Liam Coen only the latest to leave Bucs ‘jilted at the altar’

With one final audible that resonated from Trinity to Treasure Island, Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen joined a notorious faction that includes Bill Parcells and Bo Jackson.

Henceforth, count Coen among those prominent players or coaches to leave the local franchise hanging out to dry.

One day after withdrawing his name from consideration for the Jaguars coaching job to remain in Tampa Bay as one of the NFL’s highest-paid coordinators, Coen secretly flew to Jacksonville on Thursday and agreed to become Jags coach, the Tampa Bay Times reported. The sudden about-face leaves the Bucs seeking their third offensive coordinator in as many seasons.

It also leaves Tampa Bay in a familiar embarrassing spot — as the once-glowing groom jilted by a runaway bride.

Anyone with a creamsicle-infused wardrobe can attest the Bucs have been spurned on a national stage since the hair-metal era. We’ve become adept at wiping eggshell off our collective countenance. Coen is only the latest to ditch us so conspicuously.

Here are the others. Read ’em and wail, for old times’ sake.

Bo Jackson, 1986

Auburn tailback Bo Jackson, right, stands with NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, center, and former Jets first-round pick Freeman McNeil. Jackson, the 1985 Heisman Trophy winner, was the Bucs’ first-round pick in 1986 but chose not to sign with the franchise. [ RICHARD DREW | Associated Press (1986) ]

Chalk this one up to inept — or at least unscrupulous — ownership. The 1985 Heisman Trophy winner and arguably greatest two-sport star of his era, Jackson was flown to Tampa by then-Bucs owner Hugh Culverhouse for a visit and physical, which turned out to be an NCAA violation.

It cost Jackson the second half of his college baseball season at Auburn, prompting him to vow not to sign with the Bucs if they drafted him No. 1 overall. They did anyway, and Jackson signed with the Kansas City Royals, who picked him in the fourth round of the 1986 Major League Baseball draft.

Bill Parcells, 1991

Former Bucs owner Hugh Culverhouse said he felt “jilted at the altar” after the former Giants coach spurned an offer to come to Tampa Bay in late 1991. [ Times (1991) ]

Bedecked in his trademark creamsicle blazer, Culverhouse was poised to publicly announce Parcells as his new coach before Parcells had a last-minute change of heart. Less than a year earlier, Parcells had led the Giants to a victory in Super Bowl 25 at Tampa Stadium, then walked away, making him the most coveted free-agent coach on the market.

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Culverhouse acknowledged he had guaranteed Parcells a five-year, $6.5 million contract (plus benefits) that would have given him complete control of football operations. “We were all set to execute the contract and we now feel as though we were jilted at the altar,” Culverhouse said in a hastily-called news conference at One Buc Place on Dec. 29. 1991. “I’m still at the altar, and for what it’s worth, there was no honeymoon.”

Bill Parcells, 2002

Giants coach Bill Parcells is carried on the shoulders of Lawrence Taylor (56) and Carl Banks (58) after his team’s 20-19 win against the Bills in Super Bowl 25 at Tampa Stadium. Parcells twice jilted the Bucs, who offered him a lucrative opportunity to coach the team in 1991 and 2002. [ ED REINKE | Associated Press, 1991 ]

The Bucs’ second courtship with Parcells was more polarizing than the one a decade earlier. In a timeline that seemed dubious at best, the team reportedly had a tentative agreement on a five-year deal with Parcells before it even fired Tony Dungy, then the franchise’s most successful coach. Dungy was dismissed on Jan. 14, 2002; less than a week later, Parcells spurned the franchise again. “I’m not coaching anymore — period,” he told The Record of Bergen County, N.J. “I can’t make the commitment.” The Bucs instead turned to Jon Gruden, who led them to a Super Bowl title the following season. In 2003, Parcells was lured from retirement by the Cowboys.

Chip Kelly, 2012

Oregon coach Chip Kelly leads his team onto the field before a game against Missouri State. Months later, Kelly would turn down the Bucs’ offer to become their head coach following a last-minute change of heart. [ DON RYAN | Associated Press, 2011 ]

After leading Oregon to a 12-2 record and No. 4 national ranking in 2011, Kelly — then one of college football’s hottest names — appeared on the cusp of a deal to coach the Bucs before an 11th-hour change of heart. “I enjoyed meeting with the Glazer family and (then) general manager Mark Dominik,” Kelly said in a statement. “But after numerous discussions, I concluded that I have some unfinished business to complete at the University of Oregon.”

Kelly spent one more season at Oregon, leading the Ducks to their third consecutive 12-win season before becoming head coach of the Eagles. After being spurned, the Bucs settled on Greg Schiano.

Other courtships never consummated

Florida coach Steve Spurrier seriously considered an offer to coach the Bucs following the 1995 season before deciding to remain in Gainesville. [ ANDREW COHOON | AP (1992) ]

Bill Walsh, 1991: After dismissing Ray Perkins late in the 1990 season, Culverhouse reportedly offered Walsh — who had won three Super Bowls with the 49ers before retiring to the broadcast booth — $2 million to become both coach and general manager in Tampa Bay. Walsh stuck with broadcasting, and Tampa Bay took the interim coach tag off Richard Williamson, who went 3-13 in his lone season in 1991.

Steve Spurrier, 1996: The first quarterback in Bucs history, Spurrier had long dreamed of someday coaching the Bucs and was courted heavily by the Glazers after leading Florida to a 12-1 season (and third consecutive SEC title) in 1995. In the end, Spurrier chose to remain in Gainesville, where he won a national title the following season.

Brett Favre, 2008: Gruden, then the Bucs coach, thought he had a deal to lure Favre from Green Bay, which was ready to embark on the Aaron Rodgers era. But the Jets pounced in the 11th hour and worked out a deal to bring the eventual Hall of Famer to New York.

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