The Win-Now Buccaneers
February 22nd, 2026
“Tom, you, Spytek and Davis can keep pretending you know what you’re doing. We’re looking at another playoff run.”
How close was Tampa Bay to being a good team last season?
The answer depends on who you ask.
Joe is confident almost everyone collecting a check at One Buc Palace thinks the Bucs were close — and believes the Bucs are now only several new assistant coaches, healed offensive linemen and a couple of strong offseason finds from being a Super Bowl contender.
Many fans, however, are spooked by what they believe are serious coaching and roster questions, and the inexplicable lack of fire from the Bucs late last season.
So what does pending free agent receiver Mike Evans think? That’s an important question.
Joe suspects Evans believes the Bucs would have been a strong playoff team if he didn’t miss 9 games with various injuries. Evans knows he’s a difference-maker. Over the past two seasons, the Bucs are 14-8 when Evans plays, and 4-8 when he does not.
That’s why former NFL QB and longtime BSPN analyst Tim Hasselbeck said last week that he thinks the Bucs top the list of teams where Evans would fit in 2026.
“Look, they’re a legitimate contending team,” Hasselbeck told the world about the Bucs on ESPN TV. “They can win their division, [re-signing Evans] gives themselves a shot. I think that makes sense.”
Joe is not losing an ounce of sleep thinking Evans will bolt Tampa. Evans loves and respects the Bucs with all his heart, and the Bucs feel the same about him. And name an iconic franchise receiver who left his team when both sides felt fully loved and respected?
Joe hasn’t found one.
From Jerry Rice (49ers) to Davante Adams (Packers) to Randy Moss (Vikings) to Steve Smith (Panthers) and Julio Jones (Falcons) and more — iconic receivers on Evans’ level that left their original teams — all had some sort of beef of major disagreement with their club. Evans doesn’t have that.
So what about the money, Joe? Great question!
It’s hard to believe the stars of Raise The Flags: 50 Years Of Buccaneers Football, aka Bucs co-owners Team Glazer, will not pay to keep Evans. Did Team Glazer retain Todd Bowles against major fan backlash only to tell Bowles he can’t have arguably his most dangerous player, a guy who changes defenses and keeps D-coordinators up at night?
That wouldn’t make a lot of sense.
“This Joe” thinks Team Glazer is a highly competitive entity that wants nothing more than Bowles to have a huge bounceback year to shutup the naysayers, even drawing a shred of extra motivation from the loud ‘Bowles Must Go’ crowd.
Bowles and Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht will host news conferences at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday. Joe expects to hear a strong win-now mindset and focus from both of them.
February 22nd, 2026 at 4:48 pm
Haha, we’re in rebuild mode….but we have some pieces, just not the right DC…..um, and yeah that one too….
February 22nd, 2026 at 4:49 pm
Todd you should have been gone, when we had coen, and one of the top offences in the league, straight up from the floor up, think about this joes and Jason Licht, when we have another 8-9 win season, because the D sucks, who gets the blame this time? The GM and head coach, that’s who, then you will see the house cleaning, new GM HC and regime, players bolting, retiring, and traded off for draft capital, then the rebuild, will it be a quick turn around, ala the patriots or will it be another lost decade, where we wear bags on our heads at ray jay, and embrace the suck, only the shadow knows!
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:03 pm
Thats why I’d be really surprised if Evans stays,James
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:07 pm
He had been paid almost $155 Million by the Bucs so far in his career. How much is enough to play his whole career here? Don’t be e Greedy Pig and get ‘er done-both sides.
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:19 pm
Winning over money anytime! With winnings comes the cash
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:34 pm
I’m sorry, the ship has sailed on this team when Bowles stayed. What’s going happen the first time Dumbo blows a game. Fans will start to boo and players will start mumbling “third and 28”. Then the wheels come off no matter Sonny Stiles or whomever we draft.
Replace TB or TB/JL and fans that have turned into trolls like me can have hope again.
