Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk summarized it best: As the late, great Michael Corleone once said, "It's not personal. It's strictly business." That sentiment is certainly echoing through the halls of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they grapple with the unexpected departure of offensive coordinator Liam Coen for the Jacksonville Jaguars head-coaching gig.
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While some in the Bucs organization may have felt slighted by what appeared to be a sudden and secretive exit, Coen, as Florio pointed out, doesn't view it in the same light. To him, it was all about business—and family.
At the end of the day, Coen's move to Jacksonville came down to an opportunity he simply couldn't pass up.
"It came down to family and business and a dream that was right in front of you," Coen told Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. "Not maybe down the road. How do you say no to that?"
And, in true professional fashion, Coen made the call, deciding that what lay ahead was too great to ignore. "It started to become more clear with every hour that this was an opportunity you just can't pass up, for so many different reasons," he explained. "You ultimately wanna do truly what's best for you and your family."
Florio adds a key point to this—the claim from Coen that he felt no extra pressure from his previous contract with the Bucs, which would've made him the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the NFL.
"No, not really," Coen said, when asked about the unenforceable side deal keeping him from interviewing for other jobs, including the Jaguars. Yet, as Florio observes, it's hard to ignore the optics of Coen's departure—he verbally agreed to stay with the Bucs before secretly making his move to Jacksonville last week.
And while it could have been a simple case of pursuing a better offer, it's also possible that his stealthy exit was a response to the Jaguars' need to satisfy the Rooney Rule, which led them to interview Patrick Graham before Coen's hiring was confirmed.
The situation, as Florio points out, doesn't entirely track with Coen's prior remarks about Jacksonville being a dream opportunity. He had previously withdrawn his name from consideration, only to reconsider once the Jaguars made a change at the GM position—goodbye Trent Baalke, hello fresh start.
When asked during his introductory press conference whether Baalke's departure was a factor in his decision, Coen insisted, "This was completely about an opportunity to work for an owner and a group of people with a group of players that needed some help. And that's what coaching is, right? That's what coaching is all about is trying to go help people and be around people."
Florio, however, makes an interesting point. While Coen may have downplayed the importance of the Jaguars' front-office shake-up, it's hard to ignore the timing. It may not have been the deciding factor, but it certainly could've been a factor.
Regardless, the dust has settled. Coen is the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and as team owner Shad Khan put it during the press conference, "He's our guy and we got him. Simple as that."
It certainly didn't feel simple while it was happening, but as Florio wisely notes, what's done is done. The Jaguars are moving forward, and the complexities of the situation are already fading into the rearview mirror.
