The Win-Now Buccaneers
February 22nd, 2026
“Tom, you, Spytek and Davis can keep pretending you know what you’re doing. We’re looking at another playoff run.”
How close was Tampa Bay to being a good team last season?
The answer depends on who you ask.
Joe is confident almost everyone collecting a check at One Buc Palace thinks the Bucs were close — and believes the Bucs are now only several new assistant coaches, healed offensive linemen and a couple of strong offseason finds from being a Super Bowl contender.
Many fans, however, are spooked by what they believe are serious coaching and roster questions, and the inexplicable lack of fire from the Bucs late last season.
So what does pending free agent receiver Mike Evans think? That’s an important question.
Joe suspects Evans believes the Bucs would have been a strong playoff team if he didn’t miss 9 games with various injuries. Evans knows he’s a difference-maker. Over the past two seasons, the Bucs are 14-8 when Evans plays, and 4-8 when he does not.
That’s why former NFL QB and longtime BSPN analyst Tim Hasselbeck said last week that he thinks the Bucs top the list of teams where Evans would fit in 2026.
“Look, they’re a legitimate contending team,” Hasselbeck told the world about the Bucs on ESPN TV. “They can win their division, [re-signing Evans] gives themselves a shot. I think that makes sense.”
Joe is not losing an ounce of sleep thinking Evans will bolt Tampa. Evans loves and respects the Bucs with all his heart, and the Bucs feel the same about him. And name an iconic franchise receiver who left his team when both sides felt fully loved and respected?
Joe hasn’t found one.
From Jerry Rice (49ers) to Davante Adams (Packers) to Randy Moss (Vikings) to Steve Smith (Panthers) and Julio Jones (Falcons) and more — iconic receivers on Evans’ level that left their original teams — all had some sort of beef of major disagreement with their club. Evans doesn’t have that.
So what about the money, Joe? Great question!
It’s hard to believe the stars of Raise The Flags: 50 Years Of Buccaneers Football, aka Bucs co-owners Team Glazer, will not pay to keep Evans. Did Team Glazer retain Todd Bowles against major fan backlash only to tell Bowles he can’t have arguably his most dangerous player, a guy who changes defenses and keeps D-coordinators up at night?
That wouldn’t make a lot of sense.
“This Joe” thinks Team Glazer is a highly competitive entity that wants nothing more than Bowles to have a huge bounceback year to shutup the naysayers, even drawing a shred of extra motivation from the loud ‘Bowles Must Go’ crowd.
Bowles and Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht will host news conferences at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday. Joe expects to hear a strong win-now mindset and focus from both of them.
February 22nd, 2026 at 4:48 pm
Haha, we’re in rebuild mode….but we have some pieces, just not the right DC…..um, and yeah that one too….
February 22nd, 2026 at 4:49 pm
Todd you should have been gone, when we had coen, and one of the top offences in the league, straight up from the floor up, think about this joes and Jason Licht, when we have another 8-9 win season, because the D sucks, who gets the blame this time? The GM and head coach, that’s who, then you will see the house cleaning, new GM HC and regime, players bolting, retiring, and traded off for draft capital, then the rebuild, will it be a quick turn around, ala the patriots or will it be another lost decade, where we wear bags on our heads at ray jay, and embrace the suck, only the shadow knows!
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:03 pm
Thats why I’d be really surprised if Evans stays,James
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:07 pm
He had been paid almost $155 Million by the Bucs so far in his career. How much is enough to play his whole career here? Don’t be e Greedy Pig and get ‘er done-both sides.
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:19 pm
Winning over money anytime! With winnings comes the cash
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:34 pm
I’m sorry, the ship has sailed on this team when Bowles stayed. What’s going happen the first time Dumbo blows a game. Fans will start to boo and players will start mumbling “third and 28”. Then the wheels come off no matter Sonny Stiles or whomever we draft.
Replace TB or TB/JL and fans that have turned into trolls like me can have hope again.
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:46 pm
BucsfaninOregon
If you think replacing Todd Bowles automatically fixes everything, explain this:
• Top 10 scoring defense in 2023
• Division title in 2024
• NFC Divisional Round appearance with a $35M+ dead cap hit
• Developing young defensive core that improved late in the season
You don’t burn down a competitive roster because of one infamous snap.
As for fans booing? If this team wins, nobody’s chanting “Third and 28.” Winning cures everything. Always has.
You want change for emotional satisfaction. The front office wants sustained contention. Those are not the same thing.
Hope doesn’t come from firing people.
Hope comes from drafting well, staying healthy, and finishing games.
And this roster is still good enough to do that.
