Ko Kieft Defends Todd Bowles
March 18th, 2026
Says animated coach not needed.
Joe doesn’t think it is a stretch to suggest the vast majority of Bucs fans look forward to one thing before they can fully enjoy Bucs games again.
That would be Todd Bowles cleaning out his office.
Bowles, wildly unpopular with the rank and file Bucs fans, takes all sorts of potshots from those who can’t wait for the Bowles era to end.
Most of these gripes, Joe admits, are valid. However, perhaps the most commonly-heard critique of Bowles, well, Joe thinks is complete BS. Basically, fans want a cartoon character on the sidelines.
You know, like the Tasmanian Devil. Think Chucky. Never mind Chucky demonstrates almost daily he’s stuck in the 1990s when it comes to offense — but, by golly, he gets fired up!
For many NFL fans, the NFL is a TV show. Entertainment! Drama! Suspense! Without juice, you basically have Booknotes with Brian Lamb.
And you know what? One reason Joe became a fan of Indiana basketball was because of Bobby Knight. Dude was completely Fruit Loops on the bench. Joe had no idea what he was going to do or what he was going to say but you knew you’d be entertained, in a WWE/Rowdy Roddy Piper/Frank the Tank kind of way.
Anyone can act the fool but very, very few could or did out-coach Knight. Behind that nutso personality and frustrated comedian front lay a basketball genius.
But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if a coach is dancing with himself on the sideline or has the charisma of a utility pole. It’s what the guy does in practices and his constant in-game decisions and talent evaluation are what make a coach.
Some of the greatest NFL coaches had the personality of a stale loaf of bread. Paul Brown, Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, Mike Shanahan … Joe could go on. Defending Super Bowl champion Mike Macdonald isn’t exactly doing cartwheels during games. He wins.
Appearing on the “Pat and Aaron Show” heard on WDAE-AM 620/WDAE-FM 95.7 yesterday, newly re-signed Bucs tight end Ko Kieft pretty much echoed a famous Bill Parcells line: If players need a coach to motivate them, they’re in the wrong business.
“I think — dude, if you don’t have enough fire as a player yourself, if you need a coach to come and hype you up before every game, before every practice, to fire you up, I don’t think you should be in the NFL,” Kieft said.
Joe has heard it from many assistants, past and present, and from players that Bowles’ even keel demeanor is actually a good thing. Sometimes, an extrovert coach who constantly hollers and yells sees his message grow thin while players don’t know what might set him off and when.
Now to be fair to Kieft, does anyone expect Kieft, fresh off a new contract, to get on a blowtorch AM and FM signal that can be heard up and down the west coast of the east coast and trash his head coach? Of course not.
Again, Joe understands why folks like a cartoon character coach. But as far as Joe is concerned, a coach’s personality is nearly meaningless
Sure, watching Bucco Bruce Arians tear into people and cuss up a storm and run on the field and slap a player in the helmet or get into a hassle with currently unemployed clown Marshon Lattimore was fun to watch. At the end of the day, Arians knew what he was doing with X’s and O’s better than most.
No one outside of Chucky hollered and screamed like former Bucs commander Greg Schiano. How’d that work out? Raheem Morris would chestbump defensive dudes coming off the field after allowing a field goal. That didn’t work out so well, did it?
There are many valid reasons for Bucs fans to be upset with Bowles. Joe could sit with fans at Hooters all afternoon and list them. The fact he’s not a maniac on the sidelines isn’t one of them.
March 18th, 2026 at 3:58 am
I agree, I don’t as a Bucs Fan give a crap if he yells screams , head butts players or what.i just want him to win.Hire a Defensive Cordinator kǰkk or a legtimate assistant to call the Defensive plays on game day. A guy who works to improve the player skills in practice and lead the Defense. Maybe if Bowles would hire a Defensive expert to handle the defense he could & maybe would do a better job as the HC of the team.. Plus let the DC run the defense without interference.
March 18th, 2026 at 4:10 am
My issue with Bowles is his inability to adjust. I don’t care about his personality, his attitude or the color of his skin. All of that is irrelevant to me.
Put our team in a position to win. Understand what’s happening on the field and make adjustments to give us a chance to win.
That’s it. “Just win, baby!”
March 18th, 2026 at 4:24 am
I think it boils down to people being angry when we lose, and we see some of the best coaches getting animated to a degree. When we win or are winning, no one says anything about Bowle’s attitude. On the other hand, we have heard from this here site that the team has taken on the personality of its HC, which appears to be a little too chill. So you cannot have it both ways.
March 18th, 2026 at 4:57 am
Ohh please. He is back on the payroll.
March 18th, 2026 at 5:00 am
Hooties in S TPA is closing.
