YaYa Diaby, Todd Bowles And Quitting
June 28th, 2026
Believes in Todd Bowles.
The Bucs may have missed the playoffs for the first this decade time last year. And you could argue, as a pass rusher, YaYa Diaby hasn’t yet been developed.
(YaYa in his rookie season, which included seven starts, had 7.5 sacks. That’s currently his season-best.)
But when it comes to the Bucs, YaYa told “The Insiders” last week, seen weeknights on NFL Network, that Bucs coach and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles is his guy.
“Man, for me, I love Coach Bowles, man,” YaYa said when asked about Bowles. “I love playing for him.
“I love going to war for him, and just the way he uplifts players and make sure everybody is doing what they need to be doing. There is no guy I’d rather play for.”
It’s great to hear the respect YaYa has for Bowles. And YaYa most certainly is not one of the quitters on the Bucs defense last year.
Yeah, using the word “quit” in football is damning. But that’s what Joe saw (and heard). Not everyone. But enough. There were players who quit on Bowles (and the Bucs) last year.
That’s disrespect, plain and simple. So Joe doesn’t believe Bowles had widespread respect from his players in 2025 as he has from YaYa.
Baker Mayfield tried to light a fire under the defense. It didn’t work.
Lavonte David tried to light a fire under the defense a couple of times. It didn’t work.
And Bowles tried to light a fire under the defense at least twice. It didn’t work.
If players don’t respond to the quarterback who is laying his guts on the field each week; if players don’t respond to a Hall of Fame linebacker who the team is modeled after; if the players don’t respond to a head coach while in a playoff chase for crying out loud, that’s disrespect.
And that’s also quitting.
June 28th, 2026 at 12:44 am
There’s certainly people out there like Reddick who obviously are profiteering locker room cancers. If his lousy approach caught on with a couple other players they have since been retired, knocked out of the NFL, or shipped elsewhere. A couple players were “injured” late in the season and I’m almost certain Bowles benched at least 1 if not 2 of them. They’re all gone now. Huge overhaul of the defense, and it should bring some tremendous results. Let’s move on. Bad people are just simply bad people.
June 28th, 2026 at 12:46 am
Todd Bowles is a terrible HC\DC. Plain and simple. Everyone knows it.
If not for outside agendas he would no longer work as a HC in the NFL.
That’s not opinion, or conjecture, or hyperbole, it’s a fact.
The results are in after four long years. And they speak for themselves.
He’s the Jameis Winston of being a HC\DC. Eating W’s and lots of KitKats.
June 28th, 2026 at 1:17 am
We’ve heard this movie before.
The same crowd that insisted the Bucs couldn’t finish near the top against the run… watched them finish 5th.
The same crowd that said Bake couldn’t revive his career… watched him become a Pro Bowl quarterback in Tampa.
Now it’s, “Everyone knows Bowles has lost the locker room.”
Really?!!
YaYa Diaby just said, “There is no guy I’d rather play for.” I’ll continue to trust the guys inside the building over the trolls outside of it.
And before anyone screams “results,” let’s use actual context instead of selective memory.
• Injuries devastated the secondary.
• The defense was rebuilt this offseason to address its biggest weaknesses.
• YaYa’s sack total may not have jumped, but his pressures, run defense, and workload have continued to trend upward. Analytics have always shown sacks alone don’t tell the whole story.
As I’ve said before, football isn’t played in a vacuum. Context matters. The LynchMobs and Thursday Morning Trash-Take Crew love declaring everything is broken after every setback. Then, when the season plays out differently, they quietly move on to the next complaint.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:
Facts over feelings. Film over narratives. Analytics over hot takes. Sunday afternoons have a funny way of exposing Thursday morning experts.
LFG!!
Join the movement!
Ring ME!!