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:48 pm
The defense will have to have veteran players who are physical and smart enough to overcome not only the opposing offenses but some of Bowles bad decisions. I don’t think Evans staying or leaving is going to make much of a difference at this point. It’s all about getting top tier Defensive Free Agents signed.
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:06 pm
Superbowl or bust!
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:17 pm
buc4evr … ‘It’s all about getting top tier Defensive Free Agents signed.’
Exactly!
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:17 pm
As long as Bowles is coach, about .500 is all you can expect. Proven track record, that’s his ceiling.
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:17 pm
#99 the big fella Says:
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:46 pm
BucsfaninOregon
If you think replacing Todd Bowles automatically fixes everything, explain this:
• Top 10 scoring defense in 2023
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Added to what you wrote about the Top 10 scoring defense in 2023. That is the year the Bucs had 75 million in dead cap money; they were firmly in salary cap hell. Bowles had the #7-ranked scoring defense in the league. He had a Top-Ten scoring defense for four consecutive years, beginning in 2020. He gave up a lot of passing yards during the 2023 season, but his red zone defense was elite, and he was able to prevent teams from scoring TD’s.
The 2025 defense was ugly, but given Bowles track record, he’s not as bad as most commenters seem to believe he is. He clearly needs to adjust his scheme to fit the personnel on the field better, but the talent needs to be upgraded on defense. People here KNOW the talent needs to be upgraded, but still want to blame everything (including climate change) on Bowles.
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:17 pm
Bowzo defense does not work,,,,Simple stuff. Get him OUT!
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:18 pm
Bowles Must Go
Licht and Bowles have a strong lose-now mindset
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:22 pm
Selective memories here. Let’s look at the “great Kirk Cousins” in his last three performances against the Bucs:
Dec 2025 (ATL): 373 passing yards, 3 TD, 0 INT (117.0 rating).
Oct 2025 (ATL): 276 passing yards, 4 TD.
Oct 2024 (ATL): 509 passing yards, 4 TD, 1 INT (Overtime win)
And this from a guy who was benched due to lack of productivity.
Yeah, the Bucs are close.
Oh wait, I know. Stats are for losers.
Is not a 7-9 record after a 5-2 start also a stat?
On second thought, stats are for losers. See above.
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:27 pm
JA ,
How many people have you kicked off your lawn today?
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:30 pm
Bowels is a 7-9 win coach with no killer instinct and a defense so Complex many players seem to have difficulty learning it. I’d like nothing better than to see us win 12-14 games but facts and reason say it will be around 8 to 9 max. Hopefully the offense will stay healthy and pull the team to more wins. This year the draft is really crucial for the Defense. They better get it right and get a few upgrades in the FA market.
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:32 pm
BPBucsfan Says:
As long as Bowles is coach, about .500 is all you can expect. Proven track record, that’s his ceiling.
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Before posting “facts” like that, you may want to first actually look at his track record.
As I mentioned in my last post, Bowles’ track record shows he was top ten in the NFL four consecutive years in the points-per-game allowed opponents. And that includes the 2023 season, when he was 9 – 8, won the division, when the team was in salary cap hell with over 75 million in dead cap money. From a GM’s perspective, that is an excellent season, and not commonly done in the salary cap era.
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:35 pm
BucsFanSince1996
I’m definitely convinced that this site is actually filled with more trolls than actual fans.
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:38 pm
@99 the big fella,
It’s definitely got more than its share of trolls, plus their sock puppets as well.
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:05 pm
Mike Evans will stay, I think he can acknowledge that the Bucs are primed to win the division with a healthy offensive line, and a couple good added pieces to the defense. Personally my thinking is a successful run lies on the shoulders of Mayfield, do we get the Mayfield early in this past season or the one who floundered down the stretch.
If the playoffs are attainable, can Mayfield step up his game or toss 4th quarter interceptions as he has.
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:09 pm
There are actually people out there that think Nowles is a good head coach? Huh..that’s kinda cute.
Well im sure you Bowles supporters are smitten that he gets another chance.
I’ll take a bit if a more practical stance and that’s one where I dont need to pull up meaningless stats, I just watch the games (sometimes multiple times) and form my opinions based on what I see on the field. Anytime the Bucs have a team in 3rd and 15 or less, Im usually shocked or waiting for a flag to come out when the opposing team doesn’t convert. I have watched rookie QBs and back ups easily pass on Bowles defenses.
Ive heard players say their in season practices were soft and like walk thrus.
But, I’m a lifelong Buc fan and will be hoping all of you Bowles supporters are right and he proves this year that he can be more than a 8-10 win coach that gets dumped in the first round of the playoffs. But I’m certainly not betting against history.
My opinion is that we saw Bowles ceiling reached with Coen as OC..one and done.
