Keenan McCardell won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now he has in consideration to rejoin the franchise and help it chase more championships.
On Thursday at the AdventHealth Training Center, the Buccaneers interviewed McCardell for their vacant offensive coordinator position, making him the second candidate for the job. Denver Broncos Passing Game Coordinator & Quarterbacks Coach Klint Kubiak was interviewed for the same position on Wednesday.
McCardell is currently the wide receivers coach for the Minnesota Vikings, a post he has held for two seasons. He was initially hired to work on Mike Zimmer's staff and then was retained in 2022 when Kevin O'Connell replaced Zimmer as head coach. Prior to that McCardell spent four seasons (2017-20) as the Jacksonville Jaguars' wide receivers coach.
McCardell played 16 seasons as a wide receiver in the NFL, including the 2002-03 campaigns in Tampa. He won a championship ring with the Buccaneers at the end of the 2002 season, catching two touchdown passes in a 48-21 rout of the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII. In 2003, he earned his second Pro Bowl invitation after leading the Buccaneers with 84 catches for 1,174 yards and eight touchdowns. McCardell finished his playing career with 883 receptions for 11,373 yards and 63 touchdowns. He ranks 25th on the NFL's all-time receptions list.
Three years after completing his playing career, McCardell got his first shot at coaching in the NFL with Washington, the team that originally drafted him in the 12th round in 1991. He spent two seasons (2010-11) tutoring Washington's receivers before landing the same job at the University of Maryland in 2014.
Among the receivers McCardell coached in Minnesota was Justin Jefferson, who led the NFL in receptions (128) and receiving yards (1,809) in 2022. The Vikings offense ranked sixth in passing yards, seventh in total yards and eighth in points scored this past season as the team finished 13-4 and won the NFC North.
