When Would Todd Bowles Get Fired?
January 3rd, 2026
“You warned me, Woody.”
So how will what seems like the inevitable go down?
Joe is referring to head coach Todd Bowles getting fired after captaining the Bucs to a losing season and missing the playoffs following a historic midseason collapse.
Team Glazers likes and respects Bowles. They gave him a fat contract extension through 2028 before the season. This was no traditional extension, Team Glazer tore up Bowles’ old contract with the 2025 and 2026 seasons on it and wrote a new one.
Given the respect there, “this Joe” assumes Team Glazer would fire Bowles tonight if the Bucs lose to the Panthers this afternoon and walk off the field of The Licht House to a loud chorus of boos, jeers and sneers — all well-deserved.
There’d be no reason to let Bowles toss and turn in angst about his future for a night or two. That’s not how you treat someone you care about.
And please don’t sell Joe that Team Glazer would have to meet after the game and figure out a plan. The owners surely have several scenarios well-cooked up by now.
Firing Bowles after a 7-10 season that started 6-2 would be a logical and reasoned course for the franchise.
Bringing Bowles back at that point would be nothing more than an unmitigated strategy of hope — hope that somehow Bowles miraculously could fix all three broken phases of the team in addition to getting the roster to play with fire and care about its home turf after four seasons at the helm.
That’s not the move of the Team Glazer portrayed in the new 10-part Raise The Flags documentary, one that Team Glazer paid to produce on the history of the Buccaneers.
What if the Bucs win today? Well, then it’s on to watching Sunday’s Saints-Falcons game. If the Saints win, then the Bucs would make the playoffs and Bowles would fight off this weekend’s Grim Reaper.
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:02 am
Maduro on Sunday
Todd on Monday
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:05 am
Licht deserves to get his walking papers as well.
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:05 am
Glazers … just get it over with .
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:07 am
Can’t come soon enough
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:11 am
Agree with Joe, kind of. Win or loose, Bowles and his ST coach get the axe after today’s game.
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:11 am
Do NOT fire Licht or this team will be in a death spiral. Bring in a DC and new special teams coach. Simple.. Todd can stay.
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:13 am
He will not get fired.
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:14 am
He’ll be fired tonight. What have we seen in the last 2 months to convince us the Bucs will play lights out and hope New Orleans can upset Atlanta? Nothing. Carolina will play with fire and heart. Tampa surrendered weeks ago.
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:17 am
Agreed, get rid of Licht as well. Bucco Bruce and Brady made Licht! Before them he was one of the worst GM’s in the league. If Bowles retains his job, I will find something better to do with my Sundays next year. I for one am tired of the INSANITY! Playing in the worst division in football his whole head coaching tenure, and relying on other bad division teams to lose, just to backdoor in the playoffs. Even in 2020, Brees nearly beat us 3 times that year! If not for the AWJ forced fumble, they probably beat us in that divisional Round.
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:19 am
Thank you Bucco for gifting us Bowles!!!! What a joke and mockery that was!
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:27 am
Let’s be honest, the Glazers already know what they are going to do. It’s one of two things:
He is staying no matter what.
He is gone unless they reach a certain level they’ve already determined.
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:32 am
Question for the JBF. You’re really pushing this firing narrative, do you really believe it?
I get that the Glazers’ have cut new deals and dump them. It’s been 17 years since that happened with Gruden, and something tells me, given Gruden’s personality that Glazers asked/demanded something from him and/or vice versa, and it was enough hurt feelings that caused the firing. What happened afterwards over the next 10 seasons, was losing football, and who knows, if Gruden firing never happens, would we have won a 2nd Lombardi at this point? Bowles gets this extension, to start the season, which was completely unnecessary. We then see before the Miami game, Mike Florio claiming they are 100% committed to Bowles going into next season.
The gangster move that I hope is working behind the scenes, Glazers had a sit down and have reached a settlement in Bowles deal, he retires at seasons end, and Licht has already been working on who our next head coach will be. I don’t know how metrics are measured with 2026 ticket sales, meaning when do they gauge the good or bad status, but there’s no way any of this fanbase wants to drop money on this team. We’ll keep watching, but we need to see a better product on the field before dumping on season tickets.