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:46 pm
BucsfaninOregon
If you think replacing Todd Bowles automatically fixes everything, explain this:
• Top 10 scoring defense in 2023
• Division title in 2024
• NFC Divisional Round appearance with a $35M+ dead cap hit
• Developing young defensive core that improved late in the season
You don’t burn down a competitive roster because of one infamous snap.
As for fans booing? If this team wins, nobody’s chanting “Third and 28.” Winning cures everything. Always has.
You want change for emotional satisfaction. The front office wants sustained contention. Those are not the same thing.
Hope doesn’t come from firing people.
Hope comes from drafting well, staying healthy, and finishing games.
And this roster is still good enough to do that.
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:48 pm
The defense will have to have veteran players who are physical and smart enough to overcome not only the opposing offenses but some of Bowles bad decisions. I don’t think Evans staying or leaving is going to make much of a difference at this point. It’s all about getting top tier Defensive Free Agents signed.
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:06 pm
Superbowl or bust!
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:17 pm
buc4evr … ‘It’s all about getting top tier Defensive Free Agents signed.’
Exactly!
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:17 pm
As long as Bowles is coach, about .500 is all you can expect. Proven track record, that’s his ceiling.
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:17 pm
#99 the big fella Says:
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:46 pm
BucsfaninOregon
If you think replacing Todd Bowles automatically fixes everything, explain this:
• Top 10 scoring defense in 2023
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Added to what you wrote about the Top 10 scoring defense in 2023. That is the year the Bucs had 75 million in dead cap money; they were firmly in salary cap hell. Bowles had the #7-ranked scoring defense in the league. He had a Top-Ten scoring defense for four consecutive years, beginning in 2020. He gave up a lot of passing yards during the 2023 season, but his red zone defense was elite, and he was able to prevent teams from scoring TD’s.
The 2025 defense was ugly, but given Bowles track record, he’s not as bad as most commenters seem to believe he is. He clearly needs to adjust his scheme to fit the personnel on the field better, but the talent needs to be upgraded on defense. People here KNOW the talent needs to be upgraded, but still want to blame everything (including climate change) on Bowles.
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:17 pm
Bowzo defense does not work,,,,Simple stuff. Get him OUT!
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:18 pm
Bowles Must Go
Licht and Bowles have a strong lose-now mindset
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:22 pm
Selective memories here. Let’s look at the “great Kirk Cousins” in his last three performances against the Bucs:
Dec 2025 (ATL): 373 passing yards, 3 TD, 0 INT (117.0 rating).
Oct 2025 (ATL): 276 passing yards, 4 TD.
Oct 2024 (ATL): 509 passing yards, 4 TD, 1 INT (Overtime win)
And this from a guy who was benched due to lack of productivity.
Yeah, the Bucs are close.
Oh wait, I know. Stats are for losers.
Is not a 7-9 record after a 5-2 start also a stat?
On second thought, stats are for losers. See above.
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:27 pm
JA ,
How many people have you kicked off your lawn today?
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:30 pm
Bowels is a 7-9 win coach with no killer instinct and a defense so Complex many players seem to have difficulty learning it. I’d like nothing better than to see us win 12-14 games but facts and reason say it will be around 8 to 9 max. Hopefully the offense will stay healthy and pull the team to more wins. This year the draft is really crucial for the Defense. They better get it right and get a few upgrades in the FA market.
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:32 pm
BPBucsfan Says:
As long as Bowles is coach, about .500 is all you can expect. Proven track record, that’s his ceiling.
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Before posting “facts” like that, you may want to first actually look at his track record.
As I mentioned in my last post, Bowles’ track record shows he was top ten in the NFL four consecutive years in the points-per-game allowed opponents. And that includes the 2023 season, when he was 9 – 8, won the division, when the team was in salary cap hell with over 75 million in dead cap money. From a GM’s perspective, that is an excellent season, and not commonly done in the salary cap era.
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:35 pm
BucsFanSince1996
I’m definitely convinced that this site is actually filled with more trolls than actual fans.
