Is Todd Bowles No Longer Playing Chess With His Defense?
June 29th, 2026
Have offensive coordinators figured out Todd Bowles?
When Bucs games are televised, in the immediate moments prior to kickoff when the network announcing crew has to pretend the coaching matchup is akin to Bill Walsh vs. Bill Parcells, Bucs coach Todd Bowles is often hailed as a revolutionary defensive mastermind whose exotic, blitz-heavy packages leave even the most savvy, intelligent veteran quarterbacks dizzy and confused.
Bucs fans know that’s not exactly accurate. Just ask Kirk Cousins.
Famed handicapper-turned-stathead Warren Sharp, in his Warren Sharp’s 2026 Football Preview, documents the lauding of Bowles’ defenses is a bit much.
Sharp isn’t much of a fan of Bowles’ defenses. But Sharp lets the numbers do the talking. And the message is clear that Bowles and the Bucs have a lot of work ahead of them just to have an average defense, specifically in the red zone.
Last season the Bucs had the worst red zone defense in the league.
In 2025, two massive issues for Bowles’ defense stood out: red-zone defense and pass rush.
Bowles is a defensive mind first and a head coach second. He calls his own defense, and his reputation, dating back to his time as a coordinator, is built on exotic pressure packages and a chess-match approach that is supposed to shine most in the condensed real estate near the goal line, where disguise and aggression matter most. The red zone is where a Bowles defense is supposed to win.
In 2025, the Buccaneers allowed a touchdown on 69.8% of opponent red-zone trips.
That was the single worst rate in the entire NFL.
Sharp noted that 7 of every 10 trips when opponents reached the red zone against the Bucs, they came away with touchdowns. The most galling example for Joe was last year against Buffalo. It was a close game, as close as one can expect from a squad that had a horrible special teams outfit and a lame, quitting defense facing Josh Allen.
Yet when at midfield on fourth-and-short, Bowles preferred to punt and turn to his defense to get the job done and force a stop and get the ball back.
Instead, Allen celebrated with his teammates in the end zone after he ran for two fourth-quarter touchdowns. Good thing the Bucs emphasize stopping the run so much.
Sharp noted there really is no excuse for a coach with a defensive background to have a red zone defense that rolls over so easily.
Red-zone defense is where scheme and discipline matter most. Surrendering touchdowns on nearly seven of every 10 trips is rarely the fault of one missing piece. It points to a unit that could not win at the line of scrimmage in short yardage, could not cover tightly in the back of the end zone, and could not manufacture the negative plays that turn touchdowns into field goals. These numbers cannot exist for a defensive-minded head coach.
Well, Joe applauds Bowles for at least seeing part of the problem this past winter and working to replace (some) soft defensive players for guys that play with heart and passion, banking that such emotion is contagious.
In a few weeks, we will see how this new-look Bucs defense plays. And hope for the best.
There’s that damn word again.
June 29th, 2026 at 7:03 am
“Sharp isn’t much of a fan of Bowles’ defenses.” Warren Sharp and Lt. Dan just became soul mates.
June 29th, 2026 at 7:23 am
Chess?
More like Chutes and Ladders. Maybe Candy land.
I’d say “Clue”, if Kit Kat had one.
June 29th, 2026 at 7:29 am
Sounds like we’re questioning the design of the vehicle, rather than the performance of the vehicle. How fast can you get a Ferrari to go riding on donuts?
June 29th, 2026 at 7:31 am
The Bucs lacked key players on their defense. The Bucs are happy about the defenses potential. Alright , so give them a chance to develop. By Mid season we will know if they are improving or not.
The potential is there. Let’s see how well they develop. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will the Bucs.
June 29th, 2026 at 7:34 am
Yes, great defenses start in the trenches. Kancey going down early last season hurt us more than it should have, seeing our depth on that line wasn’t too good. But our linebacker play stood out as not being nearly good enough. It still makes me mad that we didn’t get Jacob Rodriguez- we had the chance to get him and we didn’t. So I am going to put eyeballs on Trotter early. I don’t put any stock in pedigree. So what his dad and brother played? The play calling Mike linebacker is as important as any spot on this defense and the powers that be chose Trotter. If he doesn’t excel we’re gonna pay for that- he’s a young man who has missed as many games as he has played in his short career. Talent- who gives a shlt if you are on crutches? Too much pressure on the young man? Get out of here. Either the kid is a player or he’s not. We’ll find out soon enough, but I have a sinking feeling that our 3 legacy players- Winfield, Morrison, and now Trotter, are going to be exposed this year. And if they don’t play up to NFL standards- Licht and Bowles are going to have some serious explaining to do.
June 29th, 2026 at 7:40 am
Todd isn’t even playing checkers. It’s like a mental patient playing wiffle ball.
The opposing offensive coordinator gets his easiest assignment every Sunday vs the Bowles Swiss cheese scheme.
For an organization that used to pride itself on defense the bar has been set below the floor.
To say the scheme is hot garbage is to say water is wet.