March 18th, 2026 at 5:03 am
Joe, I have coached at the high school and semi professional level in Europe and I have seen multiple personalities. Most of the Fans on here are not true fans in my opinion, Coach Dungy never raised his voice and he won a Super Bowl. I see so many comments on here daily about Bowles being fired for this reason or that reason when none of the people making the comments could even scheme or create a defense that would win a Super Bowl much less a regular season game with an MVP stacked roster never mind the injuries we had last year, or the lack of depth we didn’t have. The coach doesn’t have the power to always get every player he wants and they all tried the Reddick experiment and although it didn’t work they tried. Not to mention so many people on here expected better results, but it doesn’t matter what the Team looks like on paper it only matters how many games we win. Go BUCS!
March 18th, 2026 at 5:28 am
Here we go again getting lectured that we aren’t real fans because we won’t accept mediocre to poor football from our team. All the coaches Joe named were winners more than not. Bowles can’t even stand in their shadows. As I’ve said before, he could have pigeons landing on him during the games if the team plays like they care and wins.
March 18th, 2026 at 5:56 am
Leopold Stotch … ‘I think it boils down to people being angry when we lose’.
And that’s really all it is Leopold; ‘fans’ will back a coach when he wins, and throw him overboard when he loses. Last season 80%-90% of JBFers were in Bowles’ corner when we were winning early in the season. Once we started losing, everything shifted and 80%-90% wanted him to walk the plank.
I’m not convinced at all that Todd Bowles, acting as BOTH our HC & DC, can lead us to the Promised Land. I see nothing in his 2022-2025 performance that leads me to believe that 2026 will be the year of the Grand Awakening. But I’m also at the point that that doesn’t bother me.
Sure I’d love for us to win another Super Bowl this year. But I seriously doubt this team will end up with the talent it takes to pull that off. However, I’m convinced we’ll be better this year than we were last season, although probably not by much. Also convinced that Todd Bowles (and Jason Licht) are on 1-year leashes. The decision to replace them is up to the Glazers though. Not me, not you, not the Joes.
March 18th, 2026 at 5:56 am
Who cares if the coach is all fired up or just clam an laid back. We only care about winning if after 3 to 5 years it doesn’t then he needs to go.
March 18th, 2026 at 6:06 am
Todd Bowles is not a winner. He’s a mediocre coach that does not know how to create a winning team. I tried to have faith in him, but he burned it last year. That’s why Mike Evans left. 6-11 season coming, get prepared for it.
March 18th, 2026 at 6:11 am
This year Bucs games will be cheap and they will play all Away Games
Why is Bowles disliked by fans???
Because he is Mid at best and every other team would have said bye
Bowles gets a pass. WHY???
But just because the Bucs and two fans say oh no it’s the other coaches or it’s the players or EXCUSE AFTER EXCUSE Doent change THE FACTS
YOU BOWL BUDDIES better buy up the tickets this year and support
March 18th, 2026 at 6:13 am
Couldn’t agree more with Defense rules….
No way Bowles will ever take us to the promised land.
I could care less how he acts on the sidelines.
His defense is just plain unprepared to play. If.. according to Bowles (the mastermind of defenses), it’s just 1 player out of position on every big play – how does that translate to good coaching, game management, player communication, etc? It doesn’t – and that’s coaching.
There was a point last season – after the Buffalo game that Bowles could have made a ‘coaching decision’ and finally fired his special teams coach.
But no, he couldn’t adjust – settled for below average play. That’s not a decision a GOOD head coach does.
Run the ball over 30 times cause we won that way last year. Seriously? That’s not winning decision with two back up guards.
His defense makes all pros out of rookie QB’s.
Bowles plays not to lose and it’s hard to watch.
March 18th, 2026 at 6:20 am
Kieft, like Bredeson, makes our offense better. Great article.
March 18th, 2026 at 6:25 am
Lets see,
2019 – More losing, even Arians can’t fix Winston
2020 – Bucs, Brady and Arians get hot at end of season, win 8 straight + Super Bowl.
2021 – Bucs, Brady and Arians winning all season, Stafford + Kupp burn the Bowles defense at the end of the divisional game
2022-2025 – Four seasons of floundering mediocrity, poor play-off execution.
The 2022 season was the tell.
March 18th, 2026 at 6:28 am
No one is asking Bowles to energize or amplify anything. He needs to stop being a drain. He is like a great receiver who has the unfortunate asterisk that he can be counted on to drop critical fourth quarter touchdowns because he does it all the time. Like drops, Bowles gaffes are deflating. They are a deflating pattern.
