Buccaneers OC Liam Coen addresses the team's biggest issue over the last two years

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl in 2020 with not just the greatest quarterback to ever lace them up in Tom Brady, but they also had an effective running game to complement with the passing attack.  

The running game was solid again in 2021, as the Bucs fell one long bomb against the Los Angeles Rams short of a possible trip to their second straight NFC Championship game. 

However, things fell completely apart on the ground in Brady's last season in 2022, and they haven't been right since.  The Bucs have finished dead last in the league each of the last two seasons in both total rushing yards and rushing yards per attempt.  They finished last in rushing touchdowns in 2022 and 29th in 2023.  

Given that, it's pretty remarkable they've managed to win the NFC South during both of those seasons even with the division being a weak one.  

Two big questions remain: why have the Bucs struggled to run the ball and what will new offensive coordinator Liam Coen do to try to fix that?  Coen addressed those when he met with the media on Monday morning. 

"Some diversity in terms of giving these guys different ways of hitting blocks," Coen said.  "Whether it's the mid zone, the wide zone, the tight zone, duo, gap with pullers, perimeter runs.  Defenses are too good to say that we're going to line up and run a few runs.  

"We have to give these guys a toolbox, and also that goes along with giving them multiple plays in the huddle. And that might be two, [or] that might be three options to be able to get to in terms of what the defense is presenting.  We'll let's change the math and run away from numbers, or gain the numbers back in our favor.  If we get man coverage, let's get to a man beater.  Those are things that, it ultimately puts a lot more on the guys, but I think they're ready for it."

So it sounds like Coen is going to give options for players to read the situations and make the calls with multiple play options depending on what they're facing from the defense.  That's probably nothing new in the league or for the Buccaneers.  

What's more likely is that the Bucs simply haven't been talented enough on their offensive line, particularly at their interior positions, and coaches have had to try to figure out how to navigate that challenge.  Often times the X's and O's don't matter if you don't have the Jimmies and Joes. 

The Bucs have a new face in the offensive line room in first round pick Graham Barton out of Duke.  If he can be the player the front office expects him to be, then the Bucs' run game between the tackles should take a sizeable step forward in 2024 from his presence alone.