Warren Sharp: Todd Bowles Is A Middling Coach
July 7th, 2025
Ranking.
Whenever Joe types a post about Todd Bowles, the Bucs coach seems to lure both defenders and haters alike.
The defenders point to playoff appearances in each of his three seasons in charge. Also true: The Bucs have improved their record in each season after his first in 2022.
Bowles’ haters will point out that his pass defenses are terrible, which shouldn’t be when your head coach is a defensive guy. True. Also true: The lack of a killer instinct on offense demonstrated by Bowles has cost the Bucs critical games and possibly playoff games, too.
So given there are logical, reasoned arguments for and against Bowles, should it really surprise anyone that Warren Sharp, on his website Sharp Football Analysis, has Bowles ranked in the middle of the pack in his annual preseason coach rankings?
Sharp and his gang have Bowles as the NFL’s No. 14 coach.
Todd Bowles has been solid during his three year run with the Buccaneers, making the playoffs in each of those seasons. He jumps to 14th in this year’s rankings after finishing 20th a year ago.
Joe understands fans still kill Bowles over the Cooper Kupp catch that doomed the Bucs in the 2021 playoffs. That’s fair, but dang, isn’t that just about ancient history now?
If you want to bang on Bowles for having a lousy pass defense, that’s fair. In only one season has his pass defense not finished ranked in the 20s, which really shouldn’t be given Bowles was an NFL safety.
If you want to rag on Bowles for rarely going for the kill shot when just about everyone watching the game can see that’s the obvious move, that’s fair.
But what is also fair is Bowles is always rallying the team through potholes that would wreck most teams’ seasons. Bowles has also developed players and developed a tough team (with injury-prone players). And Bowles has improved the team’s record the past two seasons.
Those are very good traits.
So yeah, when you balance the good with the bad, No. 14 seems reasonable to Joe.
July 7th, 2025 at 3:57 am
The good bad and ugly with Todd = 500 record. The definition of a middling Coach.
Todd is a good guy, players seem to like playing for him, but the bottom line is it equals a 500 record.
Hopefully this year, that changes and they make a deep run in the playoffs and maybe Super Bowl.
It comes down to this, the Defense needs to step up. The Offense will be fine. If the Defense steps up, then they are legit contenders to win another Lombardi. If the D does not step up, then division Round of the playoffs is the ceiling.
GO BUCS!!!!!!
July 7th, 2025 at 4:48 am
Bowles didn’t miss the coverage on Kupp, pretty sure that was AWJ.
July 7th, 2025 at 6:10 am
I’ll agree with a number 14 ranking.
For all of the reasons (good and bad) in the article and many more that have been Nd will be discussed here on jbf.com.
I’m “cautiously optimistic” about a much better W-L record and deeper playoff run this year.
And in turn, a ranking higher than no. 14 next year.
All the right things were said during the off-season and we rightly focused on defense with our personnel moves.
I just need to see it happen on the field during the season.
Go Bucs!!
July 7th, 2025 at 6:14 am
14 best of 32. Up 6 from last year. Let’s see another jump after this season to 8th best. With the limited information we all have it seems like a fair ranking.
July 7th, 2025 at 6:16 am
The secondary was depleted with injuries last season. And the team lacked quality depth at every position on the defense. But this year is a different story……so we will see how it plays out. I think the defense improve a whole lot..
July 7th, 2025 at 6:23 am
Yay!!
Some bulletin Board material!
Todd has a pretty dang good resume seems to me. Remember the past folks. Richard Williamson? Leeman Bennett? Raheem my BFF? Lovie Tennessee ready? Greg toes on the line?
Go Bucs!
July 7th, 2025 at 6:27 am
All eyes will be on this defense at ATL in game 1.
July 7th, 2025 at 6:32 am
I can understand the hate sometimes as I personally only watched offensive drives last year. The stress was too much when the defense played. But he had a busted roster. He has somehow managed to get us through some bad stretches without the playwrs just tanking the season. Which happens often. If he has a healthy defense we could make the superbowl with him in my opinion
July 7th, 2025 at 6:42 am
Agree with Mr. Sharp. Coach Bowles is the definition of average.