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:12 pm
This stupid organization must fire Bowzo and try to hire back Gruden and got to 4=3 defense.
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:15 pm
Other potential captions from the pic above:
“Tom…thank you for helping me extend my career by 6 years and running!”
“Put in a good work with DutchBoy Davis for me …I may need a gig next year.”
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:26 pm
I cannot get past the 3-28. It seems his defense is only good when he has a true head coach overseeing it. Also the team checked out on him, how do you ever recover from something like that. So we are to think that next year the players will suddenly have a change of heart? Just once last year it would have been nice that when the opposing qb let the ball go and the camera swings to the receiver that a buccaneer defensive guy would at least be in the same frame. I feel it’s my right as a buccaneers fan for life that I’m able to speak out when someone or something drags the team down.
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:27 pm
If Brady was running it all I’d feel a little more confident.
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:33 pm
Ljsolutions
It’s one thing to speak out as a bucs fan
It’s another to comment on every post that Bowles sucks and you hate him his wife and his kids. I swear it’s the same simple minded pretend fans.
I’m not saying it’s you but look at above comments
One guy has to say the same crap on every post. He can barely form a sentence
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:35 pm
Bakefield is too small to win SB. Bowzo is too xxxxxx.
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:37 pm
A true fan will not follow the herd over the cliff.
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:45 pm
Fanofdabucs Says:
There are actually people out there that think Nowles is a good head coach? Huh..that’s kinda cute.
Well im sure you Bowles supporters are smitten that he gets another chance.
I’ll take a bit if a more practical stance and that’s one where I dont need to pull up meaningless stats…
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I’ve not seen anyone here in the comments section expressing the opinion that Bowles is a “good head coach”. It sounds a bit like the beginning of a strawman argument. I, for one, am not “smitten that he gets another chance.”
My opinion – he is an average coach in the league. It’s a mixed bag. He’s got strengths that are above average and weaknesses that are below average. He’s certainly not as bad as some trolls in the comments section claim. And there are stats that back that up that are far from meaningless. The job of a defensive coach is to stop the other team from scoring points, isn’t it? Bowles’ defense was Top Ten in the league for 4 consecutive years. If you believe that to be meaningless, I’m glad that you’re not the GM.
My preference would have been to see him replaced as HC this offseason if the Glazers could have gotten an upgrade. They did reach out to John Harbaugh’s agent, so I suspect they were looking. That said, the ugliness we witnessed this past season on defense wasn’t all due to Bowles. Multiple positions on defense are clearly in need of an upgrade. I’m confident that that will happen in the months to come.
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:52 pm
BucsFanSince1996
I agree 100% I was on the get rid of Bowles train.
We are stuck with him and these crybabies need to get over it.
Bowles is the head coach. He is ultimately who gets the blame when things go wrong. It definitely wasn’t all his fault
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:59 pm
I would absolutely *LOVE* to see the Bucs sign Devin Lloyd. He’s an awesome linebacker- especially against the pass! We should go after him as hard as possible also because we can choose BPA in the draft instead of being stuck having to take linebackers early and often.
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:02 pm
BPBucsfan Says:
As long as Bowles is coach, about .500 is all you can expect. Proven track record, that’s his ceiling.
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If you look at the history of many of the greatest coaches in the history of the league, you’d find out they were way BELOW .500 for some seasons at the beginning of their career.
Tom Landry .391 after 7 seasons
Chuck Noll .286 after 5 seasons
Bill Walsh .292 after 4 seasons
Belichick .450 after 5 seasons
I’m not comparing Bowles with those coaches. I’m just pointing out how worthless your claim about Bowles ceiling and “proven track record” is.
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:05 pm
I hope for good things, but I cannot point to one thing that gives me any confidence in this team next year. That is unless we can score 50 points a game with the new OC. Who wants to follow a leader who throws all his coaches under the bus to save his own butt.
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:05 pm
Just wanted to point out that Jerry Rice did leave San Fran and went to the Raiders
– u were stating all the great who never left there team they were with there whole career.
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:06 pm
Hahaha….
I have been posting from Vietnam, my first time back since the American War as they call it here….
My www host signature must be alerting Joes filters
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:07 pm
The run Defense was not bad last year
The pass defense was terrible, mainly because the pass rush was terrible
The special teams were awful- maybe worst in NFL
Alot of injuries on offense hurt production
And an inexperienced OC who wasn’t ready for the job hurt.
The Patriots turned it around in one year. Seahawks surprised alot of fans.
Interesting off season coming up.
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Its like the Peyton manning lamar Jackson comparison…they’re practically the same so far in Jackson’s career except for the rushing