Todd Bowles Feels “Hungrier”
February 27th, 2026
How did the Bucs’ late-season collapse affect Todd Bowles? Did it affect Bowles’ confidence?
The head coach was hit with that question during his visit to the Ira Kaufman Podcast this week.
Bowles said he is unscathed and expects to be better for the experience.
“I don’t think it took anything out of me or damaged [my confidence] whatsoever,” Bowles said. “If not, it made me hungrier. It made me pissed off and more frustrated and you got to look in the mirror. And you get pissed for a while, but at the same time you have to learn from the past and not live in the past. There are days you go on, and you got to go on and you get stronger and you learn how to get better. And I think as a competitor, you need failure sometimes to make you better. You’re just not going to win all the time. And it’s how you come back from what you couldn’t do.”
While Bowles’ confidence came away intact, he sure rushed to shatter his coaching staff, including hurling fall guy offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard out the door and under the bus. “Failure” won’t get a chance to make those guys better; they’re no longer in Tampa.
Joe has no issue with upgrading staff, but it didn’t exactly jibe with Bowles’ December comment that noted, “the coaches have done everything they can do.”
Regardless, Joe is glad that Bowles is steaming with confidence and hungry. It would be troublesome if he wasn’t.
February 27th, 2026 at 11:23 am
How do we know that he isn’t talking about going to more buffets?
Perhaps with his son around as an eating buddy he will continue to expand at a geometric rate.
And please remind us of his hunger when we are in the midst of our next long sustained losing streak.
Just gotta get hungry better.
#SuperBowles
February 27th, 2026 at 11:23 am
Bro stop, this guy talking about being hungry…
February 27th, 2026 at 11:25 am
The Joe who made this title set this up
February 27th, 2026 at 11:26 am
Get the man some cookies!
February 27th, 2026 at 11:28 am
cant make this sh1t up.
February 27th, 2026 at 11:30 am
Usfbucs. Had to have. Had to. Kind of mean, too. Well, a little mean wouldn’t hurt this team a bit. Good job, Joe.
February 27th, 2026 at 11:33 am
There’s a lot truth in what he is saying and as human being.
Here’s the problem with me with Coach. The same ish continues to happen with him@ the helm every year collapses.that Mr. Gm be bold in the free agent market Mr. Gm go get a proven veteran center and put our center @ left guard.
I’m tired 🤙🏾
February 27th, 2026 at 11:34 am
Too bad he’s unable to make his team feel the same way. The guy is zero as a motivator.. Bruce Arians was a motivator. This guy doesn’t know how to motivate.
February 27th, 2026 at 11:35 am
What TB said is he is stubborn as ever. He learned NOTHING from last season. IF there is not SIGNIFICANT improvement, the TB reign of mediocrity has to be over. It can no longer be excused or accepted due to injuries, etc. This is his and JL’s prove it year. Either they will or they will not.
February 27th, 2026 at 11:41 am
@Joes
When Bowles said “the coaches have done all they can do” my first thought was ok, ya’ll realize that there are problems but none of you jackwagons have the answer.
In that context it jibes perfectly. The Glazers just didn’t fire everyone that they should have fired.
February 27th, 2026 at 11:49 am
it looks like he has eaten enough already.
February 27th, 2026 at 11:55 am
Um, kind of obvious in a non football sense…..oh, he means hungry to be better with his scheme on D and being HC at the same time? Gotta coach better, gotta play better, gotta throw as much as possible under the bus to deflect blame? Gotta stay away from mirrors? JEEZE!!!!!
This time next year cant get here soon enough smdh!!!
February 27th, 2026 at 11:58 am
yea gotta eat better
February 27th, 2026 at 11:59 am
A narcissist always blames everyone else, and if you’re close to them and call them on it, thats your fault…..lol, this guy….so full of himself and his BULLSPIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 27th, 2026 at 12:14 pm
“We gotta prep it better, we gotta cook it better, we gotta season it better, we gotta plate it better, we gotta eat it better.” – Bowles speech to the kitchen staff at OBP.
February 27th, 2026 at 12:21 pm
I’m lost Bruce arians was a fat guy actually a very fat guy but I never here’d the fat jokes
February 27th, 2026 at 12:25 pm
Talking about his coaching or his scheme would do you guys much better because now it seems like even if we did get to the SB win or loss he still wouldn’t be good enough because of whatever reason after
February 27th, 2026 at 12:28 pm
Of course you didn’t he wasnt hated by a large part of the fan base. If the glazer keep hiring for his inadequacies will they hire someone to have a spine for him he coaches on his heels pretty consistently.
February 27th, 2026 at 12:29 pm
When Bowzo speaks….we all cringe, duck, and cover, The Curse of Bowzo has got us. No escape til 2027 if then.
February 27th, 2026 at 12:34 pm
Joe. There is no way out. This is a tough crowd. They did the unthinkable. They try put lipstick on their pig. Hard bargain til the regular season starts this fall. Still JBF will keep the offseason fun.
