eighty yards per game and

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<v Speaker 2>six orn and thirteen yak, which was among league leaders.

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<v Speaker 2>That's the kind of thing that Chris Godwin can do.

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<v Speaker 2>And Liam doesn't have to just guess from looking at

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<v Speaker 2>a few pieces of tape. He could look at three

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<v Speaker 2>years and know that this can work.

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<v Speaker 1>That's going to be interesting. Well, not only did the

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<v Speaker 1>Bucks hire a new offensive coordinator, but they had a

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<v Speaker 1>couple guys having fun at the Pro Bowl and make

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<v Speaker 1>it some making some moves. At the Pro Bowl, we

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<v Speaker 1>had some stars out there. We had Baker Mayfield and

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<v Speaker 1>Tristan Wurf's, who of course are just little besties stepbrothers

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<v Speaker 1>photo re enactment. I loved everything about watching the two

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<v Speaker 1>of them have so much fun at the Pro Bowl games.

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<v Speaker 1>And then they both did really well in their respective

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<v Speaker 1>areas that we saw Baker just lighten it up in

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<v Speaker 1>the game. And then we also saw and of course

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<v Speaker 1>hears him getting the offensive MVP of the games, and

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<v Speaker 1>we saw Tristan using that strength that we know him

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<v Speaker 1>so well for to help the NFC win the Move

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<v Speaker 1>the Chains event.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, the move chains when where they had to move

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<v Speaker 2>all this weight off and then go to the other

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<v Speaker 2>side and pull the sled together. Tristan was the first

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<v Speaker 2>one done. He was just waiting on the other side

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<v Speaker 2>for his other guys. But then they managed to win,

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<v Speaker 2>and then Baker won the precision precision Passing event. And

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<v Speaker 2>then it was a little bit confusing to me when

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<v Speaker 2>I was looking back at it, because I saw the

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<v Speaker 2>end of the flag football game and I saw the

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<v Speaker 2>score and the NFC seemed to win, and then I

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<v Speaker 2>look at the box score in the AFC one. But

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<v Speaker 2>it's because it was a composite score, so you get

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<v Speaker 2>points for winning the different events, right, Yes, I didn't

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<v Speaker 2>quite quite realize that at first. So, because he won

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<v Speaker 2>Precision Passing and got the NC a bunch of points,

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<v Speaker 2>and then he had some big touchdown passes in the

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<v Speaker 2>flag football game, he was the overall of MV which

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<v Speaker 2>is cool. It's kind of like a nice little cap

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<v Speaker 2>on this comeback season. Yes, for a Baker who exceeded

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<v Speaker 2>almost everybody's externally expectations, during the season and then you see, oh,

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<v Speaker 2>Baker Mayfields in the Pro Bowl, and then yeah, Baker

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<v Speaker 2>Mayfield's in the Pro Bowl. He's also the Star.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I love that. That was great for him and

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<v Speaker 1>for Tristan as well. So you know, we've hired the

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<v Speaker 1>offensive coordinator. Another open spot we ended up having to

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<v Speaker 1>fill with special teams coordinator as Keith Armstrong retired. So

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<v Speaker 1>where do we kind of stand at this point with

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<v Speaker 1>that job and what his retirement could mean.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, the Bucks have cast a wide net, just like

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<v Speaker 2>they did with the offensive coordinate position. They interviewed six

0:09:57.200 --> 0:10:03.280
<v Speaker 2>people Giants former Giants coordinator Thomas McGahee for former Titans

0:10:03.320 --> 0:10:06.440
<v Speaker 2>coordinator Craig Ackerman. I'm trying to do this for a memory. Yes,

0:10:06.720 --> 0:10:15.000
<v Speaker 2>a Saint's assistant, Phil Galliano, former Seahawks coordinator Larry Izzo Iowa,

0:10:15.040 --> 0:10:18.439
<v Speaker 2>the University of Iowa, special teams coordinator LeVar Woods, and

0:10:18.520 --> 0:10:20.679
<v Speaker 2>of course the internal Canada Keith Tandy, who's done good

0:10:20.679 --> 0:10:24.400
<v Speaker 2>things for the Buccaneers the last four years. Now, there

0:10:24.400 --> 0:10:26.760
<v Speaker 2>are reports that the Buccaneers are close to a decision

0:10:26.800 --> 0:10:29.600
<v Speaker 2>on that, but we don't have any anything official on that,

0:10:29.640 --> 0:10:31.120
<v Speaker 2>so we kind of have to stop there, but these

0:10:31.120 --> 0:10:32.440
<v Speaker 2>are the candidates we've talked about so far.

0:10:32.480 --> 0:10:33.959
<v Speaker 1>All right, well, that's going to be really interesting to

0:10:34.000 --> 0:10:36.560
<v Speaker 1>see how that shakes out. Special teams was an interesting

0:10:36.600 --> 0:10:38.840
<v Speaker 1>group to watch. I mean, Chase McLaughlin had a great

0:10:38.880 --> 0:10:43.600
<v Speaker 1>year and Jake Camarti coming into some talented guys.

