One Bucs offensive coordinator candidate could bring back a tremendous advantage that Tampa Bay wasted in 2025
The Bucs met with an offensive genius who would help turn around their offense — unless he gets a better opportunity elsewhere.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offense in 2025 fell well short of the usually dynamic and productive unit we’ve seen in recent years.
Tampa Bay struggled to generate any kind of consistent ground game. The passing attack was disjointed and overly complicated at times, and Baker Mayfield had his worst season since coming to the Bucs in the 2023 offseason.
With former offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard fired by Todd Bowles shortly after the season ended, the team has interviewed a number of candidates. However, the track history of one of those candidates matched up particularly well with a major Bucs roster strength.
Mike McDaniel could do wonders with Bucs RB Bucky Irving
Former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel interviewed with Tampa Bay on Friday for their vacant OC job.
McDaniel became a star as a member of Kyle Shanahan’s staff in San Francisco, where he helped the Niners reach the doorstep of a Super Bowl title.
But it was what he’s done in Miami that’s of particular interest here. The Dolphins drafted star running back De’Von Achane in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. McDaniel helped turn Achane into a true dual threat star. Achane toted 1838 yards from scrimmage and 12 total touchdowns on the way to Pro Bowl honors this season.
Bucky Irving is set from the same cloth as Achane. Both are excellent receivers with top end speed and an innate elusiveness in the open field. Irving showcased his skillset his rookie season for Tampa Bay in 2024. He totaled 1122 on the ground with eight scores and caught 47 passes for 392 yards.
However, it was a rough 2025 for Irving, who missed two months with shoulder and foot injuries. But even when he was back on the field, Tampa Bay struggled to get him going the rest of the season.
McDaniel is garnering plenty of interest and very well could get snapped up as a head coach by one of a number of teams still looking for one, including the Las Vegas Raiders, who hold the number one pick in the draft and likely will select Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza.
But if McDaniel doesn’t get that opportunity and is looking for a stop to prove himself again for a year, Tampa Bay could be a match made in heaven for the two sides.
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