Times Have Changed For Todd Bowles
March 31st, 2026
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BY IRA KAUFMAN
There he was, posing for a picture Monday among his NFL coaching fraternity.
Todd Bowles stood in the middle of the back row, next to Detroit’s Dan Campbell, as a photographer snapped a group photo taken at the annual owners meetings in a plush Phoenix resort.
Will Bowles be around for the next shoot in the spring of 2027?
A confident Todd Bowles on Monday morning at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix.
His future with the Bucs depends on which way the arrow points at the end of the season. That arrow looked bent last year as Tampa Bay crumbled after a 6-2 getaway.
The 8-9 finish was the second for Bowles in his four years at the helm. Overall, he is 35-33 since replacing Bruce Arians in 2022. He’ll enter the season clearly on the griddle, determined to repay the Glazers for the trust they showed by keeping him, despite a 2-7 collapse following the bye.
There are 10 new coaches in the league and more than a few Buc fans are incensed ownership brought Bowles back for a fifth season. A fifth consecutive division title that appeared locked up in October was won instead by a Carolina club that started 1-3 and finished 27th in the NFL in both points and yards.
If Bowles is aware of the extent of fan disillusionment, he doesn’t show it. He says he’s got a job to do — and that job became more difficult without franchise icons Mike Evans and Lavonte David.
It’s hard to believe, but only six current NFL coaches have been on the sidelines longer than Bowles, who went 2-1 with the 2011 Dolphins as interim head coach and 24-40 with the Jets before joining the Bucs in 2019 as defensive coordinator under Arians.
After Andy Reid, Sean Payton, John Harbaugh, Mike McCarthy, Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay, Bowles is the next name on the list as he approaches his ninth season as a head coach.
Raheem Morris used to say the NFL is about a race to 10, meaning 10 wins historically lands you in the playoffs. For Bowles, his personal race to 10 hinges on a successful season. Even a 9-8 record may not be good enough to keep his job.
Surely, anything less than nine wins should result in a coaching change. Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden were both dismissed following 9-win seasons, and they had built up far more equity than Bowles at this point.
Bowles knows what he’s up against.
The NFC South won’t be a garbage dump forever and there’s a rather large leadership void that must be filled at One Buc Place. The oddsmakers have pegged Tampa Bay’s over-under win total at 8.5. That’s still better than the rest of the division, but 8 or 9 wins shouldn’t cut it with the Glazers.
They’re supposed to be hunting championships — not accepting mediocrity.
A year ago, Bowles was coming off a 10-7 record with no reason to wonder about his job security. Times have changed.
Now he’s standing at the coaching crossroads, hoping to find a path toward the next photo shoot.
March 31st, 2026 at 1:18 pm
12 wins with a playoff win or Bowles & Baker can both hit it…
GO BUCS!!!!
March 31st, 2026 at 1:31 pm
Still waiting for the Glazers to explain their inexplicable decision to keep him. Their explanation should including reconciling that decision with the Glazers we saw on the Amazon Prime documentary who talked about the importance of winning.
March 31st, 2026 at 1:40 pm
Bucs will go 7-10 but have some injuries along the way. Bowles will keep his job since the Bucs may end up having a player injured this year.
Bowles will say that is five straight years of finishing first or second in the division, so I deserve to stay the head coach.
March 31st, 2026 at 1:40 pm
The Glazers appear to be happy with mediocrity nowadays.
Taking a Super Bowl roster to a 35-33 record over three years? Everyone else has seen enough.
March 31st, 2026 at 1:43 pm
Guys, I just got back from the future and you will never believe how this season plays out!
Bucs jump out to decent start are 4-2.
Then they have a bye week and with that extra week of prep… they lose the game.
The Bucs go 1-4 over next 5.
They are 5-7 with some winnable games down the stretch but they finish 8-9 again and miss the playoffs.
Bowles says they needed to play it better and coach it better but he did all he could do.
March 31st, 2026 at 1:49 pm
Hmmmm you mentioned Tony dungy and Jon gruden both available Mike Tomlin and Herm edwards also available I wonder if 2027 we get back to greatness? We all know as soon as they kept jl and tb the 2026 season was already over so go bucs!
March 31st, 2026 at 1:50 pm
Great post Sage. Of the 7 coaches you mentioned, Bowles and Shanahan are the only 2 without a Super Bowl as a head coach. I don’t want to get excited too early here, but you’ve got to admit that would be a good game for the NFC Championship.
March 31st, 2026 at 1:56 pm
If I were Todd Bowles I wouldn’t have a worry in the world.
The Glazers have provided him with Teflon job security.
Most NFL owners would have fired the HC\DC instantly after a collapse like 2025.
6-2 at the bye to 2-7 down the stretch to finish 8-9 and no playoffs?
It gets no cushier than that as a HC in the NFL. Results no longer are a factor in Tampa.