July 7th, 2025 at 6:43 am
I appreciate Bowles for several reasons, but the main one for all of us long-time fans is being able to keep us competitive through the post-Brady rebuilding process. Will he be able to get us to the Super Bowl? Not sure, but he’s done well winning the division with a sub-par roster. Until now! This is the year that will show fans whether he can make a serious run or not.
July 7th, 2025 at 7:10 am
I think the defense will be a lot better this season with the new additions.
July 7th, 2025 at 7:19 am
I remember when a small percentage of fans would defend Byron Leftwhich as a good playcaller to the death. Todd’s not a bad as lefty but the results have not lived up to his “defensive guru” label. He’s a middle ranked coach at BEST. Nice guy though.
July 7th, 2025 at 8:09 am
I don’t agree with Sharp staff football voters. Todd should be around number 11. He has done a lot and has kept the team culture together, no drama.
July 7th, 2025 at 8:40 am
14-20 seems about right.
I personally lean toward the latter, but prove me wrong coach!
July 7th, 2025 at 8:42 am
Bowles’ steady nature (and mainly Mayfield, in my opinion) has kept us from falling totally apart during our midseason slumps the past couple years. But Bowles has also held us back the past 3 years as well, going all the way back to that infamous Rams game in 2021.
Do better, be better in 2025, Coach!
July 7th, 2025 at 8:55 am
Warren Sharp … ‘Todd Bowles has been solid during his three year run with the Buccaneers, making the playoffs in each of those seasons. He jumps to 14th in this year’s rankings after finishing 20th a year ago.’
So just 1 year ago (2023) Sharp had Bowles ranked #20 out of 32 HCs, but this past year he improved to #14. Statistically that’s a very significant improvement. Our record improved from 9-8 in 2023 to 10-7 in 2024, we made the playoffs both years, but fizzled early. Our offense improved A BUNCH from #20 in 2023 to #4 in 2024, while our defense back-slid from a #7 in 2023 to a #16 in 2024.
Hmmm, looking at those measures of team performance, it looks like our 2024 offense drove the results (it showed the largest improvement by far, and more than compensated for our defense’s ‘retrograde’).
Yup, gotta love rankings like this. Maybe it’d be more meaningful to only have 2 rankings. Win the Super Bowl and you get ranked #1. Don’t win the Super Bowl and you tie for #2.
July 7th, 2025 at 9:01 am
For context, Sharp had Bowles ranked 20th for 2024. What I don’t get is having DeMeco Ryan & Mike Vrabel tied at 15th.
July 7th, 2025 at 9:04 am
I would rank him higher than 14. His body of work with what he’s had to work with say’s a lot since he took over. That Rams loss wasn’t the result of the Kupp play alone so put that to bed, the team was way down before that play AND missed a Stafford fumble the play before that. This team was thought for dead after Brady and the cap hell for those years. Todd and Licht brought in Mayfield, solid coach’s and held the D together with bailing wire to try to win games. They dealt with the injury bug last year and sub par back ups, how can you win like that yet they did. It’s easy to look back and say should have done this or that with play calling but it’s the players that have to execute the plays, they do that with TD’s instead of FG’s and we’re singing a different tune. If they go deep/win it all the tune changes. and another solid year in the win/loss catagory push’s his % total higher. I think the positives outweigh the negatives in Todd’s favor.
July 7th, 2025 at 9:07 am
I was all for his head in the middle of that slump 2 years ago but when they came out of it I knew that was Bowles holding the team together, then again last year. That’s what made me think he is solid.
July 7th, 2025 at 9:10 am
Warren Sharp is being very kind. A coach teaches his players situations and nuances. These are absent in Bucs behavior on both sides of the ball. We all know the wretched defense examples, but offensively also. Bucky not cradling the ball with both hands and arms at the end of Falcons 1. JMac going all deer in the headlights and not paying attention to his assignment on the infamous jet sweep. Baker for not simply eating it. And Liam for calling that play in that situation at all. Barton for the early snap which surprised everyone but the Redskins.