Ideally, he just needs to be a well-paid headset stand on Sundays. Let someone else do the defensive play calling. I don’t think too many folks are asking him to be Richard Simmons. Stop obfuscating, well-compensated blocker. Ko is blocking for the Bucs in the off-season as well, I see.
March 18th, 2026 at 6:40 am
I really don’t care how the HC acts on the sideline. What I do care about is the performance on the field by a highly motivated team that seeks to impose their will on the opponent. I grew up in the. Chuck Noll era of the Steelers. He was more stoic than crazy active. He would get in the face of a player that messed up and would always ride Bradshaw’s can. He produced a highly successful team through meticulous coaching. TB doesn’t. What I am outraged at is the D quitting on TB. The quitters are still on the team. Therefore, there is the potential for quitting to happen again. Licht has not restocked the team. He didn’t last season and it doesn’t look like he will this season. The obvious question is Why? Don’t give me the lame answer of cap space. Other teams work through that. The Bucs choose not to. At this point the Bucs look bad, really bad on D. I have to disagree with the evening host on WDAE…the Bucs are NOT better, not by a long shot. If they think the draft will solve their defensive problems, may I remind you of how effective Morrison was or Dennis. Rookies rarely contribute and are more a liability than asset. If you are drunk on the koolaid of the Bucs are great, then your hangover is right around the corner.
March 18th, 2026 at 6:41 am
Bone Head in game decisions, and BAD game plans….. THAT is why people are over Todd
March 18th, 2026 at 6:45 am
Parcells also said you are what your record says you are. Todd Bowles record as a coach is around .500. Enough said.
March 18th, 2026 at 6:45 am
Raymond James stadium lease runs through 2028 – Todd Bowles contract runs through 2028 – Jason Licht contract (likely) runs through 2028 – coincidence ?
maybe – but Bucs fans have to prepare for at least 3 more years of Bowles as HC – we may see things at the stadium we have not seen in many years – an angry possibly unruly crowd in the stands – stadium staff will have to be extra-vigilant the next few years for the safety of players and especially coaches – bags will probably be thoroughly searched for the presence of items that can be thrown onto the field or that may injure personnel – sad state of affairs in modern times – Bowles may need to wear a helmet along with his headset
March 18th, 2026 at 7:15 am
What we witnessed the last 9 games of the 2025 season was despicable. This team actually quit on themselves or quit on Bowles. Either one is damning to the HC. No will to win. No sense of urgency. With the season on the line they went into the witness protection program. And Bowles’ response to the great collapse of 2025? There’s nothing more we can do as coaches. It’s on the players to respond. I don’t want a coach who’s run out of answers when things go bad. Like I said many times 31 other teams would of fired Bowles ten minutes after the last game. But I guess Todd is special. Lucky us!
March 18th, 2026 at 7:19 am
Ko’s absence last year and what a key role he played in making the offense click is greatly misunderstood by the fans
March 18th, 2026 at 7:25 am
Imho that don’t mean sugar honey ice tea, Bowles doesn’t show he is hungry enough… there’s countless times when it’s on record that he is drawing up schemes and plays and players are not executing and it is multiple times where it is suggested that he has asked players to do certain things and players doing other things. He gotta drop nuts. I want to say there was a younger player on defense this year that mentioned wanting to speak to Bowles after reflecting on the season about too many walkthrus and if players can’t get it right they need to find somewhere else to go… Bowles probably is too nice and a genuinely good person and father figure to the players… should be less modesty and more letting it be known his defense being run right led to the last Super Bowl… anyone who doesn’t want to do what’s asked of them needs to be fined for conduct detrimental to the team or finding new jobs that they actually want to do…
March 18th, 2026 at 7:42 am
The only reason I am down (and out) on Bowles is that he is supposed to be a defensive master mind but his defense stinks and he’s too proud to change it
March 18th, 2026 at 8:22 am
We have enough cartoon characters already, we don’t need the coach to be one as well, we have #6, and he does a pretty good job of it already!
March 18th, 2026 at 8:28 am
Look at all this trauma bonding lol
March 18th, 2026 at 8:42 am
No, no, no.
I’ve posted MANY times that Bowles “Chief Stoicism Officer” routine loses us games.
He never chews the ref’s arses, never chews a player’s arse during the game, never celebrates what 95% of coaches out there celebrate during a game, never motivates his players one the sidelines during the game, never goes “Mike Vrabel” or “Dan Campbell” on anyone or anything during a game.
No, just that dumb, damn, poker face look does nothing for no one…during the game.
One “Yeahhhhh” yell post win in the locker room or one “swearing rant” post game during a press conference AFTER the game does NOTHING during the game to emotionally put his thumb on the winning scale.
Drives me nuts. It’s “on purpose with intent” with Bowles, and it costs…us…games.
What would one additional win last year have done for our franchise?
