Buccaneers interview Cardinals' Harold Goodwin for head coaching job

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are interviewing Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin for their head coaching position today, according to ESPN's Josina Anderson. That news comes hours after reports that they'll interview Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott this weekend. The Bucs fired Lovie Smith on Wednesday night and have started on their

General manager Jason Licht, who is running the Bucs' head coaching job, appears to be moving swiftly to get interviews lined up and done with relevant head coaches. And so far, he's targeted only NFL coordinators in Goodwin, McDermott and Dirk Koetter, who Licht called a "strong candidate" in his press conference yesterday. Interviewing Goodwin also fulfills the NFL requirement of interviewing at least one minority candidate.

Licht worked with Goodwin in 2013, when the former was part of the Cardinals' front office. Goodwin was named Arizona's offensive coordinator that year, and has helped the Cardinals produce the fourth-best offense this season, revitalizing Carson Palmer's career. The Cardinals' offense had less success in 2013 and 2014, mostly due to personnel issues. A cripplingly terrible offensive line hampered them in 2013, while they were forced to start Drew Stanton and Ryan Lindley for most of the 2014 season. And yet the offense was good enough to help the Cardinals to a winning record in each of the years he was the team's offensive coordinator.

Goodwin was the Indianapolis Colts' offensive line coach in 2012, and worked as an offensive line assistant for the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers between 2004 and 2011. He started his career as the offensive line coach for Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan.

It seems obvious that Jason Licht's assertion that the Bucs would conduct a thorough but swift search was not a lie to hide their interest in Koetter. One coach the Bucs should try to interview is Hue Jackson, the Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator who did a good job as the Oakland Raiders' head coach in 2011, and has done well as an offensive coach at his various NFL stops.