Todd Bowles Explains Why He Has Defensive Backs Playing All Over The Place
August 11th, 2026
Method to the madness.
When Joe sees rookie Keionte Scott playing at outside cornerback, it makes Joe want to shake his head.
If Scott was any good outside, don’t you think the Hurrigangstas would have had him there in college? Corey Hetherman is one of the best defensive coordinators in college ball. He was Curt Cignetti’s defensive coordinator at James Madison once upon a time.
Yeah, that Cignetti. Does it look like Cignetti hires clueless assistants?
Joe doesn’t believe Hetherman just fell off the turnip truck.
But KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles has Scott playing at nickel corner (where he should start), at outside corner and at safety. Why not get the kid’s feet wet in the NFL at the position he is more familiar with and most likely to succeed at, nickel corner?
If Scott excels and you then want to experiment with bouncing him all over, OK. But why try to screw with a kid’s head before he’s even taken a snap in the NFL?
Well, Bowles may have explained himself on Sunday. Bowles was asked about Scott playing multiple positions in training camp. Bowles basically said injuries happen and he may need Scott to play corner or safety so he may as well get Scott reps there now in case he’s thrown to the lions out of necessity.
“We went through injuries before, and we had to put ‘Izzy’ [Christian Izien] out [at corner] at a point in time,” Bowles said. “So right now we’re trying to get a feel for who, in an emergency, can go out there if need be, and he’s one of the guys taking reps out there.”
Well, that makes Joe feel a lot better but that doesn’t make Joe feel warm and fuzzy about the Bucs’ backups. Right now the Bucs are thinner than thin at corner.
With Benjamin Morrison currently a walking injury report, if Jacob Parrish (who has scant experience at outside corner) or bored Zyon McCollum go down, you’re looking at either Josh Hayes or possibly undrafted free agent Ayden Garnes.
Joe doesn’t want the Bucs to trade Vita Vea, but the Bucs are so razor-thin at corner. If Vea could fetch a decent starting corner in return, “this Joe” would be open-minded to shipping Vea out. (The “other Joe” is convinced Vea is a goner.)
Seeing how thin the Bucs are at corner, Joe really doesn’t understand why the Bucs pushed Jamel Dean out the door.
Thirty-three days until the Bucs face Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on the road to open the season. It makes Joe feel tingly all over.
August 11th, 2026 at 12:21 am
What CBs is he taking reps from when he goes outside?
Surprise! I don’t like it. Bowles genius at work, see how it goes I guess.
August 11th, 2026 at 12:38 am
The Jamel Dean hate has come from you guys over the years. That’s part of why he was pushed out- a narrative you helped create
August 11th, 2026 at 12:54 am
Todd has this unhealthy obsession with messing with the nickel. The rookie is just the latest victim.
August 11th, 2026 at 3:08 am
Jamal Dean isn’t a solution, he plays only half a season. So that’s effectively a cap cost of $20m. No thanks.
August 11th, 2026 at 4:46 am
Keionte Scott made a good point in an interview the other day on WDAE Radio. According to Joe, Scott said that “practicing everywhere is setting him up to be an informed and prepared nickel. He sees it, in part, as a learning exercise to help him understand where his defensive back brothers are supposed to be.”
August 11th, 2026 at 4:50 am
The problem getting a starting corner is we already have two starters in Parrish, and Zyon. I don’t want to move Parrish back to nickle, because I think Scott might be better than Parrish there. What we really need is depth. We need one starting calibar backup. We hoped that could be Morrison, but he’ll never be right, he’s damaged goods.
August 11th, 2026 at 4:50 am
Saskbucs … ‘What CBs is he taking reps from when he goes outside?’
Our only other Nickel right now (I think) is Parrish, who’s apparently getting a lot of work outside with Morrison still absent from the lineup. Got a hunch that Bowles MAY be using Scott outside periodically also so that he can still get Parrish some reps at Nickel. Never know, maybe Morrison will heal up and give us 100% availability.