February 27th, 2026 at 12:40 pm
El hefe, its not that. Bruce is a whole nother level of personality and intelligence and coach. Look, i dont hate the guy as a person, i dont think anyone here does. Its just him and his antics make it easy to have a little fun with. But we need to move on and most of us already know that…..
February 27th, 2026 at 12:43 pm
hilarious headline
nice
February 27th, 2026 at 12:52 pm
Joe has no issue with upgrading staff, but it didn’t exactly jibe with Bowles’ December comment that noted, “the coaches have done everything they can do.”
—————————
It’s entirely consistent. They DID do everything they could do. They just didn’t have much capability.
February 27th, 2026 at 12:53 pm
Jokes oftentimes write themselves around here…
With that Buddha Boiler…he’s bound to be starving. He wasn’t able to celebrate the NFC South title…where in the past he’s polish off a bag of Chips Ahoy while washing it down with 1% milk. An actual quote! Wilford Brinkley would warn him about “Diahbeetuz” if he we’re still around.
February 27th, 2026 at 12:53 pm
[Now, don’t be mean. — Joe]
February 27th, 2026 at 12:55 pm
How bout that big Bucs Report Card Hahahah… LoL How bout that current team CULTURE we have here!? Lmaooooo.
February 27th, 2026 at 1:04 pm
ME13 is making it clear he will stay, if the Bucs commit to bringing in talent through FA to make this team a SB contender. That’s his leverage going forward. If the Bucs let ME13 walk, we know why. ME13 wants another ring before he retires and the money is not his biggest focus.
February 27th, 2026 at 1:05 pm
Can they drug test coaches??? He is delusional accomplished nothing with jets 4 years and nothing here other than couple games above 500 here in 4 years. Most horrible coach in Bucs history. Tied with Perkins and Williamson
February 27th, 2026 at 1:06 pm
In a pitiful division
February 27th, 2026 at 1:14 pm
Please practice faster!
Please learn from the Seahawks!
Please play violently like the 49ers.
Our defense looked SOFT and SLOW last year.
Watching the Seahawks win the Super Bowl was depressing.
They looked so much faster and more aggressive than our defense.
February 27th, 2026 at 1:20 pm
I’m just here for the fat jokes.
February 27th, 2026 at 1:20 pm
BUT to use Raheen the Dream’s term, is Bowles Youngry?
February 27th, 2026 at 1:23 pm
sure looks like he has put on a few pounds
February 27th, 2026 at 1:28 pm
I appreciate “this Joe” calling out his comments about Grizzard for what they were: under the buss.
I was honestly surprised reading some of the comments here about how great the head coach did with that response. There was nothing redeeming or insightful about those comments. Not leadership quality at all.
But I guess those folks are going to support him no matter what.
February 27th, 2026 at 1:31 pm
D-Rok – brilliant!
February 27th, 2026 at 1:43 pm
The defense has been terrible for the last 2 years. Bowles wasn’t hungry enough in those years, is that what he’s saying? 🙄
This CLOWN actually said that the defense suffered because he was working on the offense late in the season? Wasn’t that when the offense GOT WORSE? Bowles should be FIRED for this terrible excuse, along with his lousy coaching and awful clock management.
February 27th, 2026 at 1:59 pm
Bucs fans are suffering a famine.
February 27th, 2026 at 2:07 pm
wouldve been nice for bowles to get “hungrier” after the philly game….or lions game…
GO BUCS!!!!
February 27th, 2026 at 2:22 pm
One thing coach’s tell the locker room is that we will put you in the very best position to succeed but whether you do or not depends on what YOU put into it. That’s from pee wee on up. I think it was a combination of some coach’s, players with laziness and/or lack or talent and injuries. All signs point to a SOMETHING after the bye week and it spiraled from there. It’s easy to blame Bowles as the top dog, to a point and rightfully so. The disappointment was so huge this season that everyone, including me, wanted the whole staff gone. I am sure that no one feels worse than Bowles does cause he knows it is a direct reflection on him, how could he not. If Bowles sat down and laid out all the reasons why things played out the way they did he would never be able to coach again, he would lose all credibility within his locker room and the rest of the league and would REALLY lose his team. He would have to call out players, coach’s, maybe the front office to a point, a whole slew of things that you just don’t and can’t do publicly. We want to know yeah but would it do any more good than harm? This isn’t a defense of Bowles but just a take on things as a whole. I am really ashamed of the way the season went last year, for all fans, but I try to be a realist. I still have 3 remotes, 2 for throwing and 1 for the TV. Kinda like those old demo derby crash cars when I was a kid.
February 27th, 2026 at 2:47 pm
HUNGRIER???? He’s so DAMN FAT he’s gonna explode
February 27th, 2026 at 2:47 pm
Words fail me. Fire this dude and sell the team. Get an owner that will spend and not have us second place in their priorities behind the clusterf*ck that is Manchester United.