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:35 am
Unless they win the division AND go deep in the playoffs then Bowles comes back. Anything else he’s gone. I doubt that anyone thinks he can put everything back together again.
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:36 am
remember insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.Win or lose today, The owners know what they have. I expect some serious changes either way. GO BUCS
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:36 am
I have to believe Todd actually gives a sh(!)t about the team, the players, and wanting to win this game, so losing tonight would be as emotionally devastating to him as it is to we fans. With that said I don’t think the Reaper’s scythe swings tonight (if they lose), and I would expect them to wait until Sunday to give Todd (and whomever else ownership is sending packing) a chance to process the grief before the bell tolls. Obviously it gets more interesting if the Bucs actually take care of business tonight and the Saints beat or tie with the Falcons tomorrow.
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:42 am
Before last week’s game, my sister, brother in law, and I all said we didn’t think Bowles should be fired because the team has had so many devastating injuries. After watching the Bucs’ putrid, uninspired, lazy, pathetic display, we realize they need a new coach. I hope the Glazers make it happen quickly. I also hope they already have a great coach under contract.
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:43 am
After they are eliminated. I would like at hiring away the Ohio state coach. His oc now,at usf. Otherwise,Alex Van Pelt is the best choice.
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:46 am
Toesontheine, If if if and if!!! That’s how it always is with Bowles as HC. If this team loses, if that team
Loses. We are always relying on our division opponents to get in the playoffs. He is the luckiest coach in Bucs history dude! We should’ve lost the division last year, IF the Falcons didn’t have their end of year collapse. Kirk Cousins is Bowles Daddy!!!!
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:50 am
SB~LV 🏈 Says:
“Todd on Monday”
I also do not think they would fire him tonight. The Glazers prefer to do these things face to face, and they are not reactionary. They’ll probably give it a couple days to ‘mull it over’.
IF the Bucs win and make the playoffs?
Then obviously it will delay things until after all games are played.
I also think there is a very, VERY slim chance Bowles doesn’t get fired…if the Bucs make the playoffs and win a game in them.
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:54 am
If past is prolog, the scenario Joe laid out is spot on. Nothing short of a NFC championship can safe Bowles now, and that ain’t gonna happen.
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:59 am
Should have happened after he wasted Brady’s last season
January 3rd, 2026 at 9:02 am
Scenarios:
🏈 Bucs lose. Bowles gets fired withing the next week. Fans panick waiting for it to happen, worried he won’t get fired.
🏈 Bucs win. Miss the playoffs. Bowles gets fired withing the next week. Fans panick waiting for it to happen, worried he won’t get fired.
🏈 Bucs win. Make the playoffs, lose the playoff game. Bowles gets fired within the following week. Fans REALLY freak out waiting for it to happen.
🏈 Bucs win. Make the playoffs. Win a playoff game. Bowles DOES NOT get fired. Fans freak out completely. A DC is brought in. ST coach replaced. Grizz likely replaced.
And finally (least likely)
🏈 Bucs lose. Miss playoffs. Glazers don’t fire him for various reasons. Maybe insist on bringing in a DC.
January 3rd, 2026 at 9:03 am
Remember our #BeatAtlanta crap at the beginning of the season. Just call it Poetic Justice that they can end our season even if we win today. That and Cousins is Bowles Daddy!
January 3rd, 2026 at 9:18 am
Usedtocould Says:
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:59 am
“Should have happened after he wasted Brady’s last season”
No.
He went on to win the division three times and had a winning record each year. The players were behind him 100%. He earned his job.
I’m in favor of firing him now, but I’m not the Glazers. There are a number of things they will consider:
🏈 During his first year, Tom Brady and a devasted offensive line, along with a horrible OC cost us. That was not on Bowles. Brady didn’t even care enough to show up at OTAs in his final year.
🏈 Todd had winning records starting the following year, up until this year
🏈 Todd won the division every year after Brady…until this year (and still might this year)
🏈 Fans like to deny it, but the Glazers won’t. Injuries played a major roll in this season’s results. It could be argued that the injuries would eventually catch up to the team.