How many more seasons will the Glazers waste on their social experiment?
June 29th, 2026 at 7:52 am
Joe … ‘In a few weeks, we will see how this new-look Bucs defense plays. And HOPE for the best. There’s that damn word again.’
‘HOPE for the best’ is all any Bucs’ fan can do at this point Joe. That word HOPE can mean so many different things to different people … desire, wish, ambition, expectation, aim, plan … but they all focus on FEELINGS IMO, and come with zero guarantees. I personally prefer guarantees, but alas, with Todd as our HC & DC, and Baker as our QB, there are ZERO guarantees in our basket.
But then again, 2020 didn’t come with any guarantees either. We started off hot at 6-2, then lost 3-out-of-4 prior to our BYE to be at 7-5. Didn’t look good, UNTIL we convincingly won out in our last 4 (outscored opponents 148-75 to win a WILDCARD spot), then win 4 straight playoff games to become Super Bowl champion.
I’m guessing that HOPE was about all we had to hang onto that season when we were 7-5 after having just lost 3 of 4 games.
June 29th, 2026 at 7:57 am
Every metric indicates TB is a below average coach. Is this fact lost on the owners?
June 29th, 2026 at 8:05 am
I’m “hoping” Todd will step down and retire after this season no matter the outcome. If ZRob offense performs well, he’ll either leave or need to be made HC here if we want to stop the merry go round at OC. Finding a DC equal or better than the one we have isn’t too difficult a task.
June 29th, 2026 at 8:06 am
I’m so over Bowles and the excuse that are made for this guy. He is flat out putrid as a DC and at best mediocre as a HC. Notwithstanding the injuries last year, he still makes unacceptable in game mistakes. Bowles was lucky in the SB season because he had Suh and JPP who freelanced a lot on the line. They probably didn’t even listen to Bowles. My prediction is that he is gone after this season.
June 29th, 2026 at 8:16 am
We all saw how pathetic this defense was lat year. That’s why on game day everyone kept saying we have to score on offense on almost every possession because Bowles gives up the booty almost every time a team gets in the red zone. Dont even get me started on how this guy loves to punt on the opponent 40 yard line. Cause netting 20 to 30 yards is really going to make a difference with how piss poor your defense is.
June 29th, 2026 at 8:20 am
Our defense was ok in that Super Bowl year (the only guy we lost was Vita, and we got him back just in time) Worse the next year, as the entire secondary was out. Got progressively worse every year, as the talent got worse.
I’m hoping this year reverses the trend
June 29th, 2026 at 8:38 am
With you OS1976,
Would say it’s likely Robinson is at least as equal to todd’s ability as a HC at this point. Give him a year with these players &, if the O performs as well as expected, hard time seeing him not moving on if he’s not offered the HC job here. EASILY find a DC that can trot a defense out weekly that can match what todd’s been putting out the last few years. Far more likely we’d see improvement just with a change of scheme with a fresh defensive mind in the bldg.
June 29th, 2026 at 8:43 am
Don’t always agree with Joe(s) take on things, but will say it’s refreshing to see a local outlet put out articles adding facts to the argument on the quality of todd’s D and leadership. Seems others out there are more about throwing out puff peices to keep the rose colored glasses crowd happy & make sure they don’t offend the organization in order to keep their access stream flowing. Props Joe(s)
June 29th, 2026 at 8:44 am
There’s three that will have to go..KitKat, Bud Licht and BA.
June 29th, 2026 at 8:47 am
Jmarkbuc Says:
June 29th, 2026 at 7:23 am
Chess?
More like Chutes and Ladders. Maybe Candy land.
I’d say “Clue”, if Kit Kat had one.
I came here to make a similar crack, but aim for something much simpler and harder to screw up. Duck-duck-goose, maybe, and yet, somehow, ‘ol Incredibly Average Todd Bowles is still hanging on to his job despite screwing it up.
June 29th, 2026 at 8:52 am
Recent articles (like this one) prove that fans actually know what they are talking about sometimes. Bucs quit last year: Media no they didn’t, no they didn’t while facts say they did. Dean (and many others) loafed last year: no, they didn’t he’s the best corner they have. Facts and film say quite a few loafed. Bucs couldn’t stop anyone. Yes, they could yes, they could it was Mayfield’s fault. Actually, they couldn’t. Last in the Red Zone means well you’re last. So, the Jets were better than the Bucs in the Red Zone?
June 29th, 2026 at 8:52 am
Yeah!!!!!
Super Bowl Baby!!!!!!!!
Bowles got this!!!!!
June 29th, 2026 at 8:57 am
He is no longer playing chess. He is back to playing Chinese checkers.
June 29th, 2026 at 8:57 am
FlBoy84:
Thank you for the kind words! 👍
June 29th, 2026 at 9:01 am
Bucnjim:
Joe has been typing and talking about how the defense quit on Bowles for months, even before the end of the season.
To the best of Joe’s knowledge, Joe is the only guy with Bucs credentials who shared a TikTok video of Todd Bowles unloading on his defense on the sidelines in the second half of the Cardinals game.