August 11th, 2026 at 4:54 am
Hodad … ‘We need one starting calibar backup.’
We’ve been saying that since last season ended, knowing that Dean was outta here. It’s not Bowles who needs to listen (you know that he’d LOVE to have a veteran starting-caliber outside CB); it’s Licht. He stocks the cupboard.
August 11th, 2026 at 5:08 am
Defense Rules Says:
August 11th, 2026 at 4:50 am
Never know, maybe Morrison will heal up and give us 100% availability.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Hahahahahahaha, good one! I understand why some of the defensive players have acted like they were hurt, Lovie Bowles runs a system that can ruin NFL careers. Ever notice that Dean would come up lame when the lights were the brightest, at the most important times? I did.
August 11th, 2026 at 5:41 am
Maybe Dean was part of the quitting culture that needed to be purged from this roster…
August 11th, 2026 at 6:11 am
Please don’t make me defend Todd Bowles coaching ability.
But I have a feeling he knows a little bit more about this than blog posters and comment commandos.
August 11th, 2026 at 6:19 am
Is Jamel Dean injured …… yet?
August 11th, 2026 at 6:50 am
Everyone on defense is a jack of all trades but master if none. Instead of finding the best they can get at a certain position, they crosstrain everyone for everything. Thats like going to one doc for heart, teeth and knee problems and not seeing a specialist for each.
The Bucs love to do this under Bowles and Licht. They moved Wirfs around on the line. Bowles had AWJ at nickel until he finally moved him to his natural position, that he played in college, and he became an all-pro.
This is what hurt EE last season and Steve Smith mentioned this on his podcast. He said moving EE around had him thinking too much and that leads to mistakes. Steve said sometimes you just want to line up and play the same position every time to eliminate confusion.
This is why there are so many breakdowns on defense. The players probably get confused on who’s playing what position on any given down. How can you master your position learning 3 positions at once?
It seems Todd makes everything harder than it needs to be.
August 11th, 2026 at 7:09 am
BridleOaks, No Maybe Dean was the quitting culture! He didn’t get paid what he and his agent thought he deserved so he took plays off. Plus, there was little to NO EFFORT. Just look at any game tape from last season! It’s already been pointed out. QUITTER!
August 11th, 2026 at 7:11 am
Doesn’t really matter.. they all stand 15 yards off the receiver, then watch them run by after the catch.
Joe could do that.
August 11th, 2026 at 7:47 am
No! Hayes? No!!!
August 11th, 2026 at 8:31 am
The idea that moving Keionte Scott between nickel, outside corner and safety is some strange Todd Bowles obsession runs headfirst into decades of NFL history.
Championship coaches cross-train defensive backs for injury insurance, matchup flexibility, fuller coverage knowledge and the ability to change the defensive picture without substituting.
Bill Belichick moved Devin McCourty from Pro Bowl corner to All-Pro safety. Steve Spagnuolo deployed L’Jarius Sneed and Trent McDuffie inside and outside. Vic Fangio prepared Cooper DeJean at nickel, safety and corner before DeJean became a first-team All-Pro nickel.
Dom Capers lined Charles Woodson up everywhere. Nick Saban did the same with Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Different coaches. Different eras. Same blueprint.
August 11th, 2026 at 8:32 am
Yes….the “Jack of all Trades, Master of None” philosophy has worked VERY well for Bowles over the last few years. Same with DL/OLBs covering RBs and TEs. Glad to see Bowles is changing his ways. LOL!
August 11th, 2026 at 8:34 am
That’s the difference:
* Good coaching: Teach multiple positions, establish a primary role and use the others deliberately.
* Bad coaching: Constantly change assignments without preparation or a defined home base.
Bowles has already established Scott’s home base: nickel.
The outside-corner and safety work provides emergency depth and flexibility in six-DB packages. Bowles also called Scott’s ability to process all three positions “phenomenal.”
That sounds like development—not desperation.
Tampa already used this approach with Christian Izien. He arrived as a college safety, won the nickel job and later filled in at box safety, deep safety and outside corner when injuries struck.
