“He Never Had A Competent Head Coach”

July 17th, 2022

Todd Bowles takes a slap from an ESPN top gun.

Don’t expect Todd Bowles to send Keyshawn Johnson a Christmas card this year.

Johnson the former Bucs standout receiver is the big voice on ESPN Radio’s big morning show, and Joe was listening recently when a strong debate broke out regarding the competition about to start between Panthers quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold.

Johnson defended both quarterbacks. He reminded the nation that Mayfield played for Hue Jackson and Freddie Kitchens before having a strong season under Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski in 2020 and then getting hurt last year.

And Johnson also defended Darnold, noting, “Sam never got a real opportunity. He never had a competent head coach.”

For those unaware, Bowles was Darnold’s first head coach with the Jets in 2018.

Yes, Johnson, a former Jets receiver, is well aware of Bowles’ resumé and has said that about Darnold many times.

So does this mean the Bucs hired the wrong head coach to replace Bucco Bruce Arians?

No, not at all. However, it’s worth wondering if Bowles is the right guy long-term if the Bucs need to rely on a young quarterback next season, especially if Byron Leftwich gets a head coaching job.

Hopefully, there’s another Lombardi trophy (or two!) at One Buc Palace before Bowles and general manager Jason Licht have to test their ability to rebound after losing Tom Brady.

As for Johnson, he is very high on the Bucs’ chances this season, but Bowles isn’t high on his list of reasons why.

21 Responses to ““He Never Had A Competent Head Coach””

  1. Buc1987 Says:

    Oh boy.

  2. Go Bucs Says:

    Nope! Tom Brady is the Head Coach! All Bowles has to worry about is his Defense coming to play every week! GO BUCS

  3. GOB Says:

    Keshawn Johnson is an idiot. Darnold is a bust. He’s been given every opportunity to prove himself. Mayfield, if healthy, will easily win the job. That’s more of an indictment of Darnold than praise of Baker. If you combined Bill Walsh and belichick into one super coach, Darnold would still sucked.

    As for bowles, he doesn’t need to do much. More purpose driven practices, better situational football, and game specific plans, should be easily achievable with the talent they have.

  4. acey Says:

    I’d hardly go as far as to say Bowles had more of an impact on Darnold in one year than Gase did in two. Can you really lampoon Bowles for going 4-12 with a Jets squad whose highlight receiver was Robby Anderson? An OC who hasn’t had another coaching job since?

  5. BucsfanFred Says:

    Somebody should put super glue in meshawns toothpaste.

  6. tampabuscsbro Says:

    Now if you guys remember. Darnolds rookie year under him was the only time Sam Darnold ever looked like he could be something in the NFL.

    Dude is a bust USC QBs are cursed.

  7. Rayjay1122 Says:

    Kayshawns Johnson running off at the head again…

  8. DoooshLaRue Says:

    I get why Chucky treated him the way he did.

  9. Mort Says:

    Meshawn is a fool.

  10. Kentucky Buc Says:

    You have one very inconsistent QB so you bring in another very inconsistent QB to compete for the starting job. Okayyy. Makes a lot of sense in bizarro world.

  11. CleanHouse Says:

    I’m unsure of Bowles, but he’s what we’re rolling with- so game on Go Bucs!

  12. sasquatch Says:

    Go Bucs Says:
    July 17th, 2022 at 12:00 pm

    Nope! Tom Brady is the Head Coach!

    Nope. Brady is the QB and unofficial co-offensive coordinator. That’s where it ends.

  13. BigMacAttack Says:

    Being able to run fast and catch a football does not necessarily make you an intelligent person. Key’s best quality is running his mouth and has always thought he knew more than his coach at the time did. How many times did you see him arguing with his coaches on the sidelines? It’s too bad he didn’t catch balls with his mouth because it was definitely big enough.

  14. PSL Bob Says:

    I thought Clyde Christensen was the QB guru? Also don’t forget that Trask will have had 3 years of tutelage under the greatest QB that ever played the game when he finally gets his first start. With 3 years learning from Brady, Chlristensen, and Leftwich, you’d hope that by now he knows what he should be doing, even though the grooming hasn’t been under live fire.

  15. GOB Says:

    I can’t understand why the guy has a voice. Most of his takes are completely asinine, and incoherent. Thankfully, he’s on bspn ocho before I get up. Funny how the world wide leader rarely puts him on any other shows.

  16. Crickett Baker Says:

    BigMac..I got a hearty laugh out of that one 🙂 It always amuses me how it seems that certain people’s opinions seem to carry more weight with some than others.

  17. Tye Says:

    I have come to understand and agree with Johnson…
    Bowles hasn’t done anything to disprove he is an incompetent HC!…
    Luckily for the Bucs, they have Tom Brady and several weapons to cover up and hopefully make up for Bowles level of incompetents…
    Whether Todd is the long term answer, I would not be surprised if he is replaced in 2-3 years..

  18. Goatfarmer Says:

    The Todd Bowles Bowl.

    Can’t beat the Rams.

    Can’t beat the Saints.

    Can’t stop Taylor’s Heineken.

    Can’t pressure the QB without rushing at least 6.

    No Suh. No JPP.

    Yep.

  19. stpetebucsfan Says:

    Todd Bowles had 3 different OC’s during his 4 years with the Jets. So much for stability. And do these names standout as major OC talent? Chan Gailey, John Morton and Jeremy Bates.

    If Keyshawn did more than just shoot his mouth off he would have noted that Bowles is a DEFENSIVE coach! His OC’s deserve as much if not more heat than he does for Darnold.

  20. Joe Says:

    So much for stability.

    Stablity is only good if you are having success. For stability sake, the Bucs could have kept Dirk Koetter and Mike Smith, for example.

    Only in football it seems (or perhaps politics), is continued failure deemed a good thing because of “stability.”

  21. stpetebucsfan Says:

    @Joe

    You had me up until the last sentence…”continued failure deemed a good thing because of “stability.”

    I do not believe most folks believe that. Most people DO believe however that INSTABILITY frequently leads to bad outcomes. Stability does not insure success nor does instability guarantee failure but I think you would agree that instability is worse than stability.