February 27th, 2026 at 2:49 pm
SMDH…embarrassing…glazers crapped the bed
February 27th, 2026 at 3:14 pm
So with the leaked info that Glazers got a D from player evaluations and the fact that Bowles is still the HC and DC, I wouldn’t bet Bucs will attract any worthwhile FAs. If so, they’ll have to overpay as usual.
February 27th, 2026 at 3:25 pm
Now he’s hungry??? Now! You know who’s hungry, those coaches you fired to save your ass.
February 27th, 2026 at 3:34 pm
I don’t understand this narrative that Grizzard was “thrown under the bus”
He didn’t get any OC interviews, this very site has implied that Otton & White were misused, and he had difficulty crafting a running game. I know he got a gig with the Eagles, but it’s not like McDaniel tried to add him to his staff in San Diego. So do you know something the rest of us don’t? It’s like you think it was wrong to let him go.
February 27th, 2026 at 3:50 pm
Delusional – I completely support canning Grizzard. The offense stalled. No questions about it.
The issue is that the defense was much, much worse. That guy got to stay, and to add to it the HC who’s supposed to be this great culture builder ripped him a new one and said he wouldn’t be ready for another 2-3 years after he axed him.
I hope that helps explain my understanding “under the bus’s”.
It’s not that he was let go.
February 27th, 2026 at 3:54 pm
Ballwasher – great points.
I agree with you that the players completely bailed on the season at some point at the bye. Especially and mostly the defense.
So it’s not that we don’t blame the players for checking out. That’s a serious character flaw. But, it always comes down to the coach being able to push the right buttons for those players. If this was Todd’s second or third year as a HC, most of us would understandably want to give him more time. But it’s not. We have an 8 year book on him.
February 27th, 2026 at 3:56 pm
2-7 in their last 9 games……..and he’s hungry and wants to order a giant pizza…
February 27th, 2026 at 3:59 pm
Firing failing position coaches and replacing them with their assistants seems to be his major “fix” for the defense. Who’s buying that BS? I still maintain this a owner mandated soft tanking to draft a franchise QB in 2027. And listen to Licht’s latest media appearances, total BS, company line, gaslighting the fans crap.
February 27th, 2026 at 4:43 pm
What is Bowels taking, where was he after the bye, that’s when the hunger should have been felt. The team was on a roll. I feel bad for the players who gave it more than 110%
February 27th, 2026 at 5:24 pm
If Bowles actually does have “confidence” after the way the defense has looked the last 2 years, he’s CLUELESS. There’s nothing about his defense that should give him ANY confidence.
February 27th, 2026 at 5:46 pm
He looks hungry! Ready to chew through the issues(burgers)! Take a bite out of the league(cake)!
February 27th, 2026 at 7:48 pm
HC Grover Says:
February 27th, 2026 at 12:34 pm
Joe. There is no way out. This is a tough crowd. They did the unthinkable. They try put lipstick on their pig. Hard bargain til the regular season starts this fall. Still JBF will keep the offseason fun.
What the hell are you even saying?
February 27th, 2026 at 7:55 pm
He a should’ve been hungry when areins handed over a championship team to him ,what happened todd
February 27th, 2026 at 7:59 pm
Honestly, no matter how good Todd does this season it will never be enough. The damage has been done. The fans will never accept him.
February 27th, 2026 at 10:32 pm
Fire TOILET BOWLES! Clown!!!
February 27th, 2026 at 11:05 pm
99 the big fella = case in point.
He’s never done well.
February 27th, 2026 at 11:45 pm
Joe i get it, it’s the same ole coach speak all losing coaches in the NFL spout. You are hungry you are motivated by the losing blah,blah,blah. Again i ask, where are the Defensive Cordinator candidates ,. So far he has fired coaches especially the Offensive Cordinator & heaped all kinds of blame on them but if everything is on the fired coaches why do the Bowles Bucs collapse every season in mid year. HIRE A DEFENSIVE play caller, install a better Defenive scheme , hire more TALENT. Mr Rock Star GM hire a bonified talent to rush t h e passer not cover recieviers. All Bucs Nation realizes a 9-8 or 10-7 season and it’s Bowles forever.
February 28th, 2026 at 5:58 pm
NFL is Jai Alai.
February 28th, 2026 at 5:58 pm
Im sorry, I dont need a 60+ year old coach still looking for answers. You either know where the shortcomings
This dude could get to the NFC championship this year and I’ll still be just as skeptical the next season. He’s earned the stripes that he has at this point for life as far as myself is concerned. I can stomach a young coach flinging crap against a wall and seeing what sticks and essentially living and dying by the sword. Bowles keeps the crap in his hand and makes his team die of a thousand paper cuts while he stares at the field dumbfounded.