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Bill O'Brien, the former Houston Texans head coach and University of Alabama offensive assistant, has officially been hired by the New England Patriots as offensive coordinator. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may have wanted to do the same.
They recently fired Byron Leftwich from that position and have an opening and a lot of questions on that side of the ball. Ultimately, the Patriots got to him first, but Rick Stroud believes the Buccaneers have had a long interest in O'Brien.
Stroud tweeted:
"Bucs were hoping to hire Bill O’Brien last year if Byron Leftwich got the Jaguars HC job. Removes a strong candidate who may have influenced Tom Brady to return to the Bucs."
Leftwich didn't get that Jacksonville Jaguars job like Stroud mentioned, but he's not with the Buccaneers now regardless. He also believes this makes it a little bit harder for the Bucs to convince Tom Brady to return.
With Brady both 45 and likely leaving and a lot of other holes on offense, whatever coordinator they hire will have a tall task. Unfortunately, it won't be the one guy they reportedly wanted.
Offensive coordinator options for Tampa Bay Buccaneers after Bill O'Brien went to New England
Despite the disappointment that they couldn't get Bill O'Brien, there are other options for their newly vacated offensive coordinator position.
Joe Brady, the quarterbacks coach for the Buffalo Bills, was an offensive coordinator with the Carolina Panthers and is a name many teams are throwing around right now.
Though he seems to be taking a bit of a hiatus, fired Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury has an offensive background and could be a good coordinator for the Buccaneers.
Atlanta Falcons quarterbacks coach Charles London has been interviewed by teams, so he is another name to watch. Miami Dolphins wide receivers coach and former wide receiver Wes Welker is an interesting candidate as well.
Bill O'Brien may be off the market, but there is a wealth of offensive coaches in the NFL that could be the Buccaneers' next coordinator. The problem is that they really need to nail this hire for their offense to be remotely good next year.