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:38 pm
@99 the big fella,
It’s definitely got more than its share of trolls, plus their sock puppets as well.
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:05 pm
Mike Evans will stay, I think he can acknowledge that the Bucs are primed to win the division with a healthy offensive line, and a couple good added pieces to the defense. Personally my thinking is a successful run lies on the shoulders of Mayfield, do we get the Mayfield early in this past season or the one who floundered down the stretch.
If the playoffs are attainable, can Mayfield step up his game or toss 4th quarter interceptions as he has.
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:09 pm
There are actually people out there that think Nowles is a good head coach? Huh..that’s kinda cute.
Well im sure you Bowles supporters are smitten that he gets another chance.
I’ll take a bit if a more practical stance and that’s one where I dont need to pull up meaningless stats, I just watch the games (sometimes multiple times) and form my opinions based on what I see on the field. Anytime the Bucs have a team in 3rd and 15 or less, Im usually shocked or waiting for a flag to come out when the opposing team doesn’t convert. I have watched rookie QBs and back ups easily pass on Bowles defenses.
Ive heard players say their in season practices were soft and like walk thrus.
But, I’m a lifelong Buc fan and will be hoping all of you Bowles supporters are right and he proves this year that he can be more than a 8-10 win coach that gets dumped in the first round of the playoffs. But I’m certainly not betting against history.
My opinion is that we saw Bowles ceiling reached with Coen as OC..one and done.
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:12 pm
This stupid organization must fire Bowzo and try to hire back Gruden and got to 4=3 defense.
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:15 pm
Other potential captions from the pic above:
“Tom…thank you for helping me extend my career by 6 years and running!”
“Put in a good work with DutchBoy Davis for me …I may need a gig next year.”
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:26 pm
I cannot get past the 3-28. It seems his defense is only good when he has a true head coach overseeing it. Also the team checked out on him, how do you ever recover from something like that. So we are to think that next year the players will suddenly have a change of heart? Just once last year it would have been nice that when the opposing qb let the ball go and the camera swings to the receiver that a buccaneer defensive guy would at least be in the same frame. I feel it’s my right as a buccaneers fan for life that I’m able to speak out when someone or something drags the team down.
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:27 pm
If Brady was running it all I’d feel a little more confident.
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:33 pm
Ljsolutions
It’s one thing to speak out as a bucs fan
It’s another to comment on every post that Bowles sucks and you hate him his wife and his kids. I swear it’s the same simple minded pretend fans.
I’m not saying it’s you but look at above comments
One guy has to say the same crap on every post. He can barely form a sentence
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:35 pm
Bakefield is too small to win SB. Bowzo is too xxxxxx.
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:37 pm
A true fan will not follow the herd over the cliff.
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:45 pm
Fanofdabucs Says:
There are actually people out there that think Nowles is a good head coach? Huh..that’s kinda cute.
Well im sure you Bowles supporters are smitten that he gets another chance.
I’ll take a bit if a more practical stance and that’s one where I dont need to pull up meaningless stats…
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I’ve not seen anyone here in the comments section expressing the opinion that Bowles is a “good head coach”. It sounds a bit like the beginning of a strawman argument. I, for one, am not “smitten that he gets another chance.”
My opinion – he is an average coach in the league. It’s a mixed bag. He’s got strengths that are above average and weaknesses that are below average. He’s certainly not as bad as some trolls in the comments section claim. And there are stats that back that up that are far from meaningless. The job of a defensive coach is to stop the other team from scoring points, isn’t it? Bowles’ defense was Top Ten in the league for 4 consecutive years. If you believe that to be meaningless, I’m glad that you’re not the GM.
My preference would have been to see him replaced as HC this offseason if the Glazers could have gotten an upgrade. They did reach out to John Harbaugh’s agent, so I suspect they were looking. That said, the ugliness we witnessed this past season on defense wasn’t all due to Bowles. Multiple positions on defense are clearly in need of an upgrade. I’m confident that that will happen in the months to come.