🏈 The Glazers just invested a LOT of money in Bowles.
🏈 The players were backing him through the first half of the season. This only changed when he turned on the players at mid season. Do the Glazers believe he can win the players back?
🏈 Results from today forward have to play a big role. IF the team wins and make the playoffs, the results in the playoffs also play a role. If they win today and in the playoffs, it would signal that Bowles has won back the players.
January 3rd, 2026 at 9:20 am
Firing Jason Licht would be a huge mistake.
January 3rd, 2026 at 9:21 am
The Glazers are classy people. Win or lose today…even if it’s an embarrassing loss they won’t officially fire him til Black Monday. Of coarse, if we make the playoffs he obviously gets a one week reprieve. An unlikely playoff victory would buy him another pay check, but it probably doesn’t save his career. Even a trip to the NFC Championship game doesn’t guarantee his job necessarily, unless he agrees to make some major changes; like bringing in a defensive coordinator and burns the special teams coordinator at the stake. I know that sounds harsh, but it’s McGaughey’s own fault. They asked him if he’d rather be beheaded or burned at the stake. McGaughey is so stupid he goes “everybody knows that a hot steak is better than a cold chop.”
January 3rd, 2026 at 9:29 am
Buccaneers Bonzai, Bowles lost 6 of 7 in a span in 2023, 5 of 6 in a span in 2024. Are you going to blame injuries on that as well?
January 3rd, 2026 at 9:32 am
Bowles had a defense when they went to the Superbowl, they were still good in his first but fading away the last two. Today the defense is garbage, and I hate to say it but It’s Time to rebuild a lot of things. I don’t think Bowles is gonna get us to the Superbowl. The things we’ve been doing in the draft as of late are adding help but something is wrong. It’s time for a few coaching jobs to move on and find new ones. It’s turning into the lost decade. CHUCKY TIME!!! Let’s do it !!
January 3rd, 2026 at 9:42 am
I rhink the Glazers take their time tbh. I dont think he gets fired on Monday. I think it’ll be a process, unless they have someone else in mind already.
January 3rd, 2026 at 9:55 am
Along with Bowles, they need to fire the entire strength and conditioning staff. Player will get hurt. But we sure seem to have a regular abundance of injuries every year. Properly conditioned players are less likely to be injured. It would help if Licht would stop gambling on players with an injury history.
I’m not sure I’d fire Licht? But he’s had many failures.
1. Not properly planning for a quality replacement for Lavante David till it’s too late. Dennis is just another gamble on a player with an injury history.
2. Poor results in drafting edge rushers and dline. Outside of Vita.
3. Wasting a 2nd round pick on Trask.
4. Continuing to gamble on small college lineman in hopes of finding another Marpet. Why does Kline make the team, but practice squad elevations start over him?
5. Giving big 2nd contracts to marginal players under the mantra of keeping players we’ve drafted.
January 3rd, 2026 at 9:57 am
Unfortunately for us, if the Bucs win the division and don’t look completely terrible in the playoffs, they probably keep Bowles. The Bucs would have to deal with the twisted narrative people would spin about them firing a minority coach who just won the division for the 4th year as the HC and the 5th year as the DC.
January 3rd, 2026 at 10:00 am
Imagine Todd Bowls in charge of our military fleet, and getting reports the enemy keeps sinking our battleships week in and week out! That includes going up against weaker foes. We must do something now!!!! I cannot watch this anymore.
January 3rd, 2026 at 10:12 am
Get rid of baker, he will have two INT’s today, and we will be blown out! baker never wins in prime time games, why should it change today……
January 3rd, 2026 at 10:18 am
Not so fast Joe-Bowles has waded through some high talent and some less than talent and most importantly, youth on his roster for two seasons because of dead money. Every position group has rookies or 2nd year guys with end of round talent. If the highly paid, highly talented guys can”t play due to age or injury, the guys left are confused and play poorly. The guard position has absolutely sunk this offense creating havoc for multiple positions including RB, TE and WR. The LB/CB/Safety positions have sunk this defense for the last two seasons because of questionable talent and unquestioned inexperience. Last, Lavonte can’t run anymore and Dennis is sub-par talent. That puts pressure on 31 and he hasn’t handled it well. All of this means Bowles stays and has an opportunity to reset roster with Licht. Gruden lost 11 and 12 games without getting blown out, he got blown out because he could be an ass to everyone at work. Bowles stays-Licht has tons of work to do.
