“That’s Always The Fight Back And Forth”
October 7th, 2026
For those who missed Ira Kaufman’s lecture on the inevitable “fracture” between a head coach and general manager of a struggling NFL team, Bucco Bruce Arians took the baton and ran with it.
Arians did a bit of a media tour yesterday as he promotes a prostate cancer screening blood test.
During his stop with Yahoo! Sports, the subject of knowing when to fire a head coach came up, as well as when owners and front office types want to make that move.
The front office disagreeing with the coaching staff is a common issue, Arians acknowledged. “That’s always the fight back and forth, ‘Don’t have the players; Yeah, I know you can’t coach’em,’ Arians said.
While Arians said play on the field usually speaks for itself, what he called “uncommon mistakes” are a major red flag for a general manager.
He added that for owners it is very much about attendance and things tied to fan revenue.
The “fracture,” as Kaufman calls it, is very much about a coach and GM distancing themselves from each other when the bottom falls out. “I’ve seen it many times,” says Kaufman, who began covering the Bucs in 1985.
As for what’s happening now at One Buc Palace, Joe is very comfortable saying you won’t see a Todd Bowles-Jason Licht joint news conference soon or a Buccaneers.com video featuring Bowles and Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager talking to fans about writing the ship.
October 7th, 2026 at 10:02 am
Arians talking about the Bucs while promoting a prostate cancer screening blood test.
Oh, the irony of it all!
October 7th, 2026 at 10:04 am
Please remind us all as to why Todd was/is the Head Coach of this Team? 2-11 enough said. It is Time!!
October 7th, 2026 at 10:06 am
He should be selling fire extinguishers to put out this dumpster fire of a team. It’s a 3-28 Bucs life.
October 7th, 2026 at 10:08 am
Todd fractured his reputation with Buc fans on the Cooper Kupp play. There is not a single play in franchise history with more residual impact on the course of the organization than from that play in 2021.
Glazers convinced JL to go with a one year stop gap with Todd, suck with Trask/Mayfield, and we’ll let you start over.
But Baker obviously put a wrench in that plan by playing well. So the Glazers got high on their own supply and figured hey, I’ll take a home playoff game in the wild card round for the next few years, why not.
We will never know what could’ve been with Coen/Baker in lock step.
October 7th, 2026 at 10:09 am
I don’t think Jason Licht should be fired.
October 7th, 2026 at 10:16 am
That’s the 1st sign of a dysfunctional franchise
When you never see the HC and GM communicating
You need daily meetings between the coaching staff and front office
You need daily meetings between the coaching staff and players
And everyone should be on the exact same page
When employees are distance themselves from each other
It’s only a matter of time before everything go into disarray
October 7th, 2026 at 10:27 am
D Rome, time for new blood. Spytech is doing a better job in Vegas. Matt Ryan is building something in Atlanta. Coen picked his own GM, doing better. Licht is a big part of this 2-11 slide. He’s had his chances, and this is what we got. It’s time, they all need to go. A total house cleaning is in order.
October 7th, 2026 at 10:29 am
Licht will definitely throw todd under the bus….
but then we have to ask ourselves, how many coaches does a GM get to run thru?
Lovie hired Licht and Licht fired lovie….
Licht hired dirk and then fired smitty and dirk…
Licht hired bruce…ok solid…
Licht hired todd..ok move, but he shouldve been let go after last season…finishing the season 2-7 after starting 6-2 is embarrassing and points to coaching
im starting the next HC candidate watch now!!!!
Chris Shula would be my top choice followed by Josh Mcown…Jason Taylor would be my 3rd pick
GO BUCS!!!!!
October 7th, 2026 at 10:40 am
813bucboi
I don’t Jason Licht has the power to hire and fire head coaches
I think the Glazers are running this ship with iron fists
Jason Licht is probably their front man, taking the heat
GMs don’t last 12 years with the same team
Unless they are doing exactly what the owners want them to do
I would be completely shocked if the Glazers fired Licht
It’s hard for the puppet master to replace the perfect puppet
October 7th, 2026 at 10:40 am
****I don’t think***
October 7th, 2026 at 10:43 am
The old “Kangol Hat” just told you everything you need to know.
