HEAD COACH TODD BOWLES

(Opening Statement)

"Good afternoon, guys. Obviously, we are here to introduce Liam and Ashley Coen —Ford Coen for Ashley. We had a long search. Again, we went through a lot of quality candidates. A lot of them. There are a bunch of good coaches out there. Liam best fits what we want to do offensively. There will be some similarities, but there will be some differences, as well. [He has a] very bright mind, very bright young mind, understands football inside and out, and we're really happy to have him. Without further ado, he can tell you a lot more… Liam Coen."

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR LIAM COEN

(Opening Statement)

"Thank you, guys. Really appreciate you guys coming out today. First of all, I would like to thank the Glazer Family for giving me this opportunity. Coach [Todd] Bowles, Jason Licht, Mike Greenberg and John Spytek for the opportunity here to come to Tampa Bay to be the offensive coordinator. I would also like to thank Mark Stoops at the University of Kentucky [for] giving me an opportunity to go call plays in the SEC and really kind of get my feet wet in doing it for the first time. I would also like to thank Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams organization for essentially giving me my Ph.D. in coaching. Learning under those guys – and what a first-class organization – but couldn't be happier to be here."

(On his mantra of 'players over plays')

"I was taught in times of crisis, you think players, not plays. It's not about what maybe I like, or the play that I might like the most, but what is going to get the ball into our best players' hands. What can our guys execute at a high level, be able to go do and have confidence in? Also, in the back of my call sheet, I have a player box for multiple players. Ultimately, we want to get the ball in their hands, right now, no questions asked, the coverage is not going to change, it's not [going to] matter what happens – the ball is going to their hands right now. Because this game is a personnel game, right? And at the end of the day, it's about those guys."

(On what he likes about this situation coming in)

"This was a no-brainer for me. I mean, the opportunity to work with Baker [Mayfield], to get back with him potentially. John Wolford is in the room, who I coached with the Rams for multiple years. The skill set on the perimeter, obviously. The youth in the running back room, tight end, and one of the best tackles in the National Football League. So, this was altogether really something we could not turn away from whatsoever. This is something that we were really excited about as a family. My father lives an hour and a half from Tampa. I've spent a lot of time down here. This was just a no-brainer for us."

(On if his experience with QB Baker Mayfield)

"Baker, as you guys know, he's an ignitor and that's the type of guy that you want to be around. He came into our organization at a really difficult time. A time [when] we weren't having a lot of fun. He came in and made football fun for a lot of people at that time. He came in and made football competitive again at practice and he's jawing at Jalen Ramsey, and they're going at it. That was something we [had not] felt in a little while, right? It was a tough year. The opportunity to be around him potentially every day, to coach a guy that's as competitive as he is, that has that moxie, I mean, that's fun. You can't coach that, when a guy has that ability, and the ability to communicate with others, that's something that I really wanted to be around, and was very intriguing for us." 

(On what he learned from Mark Stoops' and Sean McVay's coaching styles)

"Sean… he gave me a different outlook on coaching. I had been doing it for a little while there and [I was] sitting there one afternoon as an assistant receivers coach. I [had] just gotten there, and he comes in at 6 o'clock during OTAs and says, 'Hey man, I appreciate what you're doing and I'm really glad you're here.' To get the pat on the back that you just don't typically ask for, or think is necessary in this profession, but to actually have somebody do it, you saw a little of a different lens of how football can be and coaching in general can be. He's the best communicator I've ever been around hands down. And Coach Stoops, [has] the ability to step away, but also have an organization that he trusts, that he worked really hard to [build], and to be able to step away with understanding and trusting his coaches. That was something that I really learned from Coach Stoops was, 'Man, hey, play the next play. Don't worry about it, man. It's all going to be okay, just go.' He trusted and believed, and I couldn't thank him enough for that."

(On the type of learning curve he expects for the players transitioning from former Offensive Coordinator Dave Canales' system to the new system he plans to install)

"I think it will be actually very similar in terms of some of the terminology. The run game I think will be really similar in some ways. Formations – some 'daffy' might be 'dixie' or 'double' might be 'deuce' – some of those things may be a little different, but at the end of the day, those guys [know], 'OK, well that was just this.' They can put those things together. The protections I've got to believe will be very similar in some ways. Dave [Canales] was with Shane Waldron in Seattle, so there are a lot of similarities there. I don't expect an overly difficult learning curve, but obviously, we'll want to be able to put our stamp on things and be able to do things our way, as well."

(On his commitment to incorporating the run game as a successful part of his offensive system)

"The marriage of the run and the pass is what we're striving for. We're striving for balance, but to be explosive in both the run and the pass. That's something that I honestly take a lot of pride in. I learned a lot from Sean [McVay] in terms of the run game when I first got to L.A. We understood and tried to study defense more than we tried to study ourselves – how to understand gap integrity, fits, fallbacks and things of that nature to try to be able to dissect the defense. How can we also run into better pictures? Now, we're talking about, 'Well, can we put a little more on the guys? Can we put a little bit more on the quarterback, the center and some of those guys to be able to change the play [and] get us into really advantageous looks, so that we run into better numbers and cleaner looks?' That's something that I think these guys are eager for just talking to some of them right now. They're eager for more and it's something that's our philosophy, as well."

(On Rachaad White's ability as a dual-threat running back)

"Pretty dynamic dude. I evaluated him coming out of Arizona State. We were excited about him in L.A., as well. The ability to be able to motion him out of the backfield, to line him up in empty, free release him out of the backfield – he showed that he can do some of those things. That's not easy to handle as a young back, to be able to do both the run and the pass at a pretty high level. Now, how do we get better at sticking our foot in the ground, getting vertical, being violent with our shoulder pads down and getting downhill on people? But man, he's eager. I just met him in the weight room. He's an eager dude. He's excited and wants to get back to work and run the football. He seems like he could be a good all-purpose back."

(On being a coach's son, getting into football at a young age and his relationship with his father)

"That's my best friend. He's my best friend and I grew up with a football. That's all I've ever known – unfortunately for my wife [laughs]. I don't really change a light bulb well, I don't vacuum well or change a tire unfortunately, but she can do all of those things, which is amazing. He's my best friend, like I mentioned. He was my hero. I always wanted to be who he was. I wanted to be a head football coach, or a football coach. My early years of childhood were not really playing with action figures or [Teenage Mutant] Ninja Turtles – they were figurines and footballs and drawing up plays. That's been my passion since, really, I can remember. For him to be right down the road, and now to be able to hopefully move up here, it's pretty special."

(On his career journey and bouncing back and forth between college and the NFL)

"My dream since I was a little kid was to be in the NFL. I wanted to play in the NFL – well, that didn't happen. So, I wanted to coach in the NFL – that happened. I was able to get into that opportunity. Then, to be able to go to Kentucky and call plays, have that and have the autonomy of the offense, and really be a leader of the offense and have the staff and have the players – that's a good feeling. For good or for bad, you want it to be on you. Then I go back to the Rams because an opportunity presented [itself] that we felt like we couldn't pass up. They had just won a Super Bowl. I'm an assistant position coach two years [prior] and to go back there was an honor. Well, it was a tough year and I probably misinterpreted how much I would miss calling plays. I knew what I was going there to do – I wanted to help my friend. I wanted to help an organization that gave me an opportunity. I wanted to be around Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp and those guys. Then, you go through it and it's not yours. You're in it, but it's not yours. So, the opportunity to do it at this level in the National Football League, which has been my dream since I was a little kid, to call plays here and to work for an unbelievable organization and a head coach that seems like he wants to give you that ability to do so and really kind of help harness that – what's better than that?"

(On his experience with the Los Angeles Rams working with WR Cooper Kupp and trying to design plays for him knowing that teams were going to key in on him, and how that experience will help when working with WR Mike Evans)

"That's a great question. That is something that was asked a lot and something that we had to do in L.A. a ton because we knew that that offense ran through 'Coop.' Things have changed a little bit there – he's gotten a little more help – but things ran through him and we had to be creative, whether it was by formation, alignment, where we would put him [or] how we would end up in the final formation. With three different formations – double, dixie and daffy – we just moved the 'F' in three different positions. Ultimately, at the end of the day, we have to be able to move him around by formation, but also with motion. Do we start him in the backfield? Do we bring him in the backfield and now try to shuffle him out to try and get him matched up on a 'WILL' or a nickel, or a [line]backer, or a down safety? Mike, being the size that he is [and] with his ability to track the football down the field, but also his ability to get in and out of cuts at that size, to be able to put him inside a little bit more and to be able to run some of those option routes and choice routes on the inside… I think that's a winning edge and something we would like to be able to utilize."

(On the value experienced wide receivers like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin bring to an offense and how excited that makes him to call plays)
"It's huge, man. When you have playmakers, life is a lot more fun. Like I said, you can call any play in the world but when you can call a slant, or a hitch, or an Omaha and the ball could potentially go in the end zone, or you can call go-ball and those 50-50 balls are now 80-20 or 70-30s, that's not anything I can coach. And so, when you have those type of players, the game is a lot more fun. That's ultimately what football is. It's about players, not plays. If we can put them in the position to be successful with talent, usually good things happen. I couldn't be more excited to work with those guys. They seem like really good people and workers just like I've heard [of] everyone in this building. [I'm] really excited to get to work with those guys." 

(On having a tackle like Tristan Wirfs and what it allows him to do as a play caller)

"Obviously, those guys get paid for a reason and he's a special talent. I've heard great things about him as a worker – making the adjustment from the right to the left. That's not easy to do and he did it pretty seamlessly. [I'm] really excited to get to work with him because weapons aren't just out on the perimeter, weapons are up front as well. When you have a weapon like that out front, at that position, you can utilize by pulling him around, getting him in the screen game, use him in the pin-and-pull game, whatever it is – cutting off three-techniques, and then obviously in pass protection. Weapons are all over and we have a weapon at left tackle."

(On what it was like during the interview process being interviewed by a defensive head coach)

"I just know preparing for him for multiple years was a total pain. And so, I just asked him to not do that to me all of minicamp and all of OTAs and blitz me too often. Honestly, what Coach [Todd] Bowles does, and that defense, this organization and team – I've only heard unbelievable things. And then to go against someone who is so well respected in this profession, especially on the defensive side of the ball, that's going to make us so much better, and Sundays, hopefully, will be a little bit easier when you're trying to pick up some of these pressures and understand some of the structures and try and go run the football against this defense every day. It's going to make us better and I'm just extremely thankful for the opportunity from coach."

-BUCCANEERS-