“It Had To Happen”
January 14th, 2026
Not a scapegoat, radio host says.
Joe has no idea if it was a chemistry thing or what. But when have you seen a team lose its best players on offense and when those players got healthy, the offense fell off the map?
Yeah, that’s what happened to the Bucs and it’s a great mystery to Joe. But for Pat Donovan of WDAE-AM 620, who also is heard on the Buccaneers Radio Network, it was no mystery. And that’s why Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard is now the former Bucs offensive coordinator.
“With Grizzard, it had to happen,” Donovan said. “There was no plan to get the ball to playmakers. You could see it over and over again.”
Well, not enough of a plan.
Early in the season Grizzard call plays for Baker Mayfield to get the ball to Emeka Egbuka. But what happened to Egbuka when Mike Evans and Chris Godwin got healthy, well, you’re guess is as good as Joe’s.
How could a guy go from being a sure-fire “Rookie of the Year” to vanishing and splitting snaps with a No. 3/4 receiver? That was damning to Joe. Very damning.
And how Grizzard didn’t use Rachaad White is another puzzle. White was dangerous catching passes out of the backfield. If he was able to catch the ball in space, he was lethal. How many times did that happened in 2025? Twice?
Donovan also called out Grizzard’s gameplan when the Bucs traveled to Carolina. But that had the smell of Todd Bowles taking over on offense.
“There are too many weapons on offense for it to look the way it did,” Donovan said.
He’s right and Joe is sure that got the attention of Team Glazer. Joe doesn’t think Team Glazer agreed to pay Evans and Godwin handsomely to see Sterling Shepard and Cade Otton get targeted.
@patdonovanradio Who should the Bucs hire to replace Josh Grizzard? #Bucs #WeAreTheKrewe ♬ original sound – PatDonovanRadio
January 14th, 2026 at 9:04 am
The bottom line is, it doesn’t matter who becomes the OC of this team, as long as Todd Bowles is in charge, we’re toast.
January 14th, 2026 at 9:10 am
Trey is 100% correct. It’s insanity that the moronic Glazer family gave this coach an offseason extension for no reason whatsoever. What was their mindset? We better extend him so we don’t lose him to another team? Ummm that’s absolutely laughable. Then to add insult to injury they don’t make him give up his DC position after a historically awful collapse. This organization is pathetic.
January 14th, 2026 at 9:10 am
You could have the greatest show on turf roster with Marshal Faulk, Issac Bruce, Torrey Holt, and Kurt Warner, but without Orlando Pace & an all pro offensive line they become extremely less effective. Fix the center of the line and watch all the pieces fall back into place. Especially Bucky Irving!
January 14th, 2026 at 9:19 am
Again , the 2 guards caused most of the playbook to get tossed out the window. There was no time anymore to use timing based offense. Defensive tackles were on top of Baker on almost every play. I would love to see how Grizzard ran the offense with a functional O line.
January 14th, 2026 at 9:24 am
Todd Bowles did not tank this team, injuries did.
January 14th, 2026 at 9:25 am
Yes.
Lack of Mauch was felt more than anticipated I believe. That toothless mfer really brings the attitude to the oline
January 14th, 2026 at 9:25 am
Agree! When you have a quarterback especially one like Baker is not that tall, the center of your offensive line is very key. Because when the pocket gets pushed inwards he does not have the vantage point at his height to see over the line for some throws.
That being said I do think there was some fault on Josh grizzard that he did not execute more QB rollouts to have the pocket moved and to have Baker closer to his tackles that were the stronger units on the offensive line.
January 14th, 2026 at 9:26 am
Trey is spot on.
January 14th, 2026 at 9:30 am
IBS is the anchor dragging the ocean floor keeping this ship from going anywhere!
January 14th, 2026 at 9:42 am
Radio Bozo. Yes he is a Bowzo scapegoat.
January 14th, 2026 at 9:44 am
Rachaad White is out here talking and it is EYE opening!
January 14th, 2026 at 9:50 am
Scapegoat no doubt on my mind…..
Something had to pay for bad GM decisions bad coaching decisions tons of injuries, a very childish fan base and his own bad decisions……..
I feel sorry for the guy
January 14th, 2026 at 10:00 am
“Don’t think Team Glazer agreed to pay Evans and Godwin handsomely to see Sterling Shepard and Cade Otton get targeted.“
Don’t make it seem like the Glazers jumped in and said “Grizzard has to go” when they hung onto Bowles. 3rd and 28. 4th and 14 and this feckless bump on a log couldn’t stop a fossil QB.
All this crap by some other media (not here) about Bowles deserved one more chance because he had won some division titles.
The Glazer’s credibility is now in question. At least Arthur Blank had the courage to admit he made a mistake and move on.
Make them pay at the box office. When all those extra hot dogs go bad and the unsold popcorn is stale, maybe they’ll start listening.
January 14th, 2026 at 10:04 am
“I feel sorry for the guy.”
I do not. He had Coen’s tutelage for all of 1 year, and aside from that had no experience other than a purchased sheepskin from a scam factory “university.” And yet he took the job. His mistake.
January 14th, 2026 at 10:06 am
Grizz was in over his head…
BUT the DC was much worse!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
January 14th, 2026 at 10:09 am
@Trey
Yep that’s what I’ve been saying for awhile. They could out whoever they want out there on that team & on that D but as long as he’s running it all I doubt much will change. Especially with the D. If somebody else took over that D they’d probably look much better. Yeah sure players aren’t perfect & they can make mistakes but I think part of the reason they look the way they look at times is because of the way the scheme/system is on D.
January 14th, 2026 at 10:11 am
Perhaps Evans and Godwin aren’t the Evans and Godwin of 2020, particularly coming back from serious injuries.
January 14th, 2026 at 10:11 am
I thought like others Grizz would be good since he was around the team and the OC. We were wrong. Need experience, know-how, creativity, and proven to be an OC. He was in over his head.
Feel bad for Mike, his injury and not getting the yards. Feel bad for Rachaad too. If he goes to another team they will utilize his assets.
January 14th, 2026 at 10:14 am
Timing was off walkthrough practice didn’t help neither did the injuries to the guards or bakers injuries but yeah let’s ignore the defense that had a complete melt down and fire the oc but not the DC genius.
January 14th, 2026 at 10:23 am
You cannot wait until week 16 to finally get a TD for your TE group and week 18 to get one for your starting TE. TE’s help your outside receivers when you make them respected.
January 14th, 2026 at 10:25 am
The last game of the season they changed the offense to prevent Baker from losing the game.
Is that the QB of a winner?
Something to watch next year.
January 14th, 2026 at 10:38 am
As I said earlier, I don’t think it was so much of Mayfield being more injured than we thought as much as it was play calling, making in game adjustments on the offense and using all the talent they had on offense, but again, that’s just my opinion
January 14th, 2026 at 10:38 am
Grizzard was Bowles hand picked guy to be the OC.
He had this planned all along to use him as the scapegoat should the season go south as it inevitably did.
Baker had to play with injuries due to the terrible choice Bowles made bringing in Bilgewater to be the backup QB.
And yes, Grizzard looked lost at times. Both things can be true.
But I guarantee you Bowles meddled in the offense. The road game vs Carolina had Todd’s fingerprints all over it.
But for some odd reason the HC\DC is still employed. I wonder why….
January 14th, 2026 at 10:41 am
In the last few games, the first drive, scripted offense moved the ball downfield and scored efficiently. I think Grizz was/is capable. It wouldn’t surprise me if he becomes a playcaller somewhere else and, after the experience, is an above-average OC. Or maybe he would benefit from being up in the box and seeing the field from that view.
Not having athletic guards for pulling/timing-based plays really neutered the offense.
January 14th, 2026 at 10:41 am
Check out Rashad Whites interview today … it says a lot about the coaching staff issues
January 14th, 2026 at 10:46 am
Trey is spot on…why would anyone( Bowles) want to work where no one wants him? 90+ % of JBFfans polled have no confidence in him and want him gone!! He needs to look at the man in the mirror because he doesn’t lie and grab some integrity like Mike Tomlin did. Who wants to work where you’re not wanted? That tells the whole thing in a nutshell!
January 14th, 2026 at 11:00 am
The Gizzard was simply doing Tood’s bidding and became one of the scapegoats when “it was everyone else’s fault but Tood.” Who hired all the guys he fired. No, he was not good but Tood handcuffed him, neutered him and put him in a box in the basement.
What a fraud.
January 14th, 2026 at 11:04 am
go watch raise the flag on amazon, brady had no problem getting it to play makers
January 14th, 2026 at 11:05 am
Grizzard had zero years experience calling plays on offense, Todd Bowles has about 20 years experience calling a defense. Grizzard should have never been hired for the job in the first place, and the expectation should have been from the start that he would have growing pains. The other expectation should have been that the guy with 20 years experience as a DC could hold up his side of the bargain.
Who hired Grizzard to call the plays? Bowles. No accountability…at all. Saying “my bad” and firing the guy doesn’t excuse the original decision. Many heads fell to save the head of the real culprit. The only reason why you would keep a coach like Bowles around after this would be if your expectation for the next season is to not win. I dont figure the Glazers as fools, so there is a motive here. I think its a “Mike Tomlin” motive for next offseason.
January 14th, 2026 at 11:08 am
The only reason why you would keep a coach like Bowles around after this would be if your expectation for the next season is to not win. I dont figure the Glazers as fools, so there is a motive here. I think its a “Mike Tomlin” motive for next offseason.
January 14th, 2026 at 11:12 am
What’s up with some of y’all going Full Blown Rain Man on “Fire Todd Bowles!”and/or “Glazer family sucks” variations the only comments [repeatedly] contributed day in & day out.
This piece is specific to QB regression – not 3rd & 28 and/or defense as a whole sucks..which all of us (fans & OBP) agree is true but not relevant in the context here.
C’mon, Ray. We all know Jeopardy is at 5 o’clock. Got it.
January 14th, 2026 at 11:13 am
Two words: Scape and Goat
January 14th, 2026 at 11:23 am
Warren Brooks Lynch Says:
September 19th, 2025 at 7:52 am
“But given the injuries on the offensive line, Joe can understand why Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard didn’t go full-blown ground-and-pound.“
Given the injuries on the OL that’s exactly why you keep pounding the rock.
Late in the 3rd quarter on that drive Chase missed the 38 yarder, Chaad had 4 carries in a row for 38 yards from our own 43 to Houstons’ 19 yard line.
What’d Grizz do? He went empty with a banged up OL, only trusting 5 guys to hold the pocket just for Mayfield to toss 2 incompletions and our Kicker to bungle a chip shot. That’s settling leading to failing. Run the ball Joshua.”
There were signs y’know
January 14th, 2026 at 11:23 am
It would be very interesting to see what McDaniel could do with the Philly Offense, or Baltimore’s for that matter.
January 14th, 2026 at 11:28 am
Philly would be the job for McDaniel. Best FO will be making moves, you can bank on that happening. And it’s one of the best defenses in the league. If he got that Philly O going again, then he could write his ticket for his next HC job. He would become the hottest top HC candidate in the league for the next cycle.
January 14th, 2026 at 11:35 am
Grizzard was given a position he was not adequately prepared for. When injuries hit he was unable to adjust. I find it surprising that he didn’t get more help after the three game losing streak. I hold Bowles accountable for not making drastic changes in the Offensive play calling. But then again Bowles was way too busy screwing up the defense. Why the Bucs are keeping Bowles is beyond me……
January 14th, 2026 at 11:45 am
In an appearance on the Loose Cannons Podcast, White said that in his opinion, Bowles would be better served adopting more of a CEO-style leadership role and delegating defensive play-calling duties to someone else.
“I do think he should let somebody else call defense and he’ll just be a head coach,” said White. “I do feel like he’d probably be better off by doing that so he can focus on really just the head coach job and just trust that he’s got the right defensive staff.”
January 14th, 2026 at 11:52 am
Got Bucs, I also think that’s the plan. And would make sense regarding an otherwise puzzling move.
Hey Grover, still sniffing around here? Interesting.
January 14th, 2026 at 11:55 am
Eeeeks White went ballistic on us, the fans:
White made sure to give one last message to Buccaneers fans, saying that he didn’t want to see opposing fanbases invade Tampa Bay’s stadium during home games like they have in the past.
“Man, please stop letting other teams come in that home stadium, regardless if I’m not there or not, and take over that stadium like that, bro,” White said on the podcast. “That’s just horrible. So it’s like, when y’all talk on Twitter and all that, we just laugh, because we can’t even respect some of y’all because we don’t even feel like y’all are real fans because y’all just let the other team come in no matter who it is.
January 14th, 2026 at 11:56 am
Sorry, I know R White is off-topic for this post, but geez. I don’t see him returning to the Bucs after all those comments.
Joe, ya’ll gonna do a story on this?
January 14th, 2026 at 11:58 am
During the collapse we averaged 20 points or less or something close to that. I would imagine that Bowles had something to do with several game plans given the defense couldn’t stop a tricycle. It makes little difference with that type of collapse someone has to pay the price and if they weren’t going to hold the HC accountable then the offense had to hum for the OC to keep his job, and it surely didn’t.
Had to move on.
January 14th, 2026 at 12:05 pm
IMO Glazers/Licht want the next year to “vet” the right coach and right or wrong, Todd gets to retire with dignity.
January 14th, 2026 at 12:06 pm
I saw some of that podcast with white, but not that part.
Most players have no idea about the franchise they get drafted into. They don’t understand, in some instances, the frustrations of the fan base, history of the franchise etc. They also don’t factor in how the decisions of the front office and coaching can impact the fans opinions. They certainly don’t factor in the history of the region and if there are a lot of transplants.
If they come from bigger college programs they expect the fans to show up no matter what and slobber all over them no matter the environment around them.
Sorry dude, as the owners, players and sponsors are so quick to remind everyone, this is a business and that cuts many ways.
January 14th, 2026 at 12:06 pm
Scapegoat for bowles. He had the same to better numbers than Canals and had more injuries… Plus, no proven guy is coming here
January 14th, 2026 at 12:07 pm
Glazers need to give McDaniel,what ever He wants to get Him in the Building! We need a Fresh Start! Let’s Go Bucs!
January 14th, 2026 at 12:08 pm
Agree with Tom R
January 14th, 2026 at 12:11 pm
When have you seen a defensive minded head coach with full control of his defense be labeled a defensive guru year after year only to be embarrassingly smoked in his secondaries year after year, then extended and retained after getting beat out by his two previous offensive coordinators?
January 14th, 2026 at 12:23 pm
all i can say is, “WOW!!!!!!!!…after listening to RW1
if RW1 feels bowles should give up play calling, I KNOW the defensive players feel the same way!!!
GO BUCS!!!
January 14th, 2026 at 12:28 pm
I just went and checked Baker Mayfield’s stats in 2023 vs 2025.
They are virtually identical in multiple areas. It was quite shocking.
The only real difference was the win total. 9-8 vs 8-9.
One game difference. And Canales has the one playoff win in Bowles tenure.
But Canales didn’t have to deal with the epic collapse on defense that Grizzard had to try and paper over.
The wide open Swiss cheese defense is the common denominator in this scenario.
And the Glazers have decided to double down on mediocrity and failure.
January 14th, 2026 at 12:36 pm
I get tired of the OL injury excuse, and many of you use it to place blame the Bucs woes.
“As of the 2025-2026 NFL Playoffs (Divisional Round), teams like the Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears, and Los Angeles Rams have dealt with significant offensive line injuries, impacting their depth and performance, with key players out or playing hurt, though teams like the Seahawks (surprise top seed) and Houston Texans also managing issues while advancing. The severity of banged-up O-lines varies, but these contenders are navigating challenges from injuries to starters like tackles or guards, affecting their usual dominance in run-blocking or pass protection as they push for the Super Bowl.”
Great quarterbacks, savvy coaching and front office acquisitions of quality backups can overcome OL injuries.
Where does that leave us?
January 14th, 2026 at 12:43 pm
Bowles has made coaching changes in the past and it hasnt gotten us far. I wont be expecting a massive turnaround. I will be expecting a worse off team than last year. White on loose cannons podcast didnt stand up for bowles. In fact he said bowles could use a chsnge, should give up play calling to a DC so he can focus on other areas. That speaks volumes.
Also, it appears we are stuck with Bowles. Harbaugh focusing on other teams, Tomlin taking a year off and Mcdaniel hasnt got a sniff from the Glazers. Looks like we are toast.
January 14th, 2026 at 12:43 pm
Licht always makes sure to have a scapegoat on the staff
January 14th, 2026 at 12:44 pm
@D-Rok
White is probably going to Washington to go play with Jayden Daniels and the Commanders. It’d be good fit too.
January 14th, 2026 at 12:45 pm
Sorry, but all roads lead to words about locker room, giving up, and todd. And Baker was injured and still tried…hate and blame him all you want, but dont stay blind to the obvious “other” failures!
January 14th, 2026 at 12:46 pm
It looked a lot like the Canales year to me too, except for in reverse. They got off to a terrible start in the beginning, but then thrived during their weak second half schedule with Canales, yet collapsed this season after a hot start. Baker would struggle to throw for a 100 yards through the first 3 quarters, then would throw up a bunch of stats in the last quarter or so of games.
January 14th, 2026 at 12:48 pm
@MadMax,
Precisely why I was jumping off-topic of this post: White’s words finally give us REAL insight into what some of the players (even offense!) were/are thinking about Bowle’s and his defense.
But calling out the fans like that (basically calling us all stupid) while technically still with the Bucs was shocking.
Just feels like a good story to investigate further, IMO.
Have a great day, all you brilliant JBF’ers!