Sharp words for his defense.

One reason why Bucs coach Todd Bowles hasn’t won over a segment of the Bucs’ fanbase — and short of a Super Bowl, likely never will — is these fans want cartoon characters on the sidelines (think Chucky).

The same fans, Joe sort of understands, want a coach to care as much for the Bucs as they do. These same people see Bowles’  stoic (public) demeanor — he’s not a stoic man — as representing indifference. As if Bowles is punching a timeclock and can’t wait to get home.

Joe has been fortunate enough to get to see and chat with Bowles behind the scenes a few times and he’s sometimes a borderline gregarious man. Joe tells this to some people who are flabbergasted by this description of Bowles. He really is a good dude with an awesome sense of humor.

The Sage of Tampa Bay sports, JoeBucsFan.com columnist Ira Kaufman, often gets this side of Bowles to escape when Bowles periodically will do Ira’s pod. Jenna Laine of ESPN has been known to get Bowles to open up (publicly) from time to time as has Father Dungy.

And Joe has heard of Bowles unloading on players, though not often. Joe once saw this in a training camp practice this past summer. Joe didn’t hear Bowles, but man, did the place get quiet when Bowles had the Bucs circle around him and Joe saw their faces when they returned to practice.

This TikTok video found its way to Joe’s “For You” feed earlier this week. No specific description is provided by the username “realr1ccherm” other than, “When You About To Blow a 17-3 Lead In The 4th Vs a 3-8 Team.”

The video shows Bowles from behind. The Bucs defense is gathered around him and they all have an “OMG” look on their faces. Bowles is very animated in the video, maybe more than Joe has ever seen him.

The video is only nine seconds long. It’s clear Bowles is heated. Joe learned from two Bucs defensive players after the win over the Cardinals that Bowles read his defense the riot act just before they took the field and got a four-and-out to send the Bucs’ offense into victory formation.

Since the TikTok user references the fourth quarter of the Cardinals game, Joe is going to connect the dots and take an educated guess the user captured video of Bowles unloading on his defense late in the game.

Regardless, the video demonstrates that Bowles is not always the wooden figure he portrays often in public settings. Joe thinks he just chooses not go after his players in front of others and prefers doing that, if needed, to happen behind closed doors or in a closed practice as not to show up his players.

So for those who want their head coach to get “fired up,” here you go.