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:52 pm
BucsFanSince1996
I agree 100% I was on the get rid of Bowles train.
We are stuck with him and these crybabies need to get over it.
Bowles is the head coach. He is ultimately who gets the blame when things go wrong. It definitely wasn’t all his fault
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:59 pm
I would absolutely *LOVE* to see the Bucs sign Devin Lloyd. He’s an awesome linebacker- especially against the pass! We should go after him as hard as possible also because we can choose BPA in the draft instead of being stuck having to take linebackers early and often.
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:02 pm
BPBucsfan Says:
As long as Bowles is coach, about .500 is all you can expect. Proven track record, that’s his ceiling.
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If you look at the history of many of the greatest coaches in the history of the league, you’d find out they were way BELOW .500 for some seasons at the beginning of their career.
Tom Landry .391 after 7 seasons
Chuck Noll .286 after 5 seasons
Bill Walsh .292 after 4 seasons
Belichick .450 after 5 seasons
I’m not comparing Bowles with those coaches. I’m just pointing out how worthless your claim about Bowles ceiling and “proven track record” is.
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:03 pm
Win now?
Not sure what that means other than it’s always win now.
Take off your Pewter glasses folks, this is not a team that anyone is worried about.
Sure last year was an exaggeration to the downside with injuries abound.
Sure the roster will be better at kickoff for the first game in September.
Defense is a lineup in progress and in search of leadership and identity.
As one of the article titles in recent days
This team scares nobody
Yet….
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:05 pm
I hope for good things, but I cannot point to one thing that gives me any confidence in this team next year. That is unless we can score 50 points a game with the new OC. Who wants to follow a leader who throws all his coaches under the bus to save his own butt.
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:05 pm
Just wanted to point out that Jerry Rice did leave San Fran and went to the Raiders
– u were stating all the great who never left there team they were with there whole career.
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:06 pm
Hahaha….
I have been posting from Vietnam, my first time back since the American War as they call it here….
My www host signature must be alerting Joes filters
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:07 pm
The run Defense was not bad last year
The pass defense was terrible, mainly because the pass rush was terrible
The special teams were awful- maybe worst in NFL
Alot of injuries on offense hurt production
And an inexperienced OC who wasn’t ready for the job hurt.
The Patriots turned it around in one year. Seahawks surprised alot of fans.
Interesting off season coming up.
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Its like the Peyton manning lamar Jackson comparison…they’re practically the same so far in Jackson’s career except for the rushing
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:14 pm
Never been a Bowles lover or hater, although I will never understand why his zone defenses have so many massive holes in it. Players just don’t seem to understand who to pick up and when in my opinion.
My major beef with Bowles is his pretense that everything is alright and that they have the players they need when CLEARLY they do not. Yeah, I get it, you want to keep the guys who are playing motivated but there are massive deficiencies in many areas of the defense and pretending that there aren’t earns you zero trust with fans. On the other hand, what else can he do? Throw Licht under the bus?
I think many fans do not understand how truly confining the salary cap makes things as far as just going out and getting the guy they want. Sure, you can manipulate contracts to create cap room for any given season but you are just putting yourself further and further in the hole in subsequent years (sort of like the U.S. deficit).
Bottom Line: I agree with many that Bowles probably should have been jettisoned this offseason but I also believe it would not have helped much. The year to have done that was last year when they could have replaced him with Coen.
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:15 pm
HC Grover Says:
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:37 pm
A true fan will not follow the herd over the cliff.
A true fan won’t follow the herd over the cliff.”
Exactly. And the herd right now is the annual ‘Fire Bowles’ mob.
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:20 pm
This season is a lost cause for one reason and one reason only… TODD BOWLES IS STILL THE HEAD COACH!
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:21 pm
Good teams find a way to win close football games. Not throw interceptions on the winning drive.Just sayin.