January 3rd, 2026 at 10:27 am
It’s simple fire bowles it sends a message to the players..idc what’s behind door number 2..im just ready to open it.
I’m keep saying it hoping Jason reads the comments I called the Brady brown and fournette moves..I also did draft Mike Evans I been right more than wrong in my guesstimates.
So I’m say ny dream scenario- Jon gruden o-cord get him te and lg – let him and baker got to work building out the west coast offense…
Bill Belichick as coach let him coach the coaches and install the best 3 4 defense in the NFL has ever saw.
He get more out of less and demands excellence from his players.
Gru up at 5am building plays for Evans Godwin mcmil and eu…
Often I’m over him Sub par blocker and not dominate reciever time to trade or draft a guy who cam do it all gronk Jr baker does well with a good te look at his years with the browns.
I want a mauler at LG someone who can pair well with wirf.
Defense I’m say a lot guys shouldn’t feel safe with their jobs…
Reddick bye dean cheap or bye
January 3rd, 2026 at 10:28 am
FANS DONT MATTER TO THE gLAZERS Todd will stay because money matters more
January 3rd, 2026 at 10:32 am
Man what were they thinking giving him an extension in the first place. They went 8-9 in his first season down 21 to 10 to Carolina in week 17 until Brady and Evans woke up. Got embarrassed at home Vs Dallas. Went 9-8 in his 2nd season tied with the Saints. Beat a 2 win Carolina 9 to 0 to sneak in the playoffs yet again. Went on to beat Philly and gave the Lions and good game which I will give them credit for. Thats when I thought you know what they didn’t do so bad considering. His 3rd season 10-7. Found themselves down to the Saints in the last game of the season but pulled it off. Lost a winnable game vs the Commanders in the playoffs and his D couldn’t get a stop when it mattered most. Then this year another losing season and just fell off a cliff. The team looks like they quit. Hes known for his defense. Its been down right awful since hes been HC. Sneaking into the playoffs winning the NFC south isn’t exactly something to write home about. Yea you get the banner and a playoff game but that’s the ceiling. We’ve reached it. Its time to move on
January 3rd, 2026 at 10:37 am
All you hear is 1-7 1-7 if they would have went 3-5 they would be in the playoffs.
That alone should get you fired.🤙🏾
January 3rd, 2026 at 10:43 am
should have been during the mini bye
January 3rd, 2026 at 10:51 am
I think letting Bowles retire gracefully would be a mistake. Better than not firing him, but a mistake nonetheless, as the players and staff need to see that accountability still exists within the organization.
January 3rd, 2026 at 10:56 am
I’m still pissed that we lost to the Rams in the ‘22 playoffs. 40 seconds left and Bowels calls a blitz against Stafford -one of the greatest passers EVER against the blitz.
Since then our D has been on a downward spiral. We make backup QB’s and scrappers look like the second coming of 2015 Manning.
It’s beyond embarrassing.
As a DC alone, Bowels would have been fired 2 years ago. Throw in the head coaching blunders (terrible clock management; not knowing when/when not to punt; 2 pt conversions when not needed; improper use of challenges; lack of emotion/not chewing out player & refs; no fire on the field; etc etc) and you can clearly see why the team has quit. The exact same thing happened with the Jets.
January 3rd, 2026 at 10:57 am
If your cheering to have our GM fired the you don’t know football and are just stupid. The guy that put a roster together good enough for the best player of all time to want to come too come on. The guy who has drafted pretty dam well. Come on. Is he perfect far from it but man yall clowns wanting a new GM
January 3rd, 2026 at 11:05 am
Imagining how well this team might have been doing if they had given Liam Coen the opportunity to be head coach of this team last year. One year too late!
January 3rd, 2026 at 11:15 am
Firing Jason would be very smart
Anyone wanting to keep that fraud HATES the Bucs.
The guy was going to get fired a long with Bucco Bruce.
BRADY brought in his own players…changed the playbook…called his own plays…WON GAMES.
Brady leaves and we are left with a bunch of losers sucking off the rest of the Glazers money fold. Pathetic bunch of losers.
Fire them all. Please.
January 3rd, 2026 at 11:21 am
Regardless of how today’s game turns out, sooner rather than later the Glazers need to fire Todd Bowles & his coaching staff. We’ve seen this act before in 2011 when Raheem Morris’ team started off 4-2 then lost their last 10 games to finish 4-12. Glazers didn’t hesitate to show Raheem the door.
I’m convinced that Todd brought on his own demise by dual-hatting himself as HC and DC. He must also have an unprecedented streak of stubborness in him because he hasn’t changed a danged thing about how his defense operates (despite wearing very nice ‘Inspire Change’ shirts).
Still, it’s not ALL on Bowles. Licht shares a large part of the blame IMO for how he’s ‘stocked the cupboard’. When Todd inherited the HC reins after the 2021 season, our salary CAP was in total disarray. This 2025 team only has 8 players left from that 2021 team (Evans, Godwin, Wirfs on offense, and Vea, Winfield, LVD, Dean & Nelson on defense).
Money quickly became an issue and obviously limited the quality of the players we had (especially depth). Our Dead CAP in 2022 was $25.6 mil, then it skyrocketed to $81.6 mil in 2023, then dropped some to $62.5 mil in 2024 and finally to $50.9 mil in 2025. So over Todd Bowles 4 years as HC, he’s had to ‘eat’ over $220 mil worth of Dead CAP … the equivalent of our 2023 salary CAP. Bruce Arians reaped the benefits of over-spending, but Todd Bowles paid the price.
By getting rid of so many since he took over, we paid our debts by hiring cheap labor. Guess what, there’s a cost associated with THAT approach too. We’ve won 34 of our 67 regular season games beginning in 2022. Lose today andn we’ll be sitting right at 50% W-L. Not much to write home about in the NFC South.
January 3rd, 2026 at 11:31 am
Stpetematt Says:
January 3rd, 2026 at 8:11 am
Do NOT fire Licht or this team will be in a death spiral. Bring in a DC and new special teams coach. Simple.. Todd can stay.
That, Buc fans, has won the award for most stupid post of the day!
January 3rd, 2026 at 11:52 am
I had high hopes after Arians left. Thought we would reach thew Superbowl in 2 or 3 yrs. Now? Maybe another 5. This franchise has not demonstrated it wants to be a winner. You gotta want it bad. The Glazers are happy with being 500 and selling tickets.
January 3rd, 2026 at 12:39 pm
Any GM that NEVER makes a move at the trade deadline to improve the roster has to GO and that is Jason Licht.
January 3rd, 2026 at 12:42 pm
No brainer to fire Bowels, unless you just love mediocrity.
January 3rd, 2026 at 1:11 pm
How about right NOW!
January 3rd, 2026 at 1:27 pm
Firing Belowszo after the losses to the Saints Falcons and Panthers would have been the appropriate time to do it.
He has openly admitted he has no answers and is a complete abject failure. He gets what he deserves, trying to do two jobs he’s unqualified for and oversee two others he has no business being involved with. He obviously runs practices that enable continuity of mistakes without effective corrective action.
Mercifully it will all be history in several hours.
January 3rd, 2026 at 1:31 pm
HC turned on the players, he can’t come back from that and the GM and the owners know it. Bowles will be fired. Licht will remain, and he should. He’s been a superb GM for this team…period.
January 3rd, 2026 at 1:50 pm
Go Panthers!
I hate myself today 🙃
January 3rd, 2026 at 4:26 pm
I say 1st thing tomorrow. My internal security team badge doesn’t work now, since I left for Colorado at the end of the 2016 season. I have enough friends still there, that I can fly in the morning and come help Todd pack.