The day after the Green Bay Packers were kicked out of the playoffs by the New York Giants, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have sought the Packers' permission to interview their offensive coordinator Joe Philbin for a head coaching position according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen. The Green Bay Packers must give their permission, so this is mostly a formality.
Joe Philbin could still decline the interview, of course, and in light of the recent and tragic death of his son he may wish to do so. Philbin has interviewed with the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins earlier this year.
Philbin has spent his entire NFL coaching career with the Green Bay Packers, going from assistant offensive line coach to offensive coordinator in five years. He's been the Packers' offensive coordinator since 2007, presiding over Brett Favre's last year as a Packer and the rapid and spectacular development of Aaron Rodgers as the best quarterback in the NFL since then. However, head coach Mike McCarthy is still the one who calls the plays and has a big hand in that explosive offense.
As always happens, successful organizations see their coaching staffs raided, and few organizations have been more successful than the Green Bay Packers in recent years. But hiring coaches from successful organizations has led to mixed results in the past. The Bucs are certainly expanding their coaching search now, though.