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:27 pm
Bucnbeers Says:
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:21 pm
Good teams find a way to win close football games. Not throw interceptions on the winning drive.Just sayin.
If the standard is “never lose a close game,” then 31 coaches should be fired every season.
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:27 pm
#99 the big fella … ‘We are stuck with him and these crybabies need to get over it. Bowles is the head coach. He is ultimately who gets the blame when things go wrong. It definitely wasn’t all his fault’.
I like that analysis #99. Head coaches always get the blame for a losing season. And if that HC is ALSO the defensive coordinator & the defense plays poorly, he’s in for a double whammy.
I’m not a fan of HCs being dual-hatted as DCs or OCs because very few seem to be able to excel at each responsibility. So did a little research to see which defensive-background HCs also call defensive plays for their team. Looks like for 2026 we’ll see the following …
1-Seahawks: HC Mike McDonald (defense ranked #1 in 2025)
2-Texans: HC DeMeco Ryans (defense ranked #2 in 2025)
3-Bucs: HC Todd Bowles (defense ranked #20 in 2025)
4-Commanders: HC Dan Quinn (defense ranked #27 in 2025)
5-Jets: HC Aaron Glenn (will call defense for Jets in 2026)
6-Titans: HC Robert Saleh (will call defense for Titans in 2026)
7-Ravens: HC Jesse Minter (will call defense for Ravens in 2026)
So apparently Todd Bowles isn’t the only HC who has dual-hatted himself as DC. Some HCs seem better equipped to pull it off than others, but I’m convinced that what they NEED is a very strong OC so they can minimize the HC time they spend on the offense. Bowles didn’t have that last season (but of course HE was the one who picked Grizz to be his OC).
Also convinced the other thing they need is a talented defense with some strong field leadership. We lacked both the talent AND the field leadership on defense last season IMO. And it seems logical that because Todd the HC had to spend extra time each week on offense AND Special Teams, the defense suffered lack of well-designed strategies & tactics. I’m actually surprised that the Glazers & Licht allowed him to remain as DC.
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:28 pm
Scotty Mack Says:
Bottom Line: I agree with many that Bowles probably should have been jettisoned this offseason but I also believe it would not have helped much. The year to have done that was last year when they could have replaced him with Coen.
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They clearly didn’t want to lose Coen. And he agreed to stay and become the highest-paid OC in the league (before he fled to Jacksonville)
If the Glazers knew back then what they know now, maybe they would have done that. (hindsight is always 20-20). They might have thought it was risky back then, because a great coordinator isn’t necessarily going to be a great head coach. It’s a different skillset.
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:39 pm
I agree that if healthy the Bucs have the offensive weapons to win right now. The defense is another story. We don’t have an edge rush we don’t have inside linebackers, we are short at least one corner. That is how it appears, what if the coaching is subpar or the defensive scheme is just too confusing for the entire defense to comprehend and implement. There is a definite problem with the defense. I am not sure that the draft and free agency can fix the defense.
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:50 pm
BucsFanSince1996, Defense Rules, Scotty Mack
Nice to see you guys can actually see both sides and have good conversations
You guys have a great night
February 22nd, 2026 at 9:01 pm
Thank you, you as well #99!
February 22nd, 2026 at 9:08 pm
LakelandSteve Says:
I am not sure that the draft and free agency can fix the defense.
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It may take a couple of seasons to totally fix it. If Kancey and Walker can stay on the field, that can make a huge difference; I believe both of them can be great.
It sounds like Walker is projected to be able to participate in the off-season OTAs.
Bowles has to know his seat is so hot he can’t even sit down. 😉
I bet he’ll be screaming for lots of help in both free agency and the draft.
If they fix the pass rush, I’m not concerned about the secondary. I expect Zyon to have a bounce-back year, and the whole secondary will look better when the QB doesn’t have all day to find someone open.