March 31st, 2026 at 2:03 pm
If neither Bowles or Baker could uplift this “TEAM” enough to have won JUST two more of those final games last season with THAT SCHEDULE, then neither one of them are “HIM” (The Guy). Players weren’t bought in. Period. None of them were Buying-It. Mike BOLTED, and Lavonte could NOT find the “motivation” to return for more. That should tell you ALL you need to know. Cause, there is no-way in HAIL, Lavonte walks away from a Contender. Same goes for Mike. No way possible. It is a HUGE Indictment. 💯
March 31st, 2026 at 2:07 pm
Standing at the crossroads, huh? Many think Todd’s stubbornness is what’s gonna doom him. But if he is at the crossroads, I hope he goes straight ahead. Go straight ahead with the horse that brung you. His defense, to the untrained eye, was shockingly bad. But if our offense had any umph at all Todd and that defense would have won 12 games. Noone could have foreseen Tristan, and Bucky, and Kieft, and Goedecke, and Mauch, and Bredeson, and Evans, and Godwin, and JMac, all missing games and alot of them. That is 9!!! starters from our offense on the bench. Defense wasn’t any good but it was better than a dozen teams in the league’s defense. That’s without Kancey and Walker. Go straight at the crossroads, coach. That’s the path to the next photo shoot.
March 31st, 2026 at 2:21 pm
Oh the built in excuses. Evans left. David retiree. Hall left. I’m sure there will be a few injuries.
The fact that this team was so flat last year, and they fired assistant coaches but not the mediocre sub-.500 HC that Arians manipulated the Bucs into hiring just shows the complacency of the owners … unless
This is all a ploy to bring in Mike Tomlinson next year.
Honestly, he had a great run at Pitt, but so did Lovie in Chicago.
This team is heading back to its historical embarrassing bottom dwelling.
March 31st, 2026 at 2:33 pm
Its pretty easy to make the case that he has a path to 8 wins:
Division: 3-3
6 non division home games: 3-3
5 non division road games: 2-3
Given the opponents next year you can def find 2 road wins and three home wins in those non divisionals.
Now take into account which way the bounces and health go. If those two variables even out, ask yourself: do I think this coach will flip 1 or 2 games to wins or losses.
I know which way I would bet $$.
March 31st, 2026 at 2:40 pm
Vomitous.
March 31st, 2026 at 2:40 pm
If it’s a ploy to bring in Mike Tomlin, I’m all for it.
March 31st, 2026 at 3:11 pm
Like most Bucs fans, I was hoping for a new head coach. If Bowles doesn’t do much better than he has with the Bucs next season. I see season ticket holders deserting in droves, if Bowles is brought back yet again.
If Licht helped drive bringing Bowles back, he should be fired along with Bowles, if it doesn’t work out. I believe he’s done a good job overall, a championship, but enough already. Firing everyone but Bowles isn’t the answer.
If Licht wants to tie himself to the SS Bowles, Glazers should let him go down with the ship.
The least enthusiastic I’ve been since the post-Gruden, pre-Arians years.
March 31st, 2026 at 3:20 pm
I hear you Ira. My question to you and Joe with this current roster do you see more than 8 wins?, I don’t . I don’t know how he can go into a season with the current starting corners we have , with no depth behind them. And bad as the LB and edge situation is , the corners could be worse or maybe even. So I don’t know how Licht and Bowles think they can contend, unless they have one heck of a draft. Maybe just maybe if they take the TE everyone is talking about and he proves to be really good, maybe they can out score their opponents. However I will stick to 7 to 8 wins at best. They simply need to much talent at this point.
So I don’t see how Bowles survives.
March 31st, 2026 at 3:21 pm
Definitely don’t want Tomlin.
Boooooooooring.
Let’s get lucky with no major injuries and take home the Lombardi *this* year.
March 31st, 2026 at 3:22 pm
8-9 will save him again or even 7-10. This is the curse of the Glazers/
March 31st, 2026 at 3:28 pm
No more Rooney rule after this Year!!!
March 31st, 2026 at 3:29 pm
Saskbucs … ‘Guys, I just got back from the future and you will never believe how this season plays out!’
I’ve been looking for someone with answers Saskbucs, because no one here seems to have them. Just a couple questions since you’ve seen the future & none of the rest of us have …
1 – Who did we end up drafting?
2 – Did we add any more free agents before the season started to improve our depth on offense or defense?
3 – Which opponents did we play to start off 4-2? And oh ya, then which opponents beat the daylights out of us for us to then go 1-4 in the next 5 games?
4 – Oh almost forgot, did Baker get injured again this season or did he make it through unscathed? I’m worried about him.
Appreciate the advance info. I enjoy betting so much more when I know the outcome beforehand.
March 31st, 2026 at 3:40 pm
How are we fans to trust and respect the Glazers when they kept Bowles without saying a word publicly after a full blown collapse? The arrow is pointing down and yet here we are – so what is the reasoning? We fans don’t deserve to know? Not entitled to know? Well, watch attendance drop this year. Repeat this crap show and watch attendance fall off the map next year. Maybe then the Glazers will get it.