Screw being a CSO.
Do better, Toddy.
Fog a mirror.
Not…that…hard.
March 18th, 2026 at 8:46 am
The Bucs need a coach who isn’t soft. Bowles is soft, and his defense is/was, too.
March 18th, 2026 at 8:48 am
How is Chucky stuck in the 90s as far as offense? I watched a number of his videos and he is astute with breaking down current offenses and QBs. I bet Chucky watches far more film than both Joes combined.
March 18th, 2026 at 9:18 am
Sean G:
Joe will tell you a story Bobby Bowden told Joe years ago. Back in the 20th century, it was common for college coaches to attend NFL training camps. Back then, NFL training camps started right after Fourth of July.
College coaches would show up and take notes and try to learn. Bowden, as a young coach, did just that.
(Joe saw with his own eyes Eddie Robinson at an old St. Louis Cardinals training camp taking notes with a yellow paper legal pad using a tackling dummy as a desk.)
Bowden used to attend both the Packers and Browns training camp. Hey, why not learn from the best, Vince Lombardi and Paul Brown. Bowden told Joe, “Lombardi used to just holla and cuss. Paul Brown would just whisper.”
Bowden said he learned then you just have to be yourself to be a good coach. That being quiet and calm or intense and screaming had little to do with coaching players up.
buc4evr:
Of course Chucky watches more tape than Joe. Bet he watches more tape than you, too.
Since you’ve seen so many of his videos, surely you’ve seen him often rag on the spread-option offense and how quarterbacks don’t bark signals much and clap and get plays from the sidelines with signals.
That’s modern football and it ain’t changing anytime soon. You get quarterbacks trying to learn a system that is completely foreign to them, good luck trying to develop any. And good luck winning. And good luck keeping a job.
And in today’s NFL, the key is quarterback development and adjusting to what a quarterback is comfortable with. Chucky sure doesn’t seem remotely interested in those two elements.
March 18th, 2026 at 9:18 am
Sean G, it’s so nice to have an Expert such as yourself slither out from under the hoarder’s rats nest across the pond. Football isn’t that complicated or hard to follow. A five year old can spot a good team from a bad team. Mr Superior calling fans who don’t care for a loser coach, “not true fans”, because he was a trainer on a pop warner team. I’m not sure if I correctly labeled the hole you crawled out of correctly, but please slum your way back, Ess Tee Eff Yu, and this loser head coach with you.
March 18th, 2026 at 9:30 am
@SB-LV ⬆️ don’t get me wrong I love Ko and his toughness and blocking but if you look back, our offense was its best in 2024, when he was healthy all year but only played 104 snaps total, most of those on special teams teams. So, how greatly was he missed last year? I thought our scheme sucked and that was the difference. With a better ( Coen-like) scheme, what does he bring to the party that the other TEs don’t? Again, I like the dude. Not saying he is bad or not useful.
March 18th, 2026 at 9:51 am
Being a coach at ANY sport requires at least some intensity. For me the hardest part of being an NFL coach is the ability to motivate grown men. The mid season slumps and the absolute quit this team has shown makes me wonder if Bowles can still get them ready for gameday. The simple eye test when playing less talented teams says no.
March 18th, 2026 at 10:04 am
Ran into a current Bucs player the last week or so. He loves Bowles and told me that’s the prevailing sentiment in the locker room. Said he, they are frustrated with how media knock on him. For what it’s worth.
March 18th, 2026 at 10:08 am
Couldn’t care less about sideline demeanor. It’s the regressing, declining results, repeatedly seeing the same mistakes and doing nothing to fix those, boneheaded game management decisions, and of course 3rd and 28 and losing Mike Evans.
Bowles can’t be an ex Buc soon enough.
March 18th, 2026 at 10:13 am
He’s not wrong.
March 18th, 2026 at 10:21 am
I wouldn’t call this Kieft defending Bowles. Do better with your headlines, Joe.
March 18th, 2026 at 11:21 am
I just hope the team strings togethor some wins early.
Then all of the 3-28 trolls wil go away. Like all obsessives, they just get worse. I just scroll on by, as I’m sure most readers are doing.
March 18th, 2026 at 12:42 pm
“On the other hand, we have heard from this here site that the team has taken on the personality of its HC, which appears to be a little too chill. So you cannot have it both ways.”
Well said Leopold Stotch!
I don’t need a cartoon character, certainly don’t need him celebrating and chest bumping guys either. It’s about intensity and urgency, looking like you are ready to call a timeout or throw a challenge flag or yell at the D when they are messing up for the 5th time in a game.
It’s a spectrum, lifeless – normal – cartoon and Bowles skews too close to lifeless. It would matter much less if he wasn’t so conