"He left on horrible terms" "Stop being petty": NFL fans react as Bucs shut down Liam Coen from poaching their coaches

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers blocked another interview request from former offensive coordinator Liam Coen.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the latest situation on Friday: the Buccaneers refused to let assistant offensive line coach Brian Picucci interview with the Jaguars. This followed a similar block on Kevin Carberry's potential move.

Coen had originally agreed to return to Tampa Bay with what was reportedly the highest-paid coordinator contract in NFL history. However, he jumped ship to Jacksonville.

Social media was quickly divided into camps of support and criticism. The first wave of reactions carried a tone of frustrated confusion.

"Can you blame the Bucs? He left on horrible terms," one fan said.

"Maybe he should have considered all of that before burning a bridge…." one fan tweeted.

"Honestly. Super fair," another fan wrote.

The next set of reactions showed fans calling for professional courtesy.

"I get the frustration, but stop being petty. If they are interested in the job, let them interview," one fan commented.

"This level of petty is hilarious to watch from the outside," another fan wrote.

"It's getting testy!" one fan said.

"The Bucs are so soft, no wonder why no one wants to coach for them and their dwindling fanbase haha," a fan tweeted.

Liam Coen's coaching staff blockade

Jacksonville Jaguars Introduce Liam Coen as New Head Coach - Source: Getty

The Buccaneers aren't just being difficult. NFL rules create narrow pathways for coaching moves. Liam Coen can only circumvent these blocks by promoting an assistant to an offensive coordinator.

Coen addressed the situation.

“Look, the opportunity to coach in Tampa was a phenomenal one to get my feet wet in the NFL as the offensive coordinator, and I thank them so much for that opportunity," Coen said on Monday, via SI. "As you start doing research and gaining more information as you go, it started to become more clear with every hour that this was an opportunity that you just can't pass up, for so many different reasons.

"You ultimately want to do truly what's best for you and your family, and that's what this came down to."

His focus remains on transforming Jacksonville, a team that suffered an NFL-record 10 one-score losses in 2024.

"This isn't a four-win team," Coen said.