February 22nd, 2026 at 9:20 pm
baker sucks and they are about to tear it down, should have done it already. Midget, loser, inaccurate , streaky Qb will be averged to bad again this year and everyone else will get blamed but him. The defense will be ranked 18th but the offense can be ranked 22nd, yet every call, messge and article will be about the defense. Idgaf about the sam backer, edge, backup guard, nickel back, we are not going anywhere with this qb who will be the 4th or 5th oldest qb on opening day. I saw some guy say it, baker is really under.500 outside the nfc south…in 3 years. They are not extending him for a reason. One more crappy season and this era is over. hc and qb can kick rocks
February 22nd, 2026 at 10:02 pm
The thing that makes this site so unique is that it’s not straight news. It has a great news side but also a heavy ‘fan’ slant to it. Which makes it genuine. I really appreciate that.
But that side can also give you blinders.
If you take the ‘top of tops’ under this head coach it’s the ‘23 post season and the ‘24 regular season. I’m not asking you to judge ‘22 or ‘25, just his best performances. Extended losing streak in both seasons, the playoff win was against a team that was spiraling at the end of the year and a quick exit in ‘24.
The team in ‘24 should have won 12 games, not 10.
By any objective manner he’s a 500 HC in Tampa. We will not be a contender next year other than for the participation trophy division. If we win 9-10 games next season it will be another quick out.
That’s who this guy is.
February 22nd, 2026 at 10:23 pm
Bucs 2025 season in a nutshell… “Woulda Coulda Shoulda But Didn’t”
Excuses are just that…Excuses.
Every team in the NFL faces adversity. Every team has to overcome obstacles and challenges. Nothing is granted or guaranteed…It’s taken. It’s earned. And the Bucs didn’t earn it in 2025.
They did not do what was needed from a scheme and depth perspective before the season…And didn’t do what was needed before the trade deadline to fix the glaring roster holes…Or fix post-bye-week coaching deficiencies in season. Period. End of story.
Now, Bowles & Licht need to analyze what went right and what went wrong… Lay out the lessons learned & a plan of action to fix the known problem areas so 2026 is not a repeat. If not, they are both likely gone.
February 22nd, 2026 at 10:34 pm
The draft and free agency can fix the defense- though we do need several players. Devin Lloyd would be a great start since he’s such a great LB against the pass. Would be hugely helpful. I hope we can sign him.
February 22nd, 2026 at 11:33 pm
Father time enters the chat
February 22nd, 2026 at 11:41 pm
@1996 – what are you babbling about? Landry? Noll? Belichick? Di osaurs from an extinct league. By naming names you automatically are comparing them. How about thd other 100s that never turned it around? You serious? Your big comeback was to rattle off the exceptions not the norms? Embarrassing AF. Smdh. Homer ish
February 22nd, 2026 at 11:59 pm
‘How close was Tampa Bay to being a good team last season?’
Quite a few of us believe the Bucs were only a quality HC and a quality DC away!
Seriously, The Bucs started strong and likely would have finished strong with quality coaching and leadership… Sad that these young players will be forced to waste another year of their career because the owners chose to waste a season keeping a cheap, generic bo-bo HC…
February 23rd, 2026 at 1:47 am
We are so fortunate Bowles was retained. As #99 and others have said or implied, the dude has two huge jobs at the same time. So he must count on his assistants to do a lot of the detail work. They failed. Did he hire the wrong guys? Maybe but that’s not his fault. He fired all the slackers and now the new dudes are a sure thing and will have the Bucs cooking with gas.
Even though giving up yards on defense correlates very strongly to giving up points over the years across the NFL (and history), Bowles has defied that correlation (except that he’s been giving up more points every year for the last three, but that’s not his fault).
The Bucs are primed for the big time, and it’s all thanks to the retention of Todd. And, he’s also developed a defense where performance is the same regardless of who is on the field. So getting top shelf players is not a priority. Any scrub can get the same results.
Seriously. For the Bucs to end up finishing 2-7 against that cruel schedule was an underrated accomplishment. All those teams played their very best ball against the Bucs. That is rare.
Go Todd. Go Bucs.
Todd is the best.
