Is Todd Bowles Ready To Have Edge Rushers Drop Less Often In Coverage?
March 18th, 2026
For those who missed it, Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht sat down for an exclusive interview with the heavy hitters at JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters.
This was three weeks ago at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis via the Ira Kaufman Podcast.
Kaufman asked Licht about Todd Bowles getting harassed by fans for having edge rushers drop in coverage more than most teams, seemingly at times when he should be letting his best pass rushers get after the quarterback.
Licht said Bowles gets skewered too much for that defensive tactic. But most interesting to Joe, Licht hinted that Bowles is reconsidering that component of his defense.
“I think he takes a little bit too much heat for it,” Licht said of Bowles dropping pass rushers in coverage. “But I think he’s also taking a deep dive again this year in this offseason with his staff on what is effective and what isn’t. So, I’m not trying to put words into [Todd’s mouth]; that’ll be a better question for him. I don’t want to give anything away. But I think he takes too much heat for it.”
Stay tuned.
March 18th, 2026 at 9:59 am
It’s gonna be the same story, a pass defense ranked in the bottom of the league. Pretty sure Bowles has had a top 15 pass defense twice in all of his coaching stops.
March 18th, 2026 at 10:05 am
Geez…. couldn’t they ask why put Vita in pass coverage? Also, telling they stated “Fans” skewer. It should be “The Media – Sports Writers” should be the skewers, but they want to be part of the good ole boy network, to get the free meals on game day.
March 18th, 2026 at 10:06 am
even a broken clock is right 2x a day….
hmmmm…. took all season to reconsider ????
March 18th, 2026 at 10:13 am
Is Todd Bowles Ready To Have Edge Rushers Drop Less Often In Coverage?
I have no idea!!! but Lefty R is ready to drop Todd Bowles as DC and just make him the HC of the Bucs!!!
March 18th, 2026 at 10:14 am
It’s a tactic that he uses because his guts can’t get to the opposing QB and in hopes that the QB is going to make a mistake. The guy that is blitzing has repeatedly failed to get home and disrupt the QB. The end result is what we got bounced out of games we should have won.
Fix the D-Line first, everything gets better. Should have picked up Philips, now we are going to be opposing him twice a year.
You can do it the right way, the wrong way OR whatever the heck Bowles is doing.
March 18th, 2026 at 10:15 am
Guts “guys”
March 18th, 2026 at 10:17 am
I’m so confused as to how Todd Bowles doesn’t have a base defense that he can fall back on. What’s going on with him?
March 18th, 2026 at 10:19 am
The genius isn’t going to change anything. In fact watch him double down. Soft garbage zone. Players clueless about their assignments.
And Licht retained him and blamed everyone else.
Atrocity. Sham. Fraud.
March 18th, 2026 at 10:34 am
There is a reason why the Bucs defense is not good.
Let’s start with the Bucs defense and how much money has been invested in the defense. In round numbers the offense is spending close to 200 million to just a little over 100 million on defense. It should be obvious why the defense is not good.
So many posters seem to think we are not good because of bad coaching from Bowles. I’ll say that some of you have a point. However; when i read posts that we
need Bowels to adjust or coach up the players better. This is folly! In the words of Bill Parcells “it’s all about the Jimmy’s and the Joe’s.” You can have the best coach in the NFL and he will only be a little better than most. No amount of adjustments or schemes will fix inferior players. That’s a fact! we certainly don’t have Jimmy’s and Joe’s now! I’m sure we are going to go defense in this upcoming draft and hopefully we draft studs who will make an impact. In 2027 we will be set with cap money to get some game ready players.
March 18th, 2026 at 10:39 am
I think the heat he takes for it is on account of fans not knowing WHY we’d drop OLBs in coverage, especially as it correlates to Bowles’ tendency to manufacture pressure even without at having an elite pass rusher.
Alot of the outrage, and mockery over Bowles doing it when it’s common place at the collegiate and pro level has more to do with what critics don’t know compared to what they “think” should be standard practice for “edge rushers” in my opinion.
March 18th, 2026 at 10:41 am
I haven’t seen Bowles bring in a pass rush sub-package. Sure, he rotates DL and edge guys, but he doesn’t use a sub-package on passing downs. Bring in the best pass rushers at edge, forget the dropback in coverage. Bring in LB’s who are the best cover guys, or bring in DBs who can shut down tight ends. Tight ends continue to be an issue with LVD losing a step in coverage.
March 18th, 2026 at 11:00 am
Unless you are blitzing, one of those two OLBs is gonna have to drop. If you want to rush both then take out a DL or blitz and take your medicine.