It has been my complaint for years.
The truth has a way of getting out.
BA said this;
“He added that for owners it is very much about attendance and things tied to fan revenue.”
Maybe he just forgot to mention winning.
October 7th, 2026 at 10:44 am
The old “Kangol Hat” just told you everything you need to know.
It has been my complaint for years.
The truth has a way of getting out.
BA said this;
“He added that for owners it is very much about attendance and things tied to fan revenue.”
October 7th, 2026 at 10:46 am
*Fart*. Wipe……Flush
October 7th, 2026 at 10:50 am
They will be a shoe-in for the playoff’s once a new stadium is taxpayer generated
October 7th, 2026 at 10:57 am
I think 3 and 28 is like a magic number in the NFL whenever the number shows on the teams game, there’s always a big upset. Take the New England Patriots and the Falcons in the Super Bowl.
October 7th, 2026 at 11:01 am
They both have soiled the bed.
And Arians should take ownership of Bowles. He quit in the dark of night so the owners had no choice but to hire Bowles or Leftwich.
October 7th, 2026 at 11:07 am
Nothing will happen until bye week or end of losing season. Because first they have to find that special guy and he’ll want his GM and coaches.
October 7th, 2026 at 11:16 am
Let’s not forget that Licht put the team together that won a Super Bowl and we may have won a second had Bowles not called a zero blitz on the Rams in their own territory when we were getting ready to walk out with a win. The let’s get rid of Licht crown needs to chill out. Licht is not a coach and is not responsible for the bad coaching decisions and the coaching malpractice on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. You put this team under a Head coach who actually knows what he is doing and Licht may look like a genius.
October 7th, 2026 at 11:20 am
“we may have won a second had Bowles not called a zero blitz on the Rams in their own territory when we were getting ready to walk out with a win.”
This is how bad this has been revised since it happened, you can literally find the Lavonte David presser where he himself admitted all 11 men on the field in that exact scenario didn’t even get the call. Now 5 years later, we’re 100% sure it was a 0-blitz? The fan base is bugged tf out.
October 7th, 2026 at 11:21 am
What short memories most if not all of you have.
It’s not BA’s fault that Bowles is the head coach.
The owners capitulated to Brady.
The owners saw the fan revenue Brady brought in and refused to do what was best for the team.
In spite of TB12’s insults to the team and ownership the Glazer’s insisted he play out his contract and canned BA to appease him.
BA had openly said he liked Baker. The Glazer’s could have let Brady go to Miami.
October 7th, 2026 at 11:23 am
How many Super Bowl rings has he earned as a GM? I’m pretty sure it’s zero.
Did you know that in the history of the Super Bowl era that only 21 people with the formal “General Manager” title have earned a Super Bowl ring? Jason Licht is one of those who have earned a ring as a GM. Those people are very hard to find and many other teams would leap at the opportunity to hire him.
October 7th, 2026 at 11:25 am
I feel like a HC loses that excuse on his side of the ball, but could maybe argue on the other side. Like if you’re complaining you don’t have the talent on defense l, but you’re a defensive coach that doesn’t fly imo. It’s hard to imagine Bowles doesn’t get a fair bit of say on draft dya for his own side of the ball. They scout and get a bit board, but you can’t tell me they’re drafting guys Bowles never wanted I’m his defense. I also remember a couple years ago hearing Bowles was purposely going bigger in the edges with guys like Nelson and Diaby, which explains why we don’t seem to go for smaller quick twitch guys. Offense we know we have talent from previous years. You see the lack of development a d even regression on both sides this year (was defense last few). Both might go, but coaching def can’t pin it all on front office
October 7th, 2026 at 11:25 am
Earnest Graham. 💯. I wanted Bowles gone after that game. Look what he has done as a head coach, just more incompetence since.
October 7th, 2026 at 11:28 am
Just fire Todd now and promote the OC as interim coach. There is sound reasoning behind this. Bowels great DC (exception when hes a head coach). Now our OC is a terrible coordinator so MAYBE he’d be a good head coach. Couldn’t be worse then Bowels. I mean if your cleaning house next year anyway!
October 7th, 2026 at 11:28 am
What about fans distancing themselves from the team?
October 7th, 2026 at 11:32 am
@Citrus County
The Glazers don’t need the Bucs to win in order to have good fan attendance.
Think of all the people from uo north that call Tampa and the surrounding area home now.
Now realize that many of those people are football fans with favorite teams other than the Bucs. When you add in fans that travel well you get what we saw against Green Bay. Any talk about boycotting Bucs games is a waste of time. Ticket holders won’t throw the tickets away, they’ll sell them. We’ve seen that for years. We hear the players piss and moan about home field advantage. We know it’s happening.
Why would the Glazers care which fans are in RayJay? The warm beer is still the same price for visiting fans as it is home team fans. I would imagine (maybe I’m wrong) the primary concern for the Glazers is making money. They can do that regardless of who is in the seats.
October 7th, 2026 at 11:36 am
I was appalled when they let Arians force Bowles on the fan base.
The experiment has been an abysmal failure. Only a putrid NFCS division has propped up this illegitimate regime for this long.
2026 will be the third of five seasons with a sub 500 record. That’s the reality.
Ask a Jets fan, they know. Ask Mike, he knows.
Ask Arians, he needs to see more mediocrity and ineptitude. TB12 made him look smart.
October 7th, 2026 at 11:46 am
Firing Bowles is only half of the solution. Licht needs to go as well. Jason will always be riding the Brady years. Before and after Brady peak for themselves.
October 7th, 2026 at 11:47 am
In the years since the TB era that I have commented on this site I have not found a single commenter that grasped the big picture.
October 7th, 2026 at 11:48 am
lakeland
you may have hit the nail on the head lol…maybe licht wanted to fire todd after the season but glazers said nawl we like him….
maybe licht didnt want to extend baker until after the season but glazers said we like him…
kinda makes sense now that licht has been MIA LOL
GO BUCS!!!!!
October 7th, 2026 at 11:49 am
Weird how Ariens has been one of the strongest voices in supporting Bowles. Until now. Writing on the wall?
October 7th, 2026 at 11:50 am
813 both vita and Baker def come across as owner decisions..both guys met with owners and shortly later had deals
October 7th, 2026 at 11:53 am
Licht been MIA since that butthole fan that was heckling everybody at the end of the Browns game and caught what looked like Licht on camera mouthing “f*ck you” in response to the same heckler. That’s why they put a curtain up, its’ not some Agatha Christie level mystery, that’s a bad look for a team struggling to look good whether the response from Licht was warranted or not.
October 7th, 2026 at 11:59 am
Man all the passes people give Licht.
The Glazers dont make the decisions, they hire people like Licht to make em.. they dont know football and listen to Licht.. Licht built Frankenstein
Yall give him all the credit for every success and none of the blame for the many many mistakes
October 7th, 2026 at 12:00 pm
“For owners its about attendance and things tied to revenue”. So you mean they figured out with records like this, the out of towners on vacation arent just buying up all the tickets, but restaurants, hotels and golf courses get a boost too?
October 7th, 2026 at 12:02 pm
Heck you could promote the equipment manager to HC and get a better outcome.
As long as Bowles is HC and DC improvement is impossible. While it seems to be his ego doesn’t allow for change, gotta how much responsibility Larry and George have for players inability to rush the passer, tackle or cover a tight end…..
October 7th, 2026 at 12:09 pm
Echoing Earnest. This team has been in a free fall since the NFC CG in 2021. That’s on the Glazers for allowing mediocrity to creep back into the franchise, Licht for piss poor personnel decisions, and Bowles’ for failing to coach them up better.
October 7th, 2026 at 12:15 pm
Licht is definitely a yes man. That alone is reason to fire him. Bucs need. GM who has the stones to dissuade the non-football Glazers from their flawed decision making.
October 7th, 2026 at 12:19 pm
Robinson had made Grizzard look decent compared to him. How long will this go on before the plug is pulled. When Jason Light doesn’t want to be seen with Todd Bowles you know we have serious problems.
How long will this go on before the plug is pulled? Can’t blame injuries because the 49ers are winning while key players are missing due to injuries.
October 7th, 2026 at 12:25 pm
The coach I wouldn’t mind seeing the Bucs go after is Mario Christabol. If you could pry him away from the Hurricanes. Tough, physical football teams, former O Lineman who knows how to win in the trenches. My college coach candidate would be him.
October 7th, 2026 at 12:38 pm
Thanks Bruce Arians. Us fans have been getting a 5 year rectal exam with Bowles as coach.
October 7th, 2026 at 12:39 pm
NO Jason Licht will NEVER be in the Ring of Honor-Undeserving
October 7th, 2026 at 12:42 pm
Would be interested in looking into Lincoln Riley, if USC buys him out.
October 7th, 2026 at 12:48 pm
Listing to the FTN broadcast, the Bucs are ranked 16th in DVOA, and (along with Houston) are one of the highest ranked 0-4 teams of all time.
Recognizing that statistics are of limited value when applied to something as complex as football, it’s interesting that play-by-play analysis shows the Bucs as being a very “mid” team, consistent with the sense many of us have that the talent is adequate, but not special.
Of course the Bucs totally fail the eyeball test, and sabotage their down-to-down performance with coverage and protection breakdowns, turnovers, and gobsmacking game management decisions, none of which appear to impact the DVOA stats.
Better game planning and personnel utilization by a real coaching staff might make a difference. We’ll never get to know because we are stuck with the current inept coaching crew, and team will have to be at least partly blown up.
October 7th, 2026 at 12:52 pm
*Yawn*
October 7th, 2026 at 12:55 pm
Lakeland,
You are just never right, are you?
Do you really think guys who studied finance in College, and became multimillionaires in the world of finance,
Suddenly decided that they they were football experts?
No.
They probably like football. But they bought the team as a Financial investment.
They bought the team to make money.
And like all intelligent people, they find an expert to run the investment.
And don’t get involved again, unless it goes off the rails to the point that they need a new person running the team.
If you picture the Glazers sitting in an office at OneBuc, watching film on sweep plays and reading Coaches resumes- then you haven’t ever been around the world of big business.
Jason Licht has ran the Bucs. He has the occasional meeting with the Glazers, mostly about the economic side of the team, and I’d bet that’s The Glazers level of involvement.
But the team has been in decline since the Super Bowl.
Right now, the Glazers are probably reading reports from the consultants they’ve hired- on who should be the new GM.
They will hire a new General manager, and once again let him him run the team.
Because the Glazers aren’t football people. They are investors.
When you have trouble, is when an investor THINKS he is a football person.
Bowles is still here, because Jason Licht kept him.
Now, that will cause both of them their jobs.
October 7th, 2026 at 12:56 pm
I think Licht stays because the roster has obvious talent. Bowles is the common denominator in all this. Licht had a roster good enough to get Arians, good enough to get Brady, good enough to get a SB and a deep run in the playoffs the next year. Then comes Bowles and it’s been a slow decline into mediocrity to the point Evans wouldn’t stay for more cash. I believe the talent is there but when you try to force DEs to be safeties so safeties can try to be sack artist, nobody is going to look good at anything.
I guarantee you the Glazers are identifying candidates and part of the process is feedback on the roster. Coen could make it work with much less talent in Jacksonville so I’m certain somebody will see this as an easy rebounding opportunity.
October 7th, 2026 at 1:03 pm
Capt.Tim Says:
October 7th, 2026 at 12:55 pm
^^^^^
You get it.
October 7th, 2026 at 1:14 pm
Bowles is currently costing Licht his job. Who wants to be seen with the thing that is undermining them?
Licht will have to politic hard if he wants to keep his job. If he’s going to try to be loyal to Bowles, he’ll be gone too. If he can convince ownership that he’s brought in good players that have been misused by the current staff, then thats got to be his play. It all kind of depends on how much freedom Bowles has had with hiring his staff, because two years in a row he has failed miserably.
I believe this has been a major factor going way back. Licht has a disconnect with his coaching staffs on players roles.
October 7th, 2026 at 1:32 pm
@ernest G… 100%
October 7th, 2026 at 1:54 pm
813bucboi Says:
Licht will definitely throw todd under the bus….
…Licht hired todd..ok move…
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
813, I would not say Licht hired Todd. If you recall, BA retired on March 30, purposely not giving management time to do a proper search for his replacement, so BA’s friend was locked into the HC position.
Licht did hire Mr. Koetter – kind of like Liam Coen situation, Koetter looked good as an OC, sucked as a HC. The same thing could have happened to Liam.
And Licht hired BA. That gets an A+ no doubt.
So JL has hired 2 coaches in his 12 years on the job. Lets hope his next one (in ’27) is his best one.
October 7th, 2026 at 2:06 pm
Lakeland Says:
I don’t Jason Licht has the power to hire and fire head coaches
I think the Glazers are running this ship with iron fists
Jason Licht is probably their front man, taking the heat
I would be completely shocked if the Glazers fired Licht
– – – – – – – – – – – – – –
I agree Licht does not have the power to hire or fire coaches, and I will add, that the big decisions are made by the Glazers.
Contrary to what the peanut gallery of CaptTim and Citrus County think. And I think Glazers are not running the ship with and iron hand, but really, who knows?
Glazers show up and suddenly Mayfield and VV are signed to new contracts. So Yea, they are very involved. Hiring a coach is a much bigger deal, so again, Glazer made that call.
Back when Dungy was fired, Rich McKay had proposed hiring a different coach than what the Glazers wanted. The Glazer, unbeknownst to McKay, made the trade for Gruden.
So yea, Glazers are not hands off. They are very involved, but only in the big decisions.
October 7th, 2026 at 2:12 pm
Licht has drafted one HOfer for sure and more than likely another one in Wirfs. But he hasn’t hit on any other blue chipers.
I’ve historically been on his side and if it was just player evaluation I think I could be ok teaming him with an offensive coach like Coen.
But another poster made a great point the other day:
If you’re an up and comer coach do you want a guy that’s been there this long with this list of HCs that have come and gone, up with the owners during the games while your on the sideline? I’m a hard no in that position.
And if your Licht, if you’re kept, you’re already on shaky ground. It’s human nature to go hire someone that will have your back, not necessarily the best coach
If he’s kept, he cannot lead the search. It has to be the owner and a consultant
October 7th, 2026 at 2:22 pm
Can we please ask him to come back?
October 7th, 2026 at 2:45 pm
@Obvious:
“If you’re an up and comer coach do you want a guy that’s been there this long with this list of HCs that have come and gone, up with the owners during the games while your on the sideline? I’m a hard no in that position.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
I get your point. But, I think Licht has a history of working with his HC to get hime the personnel he wants to have on his team. Example, Todd wanted Baker, Licht got him. Todd obviously wanted VV for another year, Licht got him signed.
I think Licht very much includes Todd in his draft decisions – not all GM’s do.
And you say Licht has “…list of HCs that have come and gone”. That is not correct. See my post above. In his 12 years, Licht has hired 2 coaches that he chose. He did not hire Todd, Todd was forced on him. Licht hired Koetter and BA, that’s it.
October 7th, 2026 at 2:49 pm
“…It’s human nature to go hire someone that will have your back…”
– – – – – – – – – – – – –
Dude, having someone to have my back does not mean jack. That could get me fired in a year.
If I am Licht, I am looking under every friggin rock, stone, pebble, to find the next McVey or Ben Johnson. Having a winning coach lets me keep my GM job for another 10 years easy.
October 7th, 2026 at 2:53 pm
@ Bosch Says: “Licht is definitely a yes man. That alone is reason to fire him. Bucs need. GM who has the stones to dissuade the non-football Glazers from their flawed decision making.”
💯 💯 💯 💯
@ Bobby M. Says: “I think Licht stays because the roster has obvious talent. Bowles is the common denominator in all this. Licht had a roster good enough to get Arians, good enough to get Brady, good enough to get a SB and a deep run in the playoffs the next year.”
Just WHO then, do you believe that THIS Roster is “obviously” BETTER THAN… Dolphins, Cards, Titans, Chargers, Saints, Washington, & THEN WHOM!? And, you can make a strong argument that they are NOT stronger than the Saints, or Washington’s. So, WHO ELSE… The JETS, Pittsburgh!? There is NO ONE ELSE. It’s easily, a BOTTOM-10 ROSTER. And, you can make an argument, that’s it’s BOTTOM-5. And, LICKT most certainly did NOT “get” TOM BRADY a “Super Bowl.” Tom came in and IMMEDIATELY changed the culture of this entire FRANCHISE. And, HE took a very mediocre team AND ROSTER, that finished 7-9 the season before, and MISSED the “Playoffs,” ENTIRELY. Then, he went to work bringing along TWO future HOFers, in Gronk and A.B. And, we NEVER would have had “Lenny” (who we don’t win the Super Bowl without). And, we most likely, do NOT draft Wirfs either, without having a ‘40-Plus’ year-old, Tom Brady. So, STOP. Get outta here, with that bogus ‘false-narrative” BS.
And, the Bucs were about Tom’s ONLY other ‘option’ left, after being told “NO” by the 49ers, Raiders, and the Dolphins. So, just STOP. Cause, people who know, are NOT buying that garbage. Lickt has not even drafted a Pro-Bowler now, in over 6-YEARS. Do YOU know how hard that is to do nowadays… You almost have to TRY. Not ALL-PROS we’re talking about here, BUT “Pro-Bowlers.” He was responsible for 60% of the “Lost Decade” before BRADY, and has only reverted back to HIMSELF, since. His career 10-year record as Bucs GM (without TOM BRADY), is soon to be SUB .400% WinPct. by the time that this season has finally ended.
October 7th, 2026 at 3:12 pm
Senor Harry,
Really, it was Lovie Smith who hired Dirk Koetter as OC
But, when the Glazers fired Lovie, Dirk was promoted
I believe the Glazers had a hand in promoting Dirk
And you’re right, Licht brought in Bruce Arians
And he was the only HC Licht brought to the Bucs
Todd and Dirk both were promoted
But, we don’t know who exactly promoted them
But you are correct
October 7th, 2026 at 3:24 pm
I feel like JL is more concerned with getting his hand picked drafted players that 2nd contract. Then it is to actually improve the roster – no matter how we do it.
Does he get a bonus if we sign a player he drafted to a 2nd or 3rd contract?
October 7th, 2026 at 3:41 pm
D Rome
The argument could be made that Licht hasn’t built a Super Bowl as GM either. Brady built that team. Brady made sure that team was on point. Brady ran the offense around Leftwich.
October 7th, 2026 at 4:19 pm
“writing the ship”, Joe?
Righting the ship.
October 7th, 2026 at 5:34 pm
Jason Licht has the MOST LOSSES as a GM in the modern salary cap era not named Jerry Jones or Bill Belichick. The MOST LOSSES IN THE CAP…108 and counting. Jason Licht sucks. He sucked before Brady and he sucks post Brady.
The licht house is an OUTHOUSE.
93-108
46% losing percentage
October 7th, 2026 at 6:01 pm
Both septic tank of feces. Joe we all wish they would stop speaking the garbage they spew. There is nothing to keep saying anymore from these clowns
October 7th, 2026 at 6:18 pm
Players have their primes and so do execs. Didn’t know about the lack of a pro-bowler drafted in 6 plus years (via MelvinJunior)
I believe there was a time when Licht was one of the best execs in the NFL. You don’t stumble into a championship. But that time has passed.
I believe the fan base could use a full reset. We’re no strangers to rebuilding as Bucs fans. And it can be fun when mgmt. knows what it is doing.
Advocating for Bowles to come back makes me believe that Licht is part of the problem. That and his draft record. Not as good as it used to be.