March 31st, 2026 at 4:24 pm
Licht and Bowles should put their excuses on a loop and just hit play whenever they are asked a question.
March 31st, 2026 at 4:28 pm
If the Bucs win more than they lose this year, it will be because the offense was really good. If the offense is really good, and the defense stinks up the joint like they have the last few years (which is likely with the same guy calling the shots), Robinson will probably be the next HC.
March 31st, 2026 at 5:01 pm
813bucboi said – “12 wins with a playoff win or Bowles & Baker can both hit it”
I’ll ask you and all of the other rabid Baker haters once again, expecting crickets, as usual, for a reply, who are you replacing Baker with? Is Joe Burrow available and I don’t know it? (and even if he was, will he ever play an entire season again?). Mahomes, Allen, Herbert … any of them?
Sorry, a rookie sure isn’t going to cut it – especially if you proscribe to the ridiculous notion that the Bucs cannot develop a QB because they haven’t done it before (ignoring the fact that Brad Johnson and Baker Mayfield had the best years of their entire career playing for a team that cannot develop QBs).
Well, who’s it going to be boys? ….
March 31st, 2026 at 5:12 pm
Boohoo boohoo boohoo …
whine, whine, whine …
whoa is our team.
whoa is our coach.
whoa is our QB.
Rinse; repeat.
Pretty much the comment section from “fans” of the Bucs for every article on JBF. Hilarious stuff, really, reading the comments from Les Misérables.
Honestly, I don’t know how most of you make it through your misery to see the next day.
March 31st, 2026 at 5:32 pm
Clearly, Drew Locke
March 31st, 2026 at 5:59 pm
“I enjoy betting so much more when I know the outcome beforehand”. You and all of our elected officials in Washington.
March 31st, 2026 at 6:01 pm
Licht and Bowles have a winning formula. Load up on offensive and find the best Sean McVay OC we can because the defensive side of the ball will always be trash
March 31st, 2026 at 6:27 pm
Scott Mack
Replace Baker with a rookie. Replacing Baker with Jameis would be a massive upgrade. Baker isnt the only QB in the world that can lead his team to a 2-7 finish during a playoff push. Baker fans are so funny, they act like Bake is an MVP coming off a deep playoff run. Baker NEEDS competition. Walsh did it to Montana with Young and Montana won how many rings? But of course the Bucs don’t want to bruise the fragile ego of Bake so no competition there, just the status quo. Its worked out well for the Bucs fans and media that love losing.
March 31st, 2026 at 7:02 pm
Jameis was benched in Cleveland. Lost the games played for the Giants. Oh and how did he do with the Saints? Can’t believe the Jameis family still wants that turnover machine back here.
March 31st, 2026 at 7:13 pm
DBS
How are those results different from how the season ended? At least Jameis is entertaining and fun to watch and can actually throw a pass further than 10 yards. Plus his terrible play will help the Bucs get a new QB…like he did before.
March 31st, 2026 at 7:22 pm
Jameis is not fun to watch. Interceptions and all his pic 6’s would only be fun to a clown that has no clue and wants Baker gone for one reason.
March 31st, 2026 at 7:56 pm
Bowles did a good job when jpp/Barrett/suh was roaming the field . BA was head coach & Todd could somewhat be accountable calling defense. But I’m telling you guys , watching cover zero call & then no forced puts in a damn playoff game to 3rd n 28 . This crap has to stop !it’s completely embarrassing & he should be ashamed of himself. It’s like his name is toilet todd so he has got to make sure any thought of a deep playoff run will go right down the toilet along with the brass coconuts the owner’s never had .
March 31st, 2026 at 10:46 pm
DR. Brilliant.
April 1st, 2026 at 12:03 am
Moved to Tampa after graduation 1989. Hideous program now BS HEAD COACH must have pictures of wrong doing. He is hard headed fool it’s not 1970 footballl game. GURU ON DEFENSE. LOLl
April 1st, 2026 at 12:17 am
Nice take, George.
April 1st, 2026 at 7:05 am
I believe the Glazers were thinking that in a couple months after the stunning pathetic monetary decision to retain Bowles that the heat would die down by now and everybody would turn their attention to the draft and have enthusiasm for the upcoming season. They thought wrong. Their fatal flaw was trying to convince fans that they misread what they were seeing on the field the last 2 months of the season. The fan disgust was at about 90% before the 3 stooges here took to the press podium with their laughable gaslighting. Now it looks like the fan disgust is over 95%. Another failed miscalculation by the front office.
April 1st, 2026 at 7:59 am
Scotty Mack
we can miss the playoffs with a rookie qb or another journeyman qb lol….why stick with baker if we continue to lose lol
GO BUCS!!!!
April 1st, 2026 at 10:37 am
They are misreading what they saw on the field the last 2 months. I saw a team missing 2 starting guards which caused the pass rush to get home on every passing and running play putting the offense in neutral and leaving them there.
It was obvious folks if you actually watched the games.