February 23rd, 2026 at 4:49 am
Bye Baker Bye Bowles. You don’t have any credibility. Zero. In the vernacular of the football commentary world you are a jacka$$. “You heard some guy say”. Some guy sounds as stupid as you Bye Bye. In the 3 years Baker has been here he has destroyed NFC competition. 3-1 against NFC north in 2023. 3-1 against NFC east in 2024. 3-1 against NFC west in 2025. That’s 9-3 in 3 years. We’ve beaten the Super Bowl champs in each of the last two years. You know about as much football as my wife knows Bye Bye. No, she likes Baker Mayfield. So she knows more than you do and that’s the only thing she knows.
February 23rd, 2026 at 6:21 am
I guarantee you that 90% of the people who think the Bucs are nowhere close to being even a “good” team thought something entirely different when they were sitting at 5-1 last season, just after man handling the 49ers.
Practically everybody thought the Bucs were contenders at that point. Some in the national media were even picking the Bucs to finish the season as the #1 seed and Baker to win the MVP.
As Joe said, something went wrong after that. Who knows what it really was?
February 23rd, 2026 at 7:25 am
@joe, this is a compelling argument, but idk how accurate of a data set this is. You don’t hear of the beef when they stay, the ones that stayed got paid or had noticeable declines in skill, and not a real robust collection of data or sample size to present as a viable argument. The concept is there but the research is thin to subjective. 90% of that list still thought of themselves as top dollar guys while their clubs had other opinions and directions. It is a bit premature to assume that Evans’ negotiations won’t have a similar ending
February 23rd, 2026 at 8:58 am
Well see what a coaches overhaul does in Baltimore they have arguably the best roster on paper maybe they’ll stay healthy threw next season ,and leave the blueprint for the glazers its all about health and team comroderty which I feel is up to the HC
February 23rd, 2026 at 2:18 pm
Nowhere even close to becoming a contender. Even if offense improves, which seems likely if offensive line stays healthy. Their defense is a dumpster fire. They might get lucky get a few turnovers and play better in spurts , but their defense needs a complete overhaul. Buc fans will be singing the blues next season
February 23rd, 2026 at 2:22 pm
Bowles will never be fired, he will be allowed to leave on his own terms. The Bucs are currently not concerned with fielding an elite team. They hit paydirt in 2002 and 2020 with a veteran OB and a no nonsense, aggressive Offensive play caller HC. When Bowles retires, if Team Glazer hires a Gruden/Arians type of coach and gets a skillful veteran QB then the fans will know that they are ready to make a SERIOUS run at the Super Bowl. Until then, I will continue to hope for the best even though I know that we are not a serious contender for deep advancement in the playoffs. Go Bucs!
February 23rd, 2026 at 3:57 pm
#99 the big fella Says:
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:52 pm
BucsFanSince1996
I agree 100% I was on the get rid of Bowles train.
We are stuck with him and these crybabies need to get over it.
Bowles is the head coach. He is ultimately who gets the blame when things go wrong. It definitely wasn’t all his fault
He is the HC, it all falls on Bowles. i agree that he isn’t going anywhere and the Bucs have had a great deal of injuries to overcome. He is looked upon as stubborn because he will not go hire a DC and let him cook….so he will get more blame as the play caller and the Head Coach. Hopefully, the Bucs can have better luck with injuries next year and win 9/10 games to make the playoffs.
February 23rd, 2026 at 4:31 pm
Hey, I have been as vocal as anyone that Bowls MUST go. The Bucs/Glazers should have reset. They are just delaying the inevitable. Having said that, and even if Big Mike were to play elsewhere, if this offense can stay even semi-heatlhy, they are going to score points. Problem is the defense. They absolutely STINK. And Bowles is supposed to be a defensive guy. BS on that – for sure. So many pieces are needed. I just dont see how they are going to replenish a morbid defensive roster. No pass rush. Poor tackling. Soft coverage. Hey, at least the special teams will be improved.