June 29th, 2026 at 9:16 am
Bucnjim. Good points. Speaking of the red zone defense, now we don’t have Mike in our red zone offense, and we sure don’t have a big, punishing short yardage running back. We’re plenty talented enough on offense to work that out, but I am sure that a month from now, the majority of our starters on both sides of the ball, will be spending more of their practice time on Red Zone execution than anything else they’ve got going.
June 29th, 2026 at 9:29 am
50-50 coaching/personnel..You know its like you guys on this blog trying to play defense, im sure Bowles knows enough to tell retards what to do! Your not the right personnel…simple
June 29th, 2026 at 9:45 am
Steve V, it’s not about telling players what to do. It’s about having the ability to motivate players to give maximum effort. The hardest thing to do as a coach especially the professional level is to keep the entire team motivated. At the very least not quitting. Very hard to change this culture once it starts!
June 29th, 2026 at 10:29 am
QBs are confused because they’re not used to so many open receivers at once sometimes so it takes them a second to recover their mental acuity and then stoll have to to find the best one!
June 29th, 2026 at 10:35 am
The Glazers turned over a new leaf this offseason. It used to be that when they saw the team quit on the head coach, that meant Black Monday for that coach. No longer apparently. This year it meant Black Monday for almost the entire coaching staff and safety for the head coach. Make it make sense.
This will be a wasted season. I have to believe site visits for JoeBucsFan has to be down, and the only thing that will bring it back up will be when we finally get some blood in the water and the end is apparent for Bowles. Bowles has left an untreatable stench on the club. Apathy will set in very quickly if this team leaves the starting gate slow this season, and if that happens this team will be circling the toilet by Halloween.
June 29th, 2026 at 10:46 am
Chucky sighting in Baltimore !
June 29th, 2026 at 11:21 am
Even simpler: A good coach knows how to get the most out of the talent he has at hand and puts them in position to succeed. You know, like changing a defense/offense to better fit what the players can/can’t do.
Where exactly is there an 11th Commandant that the Bucs absolutely, positively have to run a blitz-crazy, non-edge rush defense or otherwise their souls will be damned to the eternal fires of hell?
With the exception of Tykee Smith, has any defensive player gotten better the past three years? Maybe YaYa if you don’t count sacks (and Joe very much counts sacks).
June 29th, 2026 at 11:33 am
I like this Joe. 👍🏻
June 29th, 2026 at 11:48 am
Bowles has been handicapped by ooor draft picks and depending on washed up edge rush free agents. Some of the talent is in him, some isn’t.
He has better talent this season, especially the front 7, which means he should be able to disguise more, not less. Seems like we’re a bit thin at ILB and DB but should be enough – expectations are high that this defense will at least reach NFL average. That should help our defense to get more stops (and ZERO 3rd & 28 conversions by the opponent). That and a competent OC and healthy o-line, should give us at least 10 wins.
That’s what a fan sees at this point.
June 29th, 2026 at 11:57 am
I’m with Lynch…its not even close. Give a proven defensive coordinator the exact same roster and the results would be a 180.
June 29th, 2026 at 11:59 am
It’s been a while since we had defense that when third down came I had utter confidence that someone would make a play. Last year? I felt fourth down success coming after missed assignments and missed tackle or two on third down. I could almost feel the confidence of opposing head coaches going for it on fourth down. That has never been a thing in Tampa. Not in my memory anyway. Forcing a punt or a FG on a regular basis is important.
Soft is actually being kind I think. If what I suspect was happening was indeed the case then we have some guys who owe the Glazers money.
Go Bucs!
June 29th, 2026 at 12:35 pm
Im barely going there….but i hope he’s figured it out to not drop pass rushers into pass coverage…..at least that much PLEASE! Todd!!
June 29th, 2026 at 12:36 pm
BucEmUp Says:
June 29th, 2026 at 11:57 am
I’m with Lynch…its not even close. Give a proven defensive coordinator the exact same roster and the results would be a 180.
So are you saying that instead of 8 and 9 last year the Bucs record would have been 9 and 8?
June 29th, 2026 at 12:56 pm
Todd Bowles playing chess? I think he is more of a tic-tac-toe type of thinker
June 29th, 2026 at 1:01 pm
Another dump on the defense and DC article.
Todd Haters will love it… Others will wonder why it’s so hard to come up with new/original content – we’ve already read this, here, many times.
Click bait for the haters.
June 29th, 2026 at 1:10 pm
You can motivate till your blue in the face! If the personal isn’t there to succeed then it just won’t happen..Injuries and losing are motivational killers,not just in football but the game of life New team new players ,im excited for this season they seemed to be backed into a corner,I bet they fire on all cylinders just wish that they stay healthy…Go Bucs!
June 29th, 2026 at 1:15 pm
Why no quotes from Bruce’s recent interview?
Is it because it was from a different site or because he had positive things to say about the usual whipping boys ie the defense and Todd ?