Was he ideally suited for every assignment? No. But emergency depth isn’t about finding the perfect fit. It’s about preparing somebody before the alternative becomes nobody.
August 11th, 2026 at 8:42 am
The concern about the Bucs’ outside-corner depth is completely fair. In fact, the article makes a strong case that the room is one injury away from becoming a serious problem.
Which makes the criticism of Bowles cross-training Scott rather interesting. 🤔
If the depth is dangerously thin, wouldn’t preparing an emergency option be exactly what a responsible coach should do?
Apparently, Bowles is expected to prepare for injuries—he’s just not allowed to prepare a player to step in when one happens. 🥴
Corey Hetherman doesn’t provide an escape hatch, either. Scott primarily played nickel at Miami, but Hetherman deployed him as a movable pressure-and-coverage weapon in a defense built on disguise and multiplicity.
Bowles isn’t teaching Scott a foreign language.
He’s simply expanding one Scott already speaks.
Nickel remains his home. He’s processing the additional work well. And Tampa desperately needs emergency options outside.
So we’re left with a fascinating conclusion:
The article identifies the fire hazard—then criticizes Bowles for installing the extinguisher. 🧯😏
August 11th, 2026 at 8:49 am
Trading Vita for a CB wont help the CB room lol…without Vita collapsing the pocket the CBs will continue to get exposed…
you wanna help the CBs, sign Vita
GO BUCS!!!!
August 11th, 2026 at 8:54 am
I got it!
If Bowles really wanted to screw with Scott’s head, how about waiting until Week 1 to discover whether he can handle the assignment—on the road, against Burrow, Chase and Higgins?
Nah. That would be like sending the kid into an ambush without showing him where the bullets are coming from. 🥴🏴☠️
August 11th, 2026 at 8:59 am
Fabulous! Just send the DB’s all over the field with no plan of attack.
The offense will never know what hit them! Pure genius.
Is it too early to extend Bowles contract???
He’s a guru!!!
August 11th, 2026 at 9:03 am
Mocking Bowles for having no plan—while criticizing him for preparing one?
Now that’s pure genius. 😏
August 11th, 2026 at 9:31 am
Good work @ LUVMYBUCS!!! Thought and reason, …….what a concept.
August 11th, 2026 at 9:41 am
@Anyhony
Appreciate you, Bredren.
August 11th, 2026 at 9:58 am
There is plenty to criticize Todd for without having to make stuff up. Cross training defensive backs is standard practice. It’s nuances of coverage. He’s not teaching them DT.
August 11th, 2026 at 10:02 am
813bucboi Says:
August 11th, 2026 at 8:49 am
Trading Vita for a CB wont help the CB room lol…without Vita collapsing the pocket the CBs will continue to get exposed…
you wanna help the CBs, sign Vita
——————-
You me like the way Vea collapsed the pocket last year to keep
Our corners from getting exposed????
Yea right….
August 11th, 2026 at 10:03 am
Could Jason Licht be gun shy about signing another CB because of the contract situations with Mayfield and Vea?
August 11th, 2026 at 10:18 am
So the dudes he has behind the starters are on the roster because? As usual Bowles is not to be believed. BS!
Go Bucs!
August 11th, 2026 at 11:23 am
Familiarizing a defender with defending various places and patterns on the field is good for man-to-man defenses, when you want your best defender to shut down their best receiver, regardless of position. Otherwise, the offense simply has to line up its best receiver away from where the best defender is playing.
August 11th, 2026 at 12:07 pm
I wouldn’t be surprised if he puts one of them down on the line in 3rd and short situations where the DT/NT would be while the DT/NT drops back in coverage.
August 11th, 2026 at 6:31 pm
And Bee said it best. Teaching rookies all these different responsibilities before they learn to be NFL caliber cb! Why do you think they didn’t know what to do against the Rams in the playoffs a few years ago? The toilet bowl system of defense causes confusion and then big plays happen. People quit on him and still miscommunication on the field. Cross training can be useful but not the way he teaches