Coaching matters.
July 7th, 2025 at 9:28 am
middling is a great word for him lmao
July 7th, 2025 at 9:41 am
Super Todd’s biggest weapon is the division he’s in. Take away the worst divsion in the NFL and Super Todd suddenly isnt so super anymore.
July 7th, 2025 at 9:51 am
If you want to kill Bowles over the Cooper Kupp catch in the 2021 playoffs then you also need to give him his flowers for winning the 2020 Super Bowl by holding the Chiefs to 9 points and Patrick Mahomes to no TD’s.
July 7th, 2025 at 10:13 am
The Bucs have been to the playoffs for five consecutive years. Something that’s never happening in this franchise history. Before that we hadn’t been to the playoffs in 13 years. I remember the 0-14 season, the 26 losses in a row, all of the ” bottom feeding” years. I for one appreciate what Todd Bowles is doing. We are a relevant football team now. And we have improved every season under Coach Bowles. We will continue to improve, we will continue to win football games. We may play in a so- call weak division…….which we went 4-2 in the division……but we also went 6-5 outside of our division. We beat 4 playoffs teams including the Super Bowl Champs. We fought injuries all season. We played 8 rookies, including starting 4 of them.
No matter how you spin it…we are a perennial playoff team
Not many teams or coaches can say that
Who cares about the analysts who never played the game on an NFL level. I sure don’t, people can keep their personal opinion at home
I go with the team play on the field….the fight in them
July 7th, 2025 at 10:35 am
Bowles could up his ranking as an average HC if he would just hire a decent DC. Bowles defensive schemes just don’t work well anymore. Time for a different spin on defense.
July 7th, 2025 at 11:43 am
August1976Buc Says:
The good bad and ugly with Todd = 500 record. The definition of a middling Coach.
—————————————————————————–
Last season they were 10-7, that = 588 record. I’m sure the front office and the owners evaluate a HC based upon how he did most recently, not back during his earlier seasons, especially his first season when he didn’t even choose his own OC, lost Marpet to retirement, Jensen to injury, was handed a team with a poor running game, and the team was in salary cap hell!
That said, I feel #14 is a fair rating, until he proves that he deserves higher. With the upgrade to the personnel on the defensive side there will be higher expectations on him. If he goes deep into the playoffs his rating will go into the top 10.
But for the moment, being ranked higher than 18 other head coaches in the NFL isn’t a horrible thing. For those who would replace him, who would you replace him with?
July 7th, 2025 at 11:56 am
Bowles actual record…Division championship every year, 3rd winningest HC in Bucs history, one of only 4 of 13 and ahead of Chucky.
His record with the Jets was horrible but placed in context of what the Jets have done with other HC’s it’s actually not bad…the same as Pete Carroll’s during his tenure with the Jets.
14th is FAIR but I’m waiting for the season before I determine how accurate.
Bottom line for me as is often the case with a D.R. post but this one just screams out my opinion!!!
” Maybe it’d be more meaningful to only have 2 rankings. Win the Super Bowl and you get ranked #1. Don’t win the Super Bowl and you tie for #2.”
Yes because all “rankings” other than final standings and titles are nothing more than OPINION!!! We ALL have them.
July 7th, 2025 at 12:26 pm
He’s been trending upward. Last seasons defensive injuries cost the Bucs some wins.I still believe Bowles is a good coach. BRUCE retired early so that Todd could have a chance of winning a Super Bowl.
Bruce was a good judge of character and talent. I believe Todd has it in him to fulfill Bruce’s belief. He growing and improving and has the backing of his players, Front Office and Owners
July 7th, 2025 at 12:27 pm
No lies meme should be inserted all over this post
Since Todd has been here (2019 onwards) the pass defense has not been good, receivers are routinely WIDE OPEN.
