Stars align for Buccaneers and Mike McDaniel after major domino falls
Everything might be lining up for the Buccaneers to secure former Miami Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel.
Todd Bowles and his staff enter 2026 under the gun, as they search for two coordinators and a few assistants after the decision to let five coaches go at the end of the 2025 season.
Offensive coordinator is the most important of all the open positions, by far. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a ready-made offense with good-to-great players at key spots, and there’s a good chance Mike Evans runs it back, which would make the unit even more potent.
It’s why the Bucs’ pursuit of Mike McDaniel is so important. McDaniel is one of the best offensive minds in the game, and while he didn’t work out as head coach of the Miami Dolphins, there are plenty of logical reasons why he’d work as OC in Tampa Bay.
As expected, the Bucs are in competition for McDaniel, and while they are an attractive spot, the Detroit Lions were just a little bit better, and they clearly had interest based on the decision to interview him last week.
Well, things change quickly in the NFL. As of Monday, the Lions hired former Arizona Cardinals OC Drew Petzing to fill their void, and ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reported Detroit didn’t see McDaniels “as a fit”.
Now, the Buccaneers should be considered frontrunners for McDaniel.
Bucs climb to the top of the pile for Mike McDaniel after Lions go a different route
Even though McDaniel interviewed with four different teams for a head coaching gig, the Bucs are now his best option after the Lions went with Petzing. Again, the Buccaneers have a top-10 offense on paper, but the Lions had a slight advantage over them due to the consistency we’ve seen over the last three seasons.
Jared Goff and Co. were once again a top offense in 2025, but this time it was without Ben Johnson. That’s as strong an endorsement as one can get for the pieces in place. On the other hand, the Bucs’ offense fell apart as the season went on.
On top of that, McDaniel’s four head coach interviews were with the Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, and Cleveland Browns. Two of those teams, the Titans and Falcons, have made their respective decisions at head coach, slimming down McDaniel’s options even more.
Even if McDaniel were to join his old buddy Robert Saleh in Nashville, there’s nowhere near the same amount of talent to work with as there is in Tampa Bay. The Browns have issues on offense, too, including no clear direction at quarterback and a bad salary cap situation. Lastly, Kevin Stefanski will call plays in Atlanta, rendering McDaniel moot.
The Ravens obviously offer Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and Zay Flowers, which is easily a package any offensive mind would love to have, but again, the Ravens’ offense isn’t as well-rounded as the Bucs’, and McDaniel would have head coaching responsibilities in Baltimore. Meaning, he’d also have to find the right guys to run the defense and figure out the roster, whereas it’s a plug-and-play situation with the Bucs.
He’ll be responsible for getting Baker Mayfield and Co. back on track, which is fair to assume he’ll do. And the bonus is he could even take over as Tampa’s head coach in 2027 if Bowles fails to bounce back and show 2025 was more a matter of circumstances than actual product.
Money shouldn’t be an obstacle, either, as the Buccaneers were ready to make Liam Coen the highest-paid OC in NFL history before he bolted for the Jacksonville Jaguars last offseason.
Great players, a great city, and a boatload of money? Those all sound like excellent reasons for McDaniel and the Buccaneers to join forces, and he should recognize the fact that Tampa Bay is his best shot at climbing the NFL ranks once again.
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