0:10:43.679 --> 0:10:43.839
<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

0:10:43.920 --> 0:10:46.160
<v Speaker 2>One thing though, that coach Bole said in his day

0:10:46.200 --> 0:10:49.040
<v Speaker 2>after the season into press conferences that we want more

0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:53.320
<v Speaker 2>out of our return game. And Devin Tompkins was like

0:10:54.000 --> 0:10:56.079
<v Speaker 2>fifteenth in the NFC or in the NFL and punt

0:10:56.120 --> 0:10:57.800
<v Speaker 2>return average, so that was fine. But the one thing

0:10:57.800 --> 0:11:01.280
<v Speaker 2>the Buccaneers haven't had any very long time is that

0:11:01.400 --> 0:11:04.080
<v Speaker 2>explosive play on either punts or kickoff returns. You see

0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:07.160
<v Speaker 2>here the last kickoff return touchdown or punt return touchdown

0:11:07.320 --> 0:11:10.240
<v Speaker 2>for the Bucks was twenty ten. That's the biggest draft

0:11:10.280 --> 0:11:13.360
<v Speaker 2>in the NFC NFL right now. As you can see, Wow,

0:11:13.480 --> 0:11:15.480
<v Speaker 2>most teams have had one in the last few years.

0:11:15.480 --> 0:11:17.800
<v Speaker 2>So that's interesting. Some of that I think is luck.

0:11:18.000 --> 0:11:20.800
<v Speaker 2>I mean, yes, you just didn't quite break one. But

0:11:21.440 --> 0:11:24.280
<v Speaker 2>that's something that the Bucks would obviously like to add occasionally,

0:11:24.640 --> 0:11:27.640
<v Speaker 2>a really big explosive play on punter kickoff return.

0:11:27.679 --> 0:11:29.760
<v Speaker 1>So I know we're also going to each week here

0:11:30.080 --> 0:11:32.960
<v Speaker 1>on this show look ahead to the draft and especially

0:11:33.080 --> 0:11:35.560
<v Speaker 1>the first round pick and what we think is a

0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:38.720
<v Speaker 1>potential position that they could address at that spot. So

0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:40.920
<v Speaker 1>I know that we talked about a different one this

0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:42.520
<v Speaker 1>last show that today we're going to talk about the

0:11:42.640 --> 0:11:45.360
<v Speaker 1>safety position. So how much do you see this being

0:11:45.440 --> 0:11:47.480
<v Speaker 1>something that they might address that high in the draft.

0:11:47.880 --> 0:11:51.000
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I don't know first round because if you look

0:11:51.040 --> 0:11:54.240
<v Speaker 2>at the prospects available, the safety position isn't really very

0:11:54.240 --> 0:11:56.600
<v Speaker 2>top heavy, and there's some other needs and Bucks might address,

0:11:56.640 --> 0:11:59.920
<v Speaker 2>but maybe early on Day two because you really don't

0:11:59.920 --> 0:12:03.000
<v Speaker 2>have a lot settled there. Obviously, you have an All Pro,

0:12:03.080 --> 0:12:04.880
<v Speaker 2>first team All Pro. It's a good place to start

0:12:04.880 --> 0:12:07.160
<v Speaker 2>with Antoine Winfield. But at the other spot it was

0:12:07.200 --> 0:12:12.040
<v Speaker 2>really by committee. We used four different guys at safety.

0:12:12.520 --> 0:12:14.800
<v Speaker 2>Antoine pretty much played every snap, of course, because you've

0:12:14.800 --> 0:12:16.360
<v Speaker 2>never take him off the field. But if you look here,

0:12:16.520 --> 0:12:18.560
<v Speaker 2>you had Ryan Neil, who is the main starter, but

0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:20.720
<v Speaker 2>not the entire season. He was good in run support

0:12:20.760 --> 0:12:23.360
<v Speaker 2>for the most part. D Delaney is a ballhawk. That's

0:12:23.360 --> 0:12:26.080
<v Speaker 2>why they brought him in in some place. Keava Meriwether

0:12:26.200 --> 0:12:28.360
<v Speaker 2>was the undrafted rookie is a good tackler out there,

0:12:28.440 --> 0:12:31.160
<v Speaker 2>and then they even tried Zion McCollum because that allowed

0:12:31.160 --> 0:12:33.160
<v Speaker 2>them to put their three best cover guys on the

0:12:33.160 --> 0:12:35.680
<v Speaker 2>field at the same time. But I don't think there's

0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:38.360
<v Speaker 2>necessarily one answer there. And then if you also look

0:12:38.400 --> 0:12:40.960
<v Speaker 2>at the fact that the Bucks have to get Winfield

0:12:40.960 --> 0:12:43.040
<v Speaker 2>in their contract, now, I think that they probably will,

0:12:43.400 --> 0:12:45.800
<v Speaker 2>but that has to be done. Ryan Neil's contract is up,

0:12:45.840 --> 0:12:48.560
<v Speaker 2>de Delaney's contract is up, and Zion McCollum is likely

0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:51.840
<v Speaker 2>to spend most of next year at cornerback, so you

0:12:51.840 --> 0:12:56.160
<v Speaker 2>could really use another impact player and guy that can

0:12:56.200 --> 0:12:57.880
<v Speaker 2>play every down in safety. I think, all.

0:12:57.840 --> 0:12:59.120
<v Speaker 1>Right, well, that is going to do it for us.

0:12:59.120 --> 0:13:01.920
<v Speaker 1>On this edition of Bucks Insider presented by Verizon, stay

0:13:01.960 --> 0:13:03.880
<v Speaker 1>tuned for all of the coverage of our new offensive

0:13:03.880 --> 0:13:05.720
<v Speaker 1>coordinator and some of the other positions the Bucks are

0:13:05.720 --> 0:13:09.240
<v Speaker 1>still looking to fill. On buccaneers dot Com m