How many times have we heard about “Communication issues” with DB’s? Players change but the sad scheme does not. The defense and it’s pathetic coverage schemes are on Todd, change or retire.
Hope things change but I do not expect much change with the pass d
July 7th, 2025 at 12:37 pm
“IN ALL OTHER THINGS SAVE ONE”
Can we talk about what Todd Bowles does Better than maybe ANY other human on the planet for a change?
Todd can SURE find some hidden “Offensive Gem Coaches”! That maybe his greatest ability. It Actually Looks Like a Super Power… You see, he does know what works So Very Well against his and basically All defensive coaches and it seems Easy as Pie for him to SEE RIGHT THROUGH the confusion of hundreds of candidates that all have decent records. But Which One to place the Ultimate Bet on is HARD!
His “REALLY” impressive record is the multiple, back to back hiring of offensive coaches that not only have a Strong understanding of how to run an offense (even with no real experience yet), Not Only that but they HAVE TO have something AMAZING about them. Some very unique qualities that put them a cut above the rest. That’s not special in hindsight But IT’S REMARKABLE to identify extreme rarefied qualities in Their Infancy! If not Todd Bowles, Please tell me who is picking out “Head Coaches” FASTER than Todd Bowles? Back to Back First Year Rookie OC’s HIRED ASAP year over year. IS A RARE SPECIALTY that “ONLY” Todd Bowles has on his record of “Lifetime Achievements”! AND COUNTING!
Now to be fair, I Have Not done my due diligence and have Not checked the record but I’d Wonder if Someone around here might take the time to do so.
In otherworldly, Todd Bowles may ACTUALLY Hold THAT Specific Honor. I’ve Never heard of a team losing OC’s to New Head Coaching gigs, AND NOT THE LESS THEY WERE ROOKIE OC’s!!! Now THAT’S A SPECIAL ABILITY!
I would say that, that IS how the man can make a FAR BETTER living (monetarily) identifying “The Next Greatest Thing” in up and coming next gen coaches. Especially on the Offensive side of the ball. Not so sure about the defensive side of the ball.
“And Here’s the Rest of The Story”
The reason I believe… NO! NO. I KNOW that Todd Bowles IS NEGLIGENT in HIS Head Coaching Duties is well, because it’s as plain as day. THE REASON WHY ISJUST AS PLAIN! The Cause and Effect? Let me break it down….
Todd is a well ripened gentleman. Ok, he’s getting old. It’s Simply a matter of Mother Nature and Father Time…..
If he were a younger man then I Believe we would see a WELL COACHED secondary. He!! the WHOLE defense word be TOP OF THE LINE.. But Todd simply Can Not physically do it. At his age its become pretty much IMPOSSIBLE.
To do “WHAT’S BEST” for his team, HE MUST, MUST hire His Favorite Defensive Coordinator! HE MUST! It’s THE Right thing to do AND HE KNOWS IT! “His Reasons” that he doesn’t do what’s BEST for ALL OF OUR BUCCANEERS, absolutely, 1,000,000% makes “HIM” and (Jason Licht) NEGLIGENT in the duties for ALL of OUR Team…
July 7th, 2025 at 12:43 pm
I should have gone back and proof read a little better but I gotta get moving along. Here is the missing wording
To Lose “Rookie OC’s” in Back to Back years to New Head Coaching Gigs, IS A RARE Happening….!
July 7th, 2025 at 1:04 pm
He is barely that high. I can sit and name better coaches who have bad GMs and more rosters. Bowles has proven in multiple opportunities he is average. He holds his teams back more than he helps them. He is I think a players type of coach, but he just is not great with situational football and in game adjustments. His defenses are average on their best day and the offense has been running well in spite of him because of the OCs, Baker and the players. Anyone who cannot see that, just does not want to be honest.
July 7th, 2025 at 1:04 pm
Poor rosters.
July 7th, 2025 at 1:10 pm
Bowles has had major obsticals to overcome.
2022 – TB12 was checked out. Worst OC of all time.
2023 – $81M in the hole.
