Hype Contrast: Todd Bowles Versus Bill Belichick
May 17th, 2025
So the head coach of the Buccaneers and the greatest NFL coach of the modern era talked about dealing with hype this week.
Listeners of The Rock Riley Show on WDAE radio today heard an interview with Todd Bowles from an Arians Family Foundation event in South Tampa. Bowles was asked about being a media/betting favorite this season after being in an underdog role in past years.
Bowles said that doesn’t change anything at team headquarters and a steady approach is always been a constant for him.
Joe found that interesting in how it compared to Bill Belichick’s take on the subject.
Belicheat is pimping his new book that’s all about winning on the football field, and he was a guest of host Michael Strahan on Good Morning America. Strahan asked Belicheat to elaborate on his belief in delivering messages “that his team needs to hear” versus getting out what he wants to say.
Belichick immediately turned to the regular praise dropped on his Patriots.
“As a coach, when things are going well, you’re getting a lot of praise, everybody’s just heaping the praise on, and I was really the voice to bring things down,” Belichick said. “It’s like, ‘Well, we’re not as good as everybody’s saying we are. Here’s all the things that we’re not doing well and we need to do better.”
The opposite also is reality for Belichick, he said.
When his teams were getting skewered by media and fans, Belicheat said he would soften up with his players, pointing out how many things they were doing well enough to win — while also noting they weren’t far off from winning if they could fix mistakes or issues in certain areas.
“I always tried to be the balance on that,” Belichick said. “When things were bad, I try to be positive. When things were good, I had a way of trying to bring things down and say, ‘Look, don’t believe the hype. We still gotta a lot of work to do.”
There are many ways to be a winning coach. Joe is not slapping Bowles here, but Joe sure hopes Bowles knows how to handle a team that’s projected to do great things and one that jumps out to a strong early record.
After 3-1 starts in each of the past two seasons, Bowles’ teams have gone into extended tailspins.
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May 17th, 2025 at 4:14 pm
We seem to keep coming up with things to doubt when we have already seen how being positive works to manifest success.
May 17th, 2025 at 4:15 pm
Oh my,
Mercy!!
May 17th, 2025 at 4:19 pm
When in doubt, go with the hall of famer, rather than the guy who thinks he’s so good he can do two jobs at once better than two full time dedicated professionals.
And before some brain sturgeon comes up with “Belichick was nothing without Brady” – Bill won with Drew Bledsoe and made a Super Bowl with Bledsoe starting.
May 17th, 2025 at 4:48 pm
Comparing the two as coaches is akin to juxtaposing a ripe apple and a brick.
One is a perennial winner, some say due to his QB, but a winner nonetheless. Few coaches have won consistently with bums as their QB. The other has less than a career .500 mark without anything to show for it except a few division titles in a lackluster division.
But I will give Bowles this; I doubt seriously his status as a decent family man will come crashing down by embarrassingly dating a controlling child some 50 years his junior.
Bowles has now been gifted some decent horses to add to his stable, and an added bonus of someone to help him tell time.
We’ll know soon enough what he is able to do with his gifts.
May 17th, 2025 at 5:08 pm
‘After 3-1 starts in each of the past two seasons, Bowles’ teams have gone into extended tailspins.’
The only thing consistent about Bowels resume is his teams don’t sustain long win streaks…
May 17th, 2025 at 5:08 pm
Belichick’s record without Brady is 83 -101.
That includes his time with the Browns and his time with the Patriots after Brady left.
I have been a critic of coach Bowles on this website and I will continue to call it like I see it. But I would rather have coach Bowles as the head coach than Belichick.
And for the record, I have also been critical of Baker as our QB. But I prefer him as our quarterback over Brady.
Ya’ll pile on, I have thick skin.
May 17th, 2025 at 5:17 pm
Joe … ‘After 3-1 starts in each of the past two seasons, Bowles’ teams have gone into extended tailspins.’
You’re starting to turn into Chicken Little Joe. The sky really isn’t falling.
Back in 2019, the Bucs … under BA … started off 2-2 as a pretty much rebuilt team, then went into a 4-game losing tailspin. Did BA all of a sudden become a terrible coach? Nah, we won 5 of the next 6 games to break even at that point 7-7. Granted we lost the last 2 games to end the season 7-9, but we know why that was.
And then in 2020 the Bucs started off great at 6-2 then lost 3 out of the next 4 and our chance to make the playoffs looked to be in real peril. But as we know we salvaged it with a 4-game win streak to make the playoffs then 4 wins to take the Super Bowl.
Nothing about the last 2 years (starting off very good then suffering a mid-season brain fart) is new. Is it ideal? Heavens no. We stopped that trend once (in 2021) and we can do it again. Well, unless the sky really does fall.
May 17th, 2025 at 5:26 pm
@Knothead and D.R.
THANKS! Sometimes I think my “positivity” is a voice in the wilderness.
I’ve made Knothead’s point in the past by posting BB’s record without Brady, especially during that period when “rumors” were flying which NFL team BB would end up. Posters here thought oh great, bring in BB. Why? Unless he could bring a ‘young’ Brady with him.
D.R. Chicken Little lives here at JBF. Records are statistics. Statistics have less meaning the smaller the sample size. Many here tend to cherry pick the stats that make Bowles look his worst. So I cherry pick in return with stats that make him look good.
“The only thing consistent about Bowels resume” The only thing consistent in posters that continue to use childish insults like misspelling a person’s name because it then becomes something nasty is their lack of creativity and intellect as well as the obvious lack of maturity!
May 17th, 2025 at 6:10 pm
@stpetebucsfan
I said all that but I also want to say this.
Coach Bowles was quoted here saying that he’s learned that scoring points wins games. When that came out I said something like, now we got something, boys. And I truly mean that. If coach opens up the weapons on offense and plays the game to win instead of not to lose. And if Baker can get the interceptions down, this team will win another Super Bowl.
May 17th, 2025 at 6:12 pm
@Stpete
There are plenty of us who feel like that… The same couple of trolls don’t represent TB fans in general tho – they’re just loud mouths seeking attention. You and I both know that and we also know logic based debate or discussion with them is impossible.
“Same old blues just a different day”
May 17th, 2025 at 6:18 pm
Love the brick/Apple juxtaposition. Comparing to BA’s coaching tenure isn’t relevant or applicable. A 100% focused coaching staff, for example, is superior to a half timer at two positions who reports to himself.
May 17th, 2025 at 6:38 pm
Stpetebucsfan, you are not alone. You choose to emphasize the positive.
Let’s say I could come up with five negative things about Bowles as an NFL coach. Let’s also say I can come up with five positive things about Todd as an NFL coach. In reality all ten could be true at the same time. So as a fan I can choose which side to emphasize while acknowledging the other.
Having taken the Dale Carnegie Course I have some notions about the “power of positive thinking”. General attitudes do matter in life and in sports as well.
Go Bucs!
May 17th, 2025 at 6:41 pm
I’m feeling pretty positive myself about the upcoming season.
feel like every area we struggle or had a weakness, nothing was done about it.
Poor pass rush – √
No depth and secondary – √
Not enough debth at the receiver – √
Suspect endgame clock management – √
Mediocre punting game – √
Lack of debth at ILB – √ (maybe could’ve use 1 more LB)
WR debth not so deep – √
Need an extra player at DL – √
Now if we can stay healthy and have Griz work out, all is good.
Go Bucs!
May 17th, 2025 at 7:34 pm
OK. Here are the rules. If you are going to bust someone for something he said, quote him directly. That way readers can decide for themselves.
What exactly did Todd Bowles say? I doubt he contradicted Belichick at all.
In fact, I believe he said something that dovetails with Belichick’s remarks
May 17th, 2025 at 8:09 pm
The losing streaks after starting 3-1 are depth-related, no more. We barely had the STARTING personnel to be competitive, certainly not the backups.
THAT, is no longer the case
May 17th, 2025 at 8:16 pm
Sure seems like Joe is reading a whole lot into Bowles’ statement that isn’t necessarily there. He didn’t address player emotions one way or the other, high or low, due to press coverage.