SAD NEWS: Todd Bowles has absolutely loved his job with the Buccaneers this season due to.
This painting might have been framed in a few different ways, but most of them went in the wrong direction. Since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers haven’t had much to celebrate about lately—the club is coming off a four-game losing run, and the season is on the verge of collapse coming out of the bye week—a lot of stuff is circulating among the fan base.
One man appears to be receiving nearly all of the blame, and much of it is legitimate.
During his three years as head coach, Todd Bowles has accomplished a great deal. Under his leadership, the Bucs have yet to end the season without a division title, and they advanced to the NFC Divisional Round last year, marking their deepest postseason run since 2021.
The opposite side of the coin was bowls in that game and a lot of others. Tampa Bay’s success has been classic, but the team has also failed to develop in a number of areas and has frequently turned into its own worst enemy by doing things that should have been trained out by now.
With the Bucs perched on the edge of a precipice that would result in their first losing season under Bowles and maybe their poorest record of the decade, everything has fallen apart. Fans have gone from being frustrated to being so hot under the collar that it’s apparently heating up Bowles’ seat, the defence is a liability, and mental mistakes are still being made.
But the season is far from over, and Bowles has seven weeks left to save his job more often than he loses it.
Todd Bowles has a great opportunity to demonstrate that he is still deserving of his position as head coach of the Buccaneers.
With words like “malpractice” oddly being used to explain Chris Godwin’s injury and every bit of news being greeted with the same negative reaction towards Bowles, frustration has become almost naively childish. ‘Fire Bowles’ sentiments were common in the team’s birthday tweet as well, but that’s what occurs when a team that shouldn’t be having so much trouble performs poorly.
Over the next seven weeks, all of that might change, and Bowles is in a great position to turn things around and show that he deserves in his current role.
The Bucs nearly ended their season last year when they went into a 1-6 skid. The locker room was maintained cohesive by Bowles’ command and leadership, which also enabled players like Baker Mayfield and Antoine Winfield Jr. to stand up and contribute to the turnaround.
It was a journey that nearly propelled them to the NFC Championship Game, but it was a complete 180 from what we witnessed from the squad. Even though the Bucs have a disadvantage this time, a similar result is still possible.
Each of Tampa Bay’s next three opponents has benched their starting quarterback at least once this season, and their combined record is 7-23. Even though the Bucs are weak against backups, the Giants will start third-string quarterback Tommy DeVito on Sunday, which isn’t as much of a trap game as it seems.
The Bucs then play their old friend Dave Canales and the Panthers, who are in last place, before playing Gardner Minshew and the Raiders, who are 2-8, to round out the season. There’s no reason Tampa Bay can’t reach 7-6 for the home stretch if the Bucs perform like they did over the most difficult portion of their schedule.
Tampa Bay almost pulled off an incredible comeback against the Ravens on national television but lost their last three games by less than a score to teams with a combined record of 21-11. Baker Mayfield’s ability to lead touchdown drives to tie games in back-to-back games against top-ranked defences is exactly the kind of grit and fight that this club has ingrained in its DNA.
The first step to Bowles retaining his position is to persuade them to use that.
That goal—Bowles demonstrating that he is the best coach—is fairly easy to accomplish. Anything less than a 10-win season, a division title, and a postseason trip will raise suspicions since we know the Glazers dislike regression. As the evidence against Bowles is easy to accumulate, the case against him becomes much stronger if the Bucs keep losing to poor opponents.
Given that Bowles isn’t coaching with a full deck and the Bucs have been decimated by injuries this season, there is still a potential he will return even in that scenario. Nevertheless, losing no more than one game the rest of the way is the simplest way to escape this issue.
Bowles will be in a good position if the defensive continues to improve and the team starts to win. It becomes much more difficult to justify him if we see anything less than that, or if we see more of the same. However, before we push Bowles to walk the plank too soon, it’s essential to let this play out and see if he has what it takes to right the ship.