2024 – $62M in the hole.
2025 – Loaded roster. No excuses.
The expectation should be: Win NFCS, 11+ wins, and a solid playoff run. We’ll see if Bowles is championship material this year.
July 7th, 2025 at 1:10 pm
14 is very generous but understandable….
If Grizzard doesn’t make up for Todd’s inadequacies like the past OCs, then he will be exposed and the Bucs will pay the price!
July 7th, 2025 at 1:26 pm
his record is what it is. he’s done better as bucs HC then he did as jets HC. older wiser better players on offense maybe… tired on defense. no innovation. regardless of how great the culture is allegedly.
July 7th, 2025 at 1:52 pm
“ Couch Fan Says:
July 7th, 2025 at 9:41 am
Super Todd’s biggest weapon is the division he’s in. Take away the worst divsion in the NFL and Super Todd suddenly isnt so super anymore.”
…and fired by organizations that want more than just consistency.
No, Todd can not be forgiven for the C. Kupp play(s). We all remember the final heart-stabbing play but, Cooper was lethal in that game and that final drive in which they had slightly over one minute to get into field goal range & did so easily. Someone here blamed Winfield for that completion. Kupp was Micheal Jordan that year. No saftey & 98% of DBs were covering Kupp, 1 on 1 with NO help! To blitz in that situation was unfathomable!?! It was criminally stupid to blitz Stafford who was the best or one of the best against the blitz, ALL YEAR!! The Rams were also the strongest opponent between the Bucs & the Lombardi. Then, Todd gets a promotion!?!?
You people need to stop it about the awesome defense in the Super Bowl. How quickly everyone forgets that the Chiefs offensive line was decimated by injuries. They had two or three backup lineman starting in the Super Bowl. Todd gets no credit for those injuries. I think we still win but, I don’t think we keep the Chiefs out of the end zone, if they have all of their starters.
Bowles
Rated
July 7th, 2025 at 2:20 pm
I don’t know, #14 seems pretty high. Just winning a division by default isn’t much of an accomplishment — but you know what is a big accomplishment? Getting Brady loses to the Cowboys and Falcons – that’s something that had never happened before.
July 7th, 2025 at 2:29 pm
Then, Todd gets a promotion!?!?
—-
Exactly. Giving him a promotion after that was insanely stupid. Knowing he wanted to take a Super Bowl winning team and change its make up to a running team was also insanely stupid. I’ve b!tched about this many times. He wasnt the HC in the Super Bowl either since the fan boys want to keep harping on that. His defenses since being HC have been terrible, especially in big time situations.
July 7th, 2025 at 2:42 pm
As long as he wins division owners will keep him. Even at 8-9 or 9-8. That is Bowles zone. Always has been. 50/50
July 7th, 2025 at 2:46 pm
hasnt bowles been punished enough for what happened with the jets, a job belicik wouldnt take it sucked so bad?
July 7th, 2025 at 2:51 pm
So it is an excuse for the Chiefs because their Offensive line was “decimated” with injuries. So I guess they had no dependable backups. But that happens to the Bucs defense last year and it is not an excuse.
So we were expected to win a Super Bowl? Get over it. Decimated with injuries is only allowed for other teams.
LMFAO.
July 7th, 2025 at 2:55 pm
And the “beat goes on”. 😎
You got your Todd has done a crap job, injuries are no excuse, he’s a mediocre coach at beast crowd.
And your…
Todd did a good job considering injuries, the cap, etc and is a good coach crowd.
Click click click.
I need to look this Warren Sharp guy up – he must be a real expert to get all this love from Joe
July 7th, 2025 at 2:56 pm
at best -lol
July 7th, 2025 at 2:56 pm
I think that he needs to bring in or promote a coach to DC. Players seem to like him and that seems like a big part of being the head coach.
July 7th, 2025 at 6:31 pm
What everyone really means…..
Todd kind sucks as a DC/HC hybrid. His stellar HR skills compensate to some degree for his inability to teach players their assignments or make calls at the end of close games that result in victory.
