Todd Bowles’ Smartest Move
January 17th, 2026
“Get healthy, Baker.”
Joe has noticed some readers think Joe is on the take for Bucs coach Todd Bowles. Ha!
(Joe can assure you folks who have offices in the mid-to-high-level reaches of One Buc Palace sure don’t think that way.)
Heck yes, Joe’s been critical of Bowles. Anyone who thinks otherwise is dreaming. Almost weekly Joe has to reach for either sedatives or Pepto Bismol, or both, watching Bowles’ defenses.
But Joe also strives to be fair. For example, Joe thinks the criticism of Bowles’ calm demeanor is garbage. That has never been and never will be a tell if a guy is a good X’s and O’s dude. If anything, Joe admires stoicism on the sidelines as opposed to a cartoon character like Chucky.
However, where Joe will give Bowles props is his sales job on Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht to sign Baker Mayfield prior to the 2023 season was one of the smartest moves in franchise history.
Where would this franchise be if it turned to Kyle Trask after Tom Brady retired for good? And before Mayfield fell off the map with his play this past season, he absolutely carried the Bucs to a 6-2 start.
The numbers released by the Bucs’ media relations department demonstrate what an impressive decision it was by Bowles to campaign to sign Mayfield.
Only Jared Goff has more touchdown passes since the start of the 2023 season than Mayfield. And only Matt Stafford and Goff have more passing yards in the same time frame than Mayfield.
With the Bucs, Mayfield has become a top-shelf quarterback. Well, until this past season’s bye.
What happened to Mayfield in the second half of the season is still unclear. And unfortunately, Joe, if he was Team Glazer, would have to wait to see how Mayfield bounces back in 2026 before Joe would drop a bag in his lap.
But damn, there is no quarterback in the league with the possible exception of Pat Mahomes who doesn’t have better intangibles than Mayfield.
And Joe maintains Bowles leading the charge on signing Mayfield might be the best thing Bowles has ever done for the franchise aside from his famous gameplan in February 2021 that shut down Mahomes and the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
Joe only wishes someone at One Buc Palace would do a sales job on Bowles about the joys of having a stud edge rusher the same way Bowles coerced Licht to sign Mayfield.
January 17th, 2026 at 12:06 am
well, how did the McDaniel interview go?
January 17th, 2026 at 12:08 am
Bucs4Ever…
Right?
Wassup with all the crickets?!
January 17th, 2026 at 12:11 am
How have the interviews been going? Been crickets around here..
January 17th, 2026 at 12:21 am
3rd & 28
January 17th, 2026 at 12:23 am
So in 2 years Baker has led the league in turning 3rd downs into first downs, nice.
January 17th, 2026 at 12:25 am
Chirp chirp, lol. Baker is what makes our team exciting. I’m hopeful Mike will come back and we sign a really good OC named McDaniel.
January 17th, 2026 at 12:26 am
If we fired Bowles right now, you’d think we’d be nearly guaranteed McDaniel as our next HC.
We have almost the same opportunity as last year, a shot at a young, top notch offensive mastermind to lead the team th next 7 years. We have the chance to redeem last year’s mistake.
January 17th, 2026 at 12:29 am
Where is Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson & Joe Burrow, you know the “great” quarterbacks? Yes, they all are less than BM6 in those top two qb stats. Let’s get rid of that guy because he plays hurt when he HAS to, for the team.
January 17th, 2026 at 12:31 am
3rd & 28 says 3rd & 28 lmao
January 17th, 2026 at 12:33 am
Hopefully we will get a very good quarterback coach as well.
January 17th, 2026 at 12:38 am
Bring me the other Joe.
Garbage is what Tood produces on Sundays after a week of demoralizing, soft, slow, non-contact so-called “practices.” He ruined Baker, no one else. He led the Bucs to the 2-7 finish against garbage teams. He led everyone, coaches and players, to quit.
He is inept at his jobs. At this point even if he was full time defensive coordinator, his defense would suck . Off ball soft complex confusing zones with the DL dropping deep and the little guys telegraphing their blitzes.
Bucs fans have endured enough of this fraud and his garbage.
January 17th, 2026 at 12:45 am
As “bad” as Baker played in the second half of the season when you take into account his stats on interception percentage, pass completions, passing touchdowns, interceptions, passing and rushing, completion percentage, longest pass, and quarterback rating this is where he ranked with the following quarterbacks:
1-Josh Allen
2-Baker Mayfield
3-Brock Purdy
4-Patrick Mahomes
5-Lamar Jackson
6-Joe Burrow
So maybe he wasn’t as bad as we thought he was.
I just wonder if he would have had a healthy offense how good he would have been….
January 17th, 2026 at 12:47 am
But what was done with it this year with all the injuries that defense needed to step up when they were the healthier unit but what we got to see was confusion from the entire team leading to embarrassing losses.
January 17th, 2026 at 12:54 am
Even with Mike and Chris and Tristan and Luke and Cody and Ben and Bucky and Jalen not able to do their jobs this year. They failed the offense. Without them Baker was voted by his peers as a pro bowl alternate. That’s an honor. 26 tds and 3700 yards with 11 picks. Carrying a bunch of rookies and practice squad stiffs and a rookie play caller with fear in his eyes. Yes sirree Joe. Be stupid to pay him early. But stupid for who would be the question to ask.
January 17th, 2026 at 12:59 am
3rd and 28.
Everyone should make it their signature, include it in every post.
That should have been it for the clown show.
January 17th, 2026 at 1:09 am
Oh yeah. And all you Baker bashers. Those 4 games that Baker singlehanded lost? With any other QB in the league our team of offensive scrubs would not even have been in the game except for Baker getting us in the position to win. I was on vacation Joe but I’m hooked on reading JBF. And I figured when you tired of smacking Bowles while he was down Baker would be next. But that’s how it should be. Head Coach and QB. Those 2 Have to be the responsible party. And they have this year to fix it.
January 17th, 2026 at 1:19 am
Yes Mayfield is our first quarterback in franchise history to have multiple pro bowls invitations. When he has a healthy team and isn’t injured himself he is definitely a top 5 quarterback. Heal up BM6.
January 17th, 2026 at 1:38 am
The words Bowels and smart don’t go together in any way.
January 17th, 2026 at 2:10 am
I agree with the “cartoonish” thing with head coaches. It can really wear and get off FAST. It just becomes all about THEM, like they’re putting on a show. Ya know, it’s all fine and dandy, as long as they are WINNING. But, I still like a head coach who actually “COACHES,” and can at least TRY to coach some guys up every once in a while, like, Saban and Dan Lanning.
January 17th, 2026 at 2:11 am
*old – get “old” FAST.
January 17th, 2026 at 2:20 am
Why is a Pat’s Pod cast on a Bucs site?
January 17th, 2026 at 2:23 am
Better turn those comments off, that guy is THE worst smh, definitely on the take for that steaming pile of pod cast.
January 17th, 2026 at 2:27 am
I wouldn’t be all that concerned with the “interview” right now. I mean, WHO CARES. It’s going to be whoever it is! There are STILL ‘EIGHT’ Head Coaching Jobs left to FILL. McDaniel has already taken SEVERAL Interviews, including for HC. So, come on. There’s just NOT going to be any “news” for AWHILE. So, chill. We’re not even to the Conference Championship Games yet!!!! I mean, the odds we even come CLOSE to getting McDaniel, are not much better than what the Bucs Futures SUPER BOWL Odds for next season would be. Lmao. I would not waste ONE-SECOND even thinking about that, much less worrying over it. It’s an Adult Bucs Fantasyland, I tell you LoL.
January 17th, 2026 at 2:28 am
Bowles sucks !
January 17th, 2026 at 2:29 am
“ I’m hopeful Mike will come back and we sign a really good OC named McDaniel.”
I mean, get it outta your head. Geez. It’s NOT happenin.
January 17th, 2026 at 2:35 am
Attaboy Says: “So maybe he wasn’t as bad as we thought he was.
I just wonder if he would have had a healthy offense how good he would have been….”
Ummmm… But, Yeah HE WAS. Delusional, or just a Troll. Everyone else has EYES.
January 17th, 2026 at 2:46 am
KS Says: “Baker was voted by his peers as a pro bowl alternate. That’s an honor.”
Yeah, because he was only one of the very few non Playoffs QB’s, who was still left standing. And, wasn’t Jameis an alternate once, when he was a ROOKIE!? A Pro-Bowl alternate isn’t SH!T nowadays. Just look at some of the JAG’s that have played in that game over the past 10-years, or so. Hell, it’s all they can do to get guys to even play in it! And, it hasn’t meant anything in a long time, & most guys would prefer not playing in it anyway… Hence the reason so many opt-out.
January 17th, 2026 at 3:10 am
With this ownership one thing is certain – Last place in the division/2026
January 17th, 2026 at 3:15 am
MJ, you can try to diminish it all you want but it’s on the books and you can’t take it away regardless of the fact that it doesn’t mean what it used to mean.😉
January 17th, 2026 at 3:18 am
He didn’t have a Baker year like his last two but neither did the qb’s I listed. Even with his bad year he did better than the 4 below him. He most definitely did better than Mahomes in every category, so…there’s that.
January 17th, 2026 at 3:27 am
I still like watching Bakers MVP series of plays in the 49ers game when it was 3rd & 14 and Baker got by 5 tackles and ran 20 yards for the first down and then threw a 50 yard td. That will never get old. 😋