I’d give him where his pass defense ranked. Where was that again?
July 7th, 2025 at 7:39 pm
I don’t think you should count “rallying the teams through potholes” as a positive, given that Bowles is one of the reasons they’ve found themselves in those potholes the past two years.
July 7th, 2025 at 10:24 pm
It is hared to say that Coach Bowles is a top ten coach when you consider that he has made some decisions which have likely cost the Bucs wins during his tenure as head coach and that is not counting the Cooper Kupp gaffe which cost the Bucs a great chance at back to back Lombardi trophies. I look back at the KC game last year, choosing not to go for the win and that disgusting loss in Cleveland during Brady’s last season where he played for OT after his defense choked in the clutch with Via riding the pine….. Throw in other time management mistakes as well as decisions which led to Antoine Winfield and Godwin getting badly injured during irrelevant garbage time and you cannot say Bowles is a great head coach. He is ranked where he desrves to be until he proves that he has shored up his deficiencies.
July 7th, 2025 at 10:32 pm
DBS, Everyone celebrates Todd for the GAME PLAN during the Super Bowl. Most game plans would work if the offensive line is a bunch of patchwork. To put it another way, nearly any defensive coordinator, with those players, could have succeeded on that day. It wasn’t a masterful defensive game plan, necessarily.
In regards to the injuries on defense last year, as Joe pointed out a couple of days ago, Todd’s defenses have been in the bottom 1/3 of NFL defenses five out of the six years He has been the coordinator here. What is the affinity for this guy? Get off of his jock.
July 7th, 2025 at 11:32 pm
Anyone with a strong enough stomach who thinks we have a guru at defense running the unit 50% of the time – go do what I did. Watch all 8 losses. Binge watch. Use the condensed game option, no need to inflict more pain than necessary.
The pass defense sucked. S U C K E D. Putrid. Disgraceful. The stats would have been worse because it was clear, opposing coaches figured out we were more unwilling to stop them than unable.
I am now in the camp that Bowles should have been fired and would have been except for Anthony Nelson. Todd’s defense sucks, his scheme sucks, he can’t do both jobs and has never been good at both jobs.
Do it, watch all 8 losses in a row, and then for extra drinks, go,watch the last minute of the greatest comeback in playoff history that was blown by guess who.
July 8th, 2025 at 6:55 am
Easily better than 14th. On his way up. If you asked football players he’d be ranked higher than 14th.
July 8th, 2025 at 8:13 am
LMAO. BucsBeBack. So you are still making excuses for KC. You don’t most would have. They were not coaching now were they? Pure speculation on your part. Get off of his jock? Is that the best you have?
July 8th, 2025 at 8:15 am
know.
July 8th, 2025 at 10:24 am
All this really Does not Matter… Just Stand On business You’re A defensive Minded Coach So Make sure Your Defense Is Good don’t have to be Great..
You know, Dan Quinn, Mike Tomlin, John Harbaugh etc..
Com On Todd You Got this🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️
July 8th, 2025 at 11:14 am
Being a coach players want to play for, doesn’t translate as being a good coach! I still don’t understand how good players are allowed to kick back and play poorly, after they signed a big contract! Bruce Arians defense was always ready, and always performed no matter who the player was! Being a soft coach in today’s NFL does not work, you got to have someone with the balls to light a fire under your butt, and get players going, and that’s not Bowls!!!
July 8th, 2025 at 2:39 pm
The guy is .500 as the Bucs head coach. “Half a game above .500,” if you want to get super technical in the 17 game era.
When year in and year our, roughly half of your competition does better and half does worse than you, you’re the very definition of mediocre.
July 8th, 2025 at 2:46 pm
Krewe Since Birth, 4 years as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 4 Division Championships. Somehow your very definition of mediocre doesn’t hold up, to me anyway. Patience, grasshopper.
July 8th, 2025 at 5:22 pm
Has Bowles admitted his v mistake in the kc game or is going to issue an edict to his new coach hired to make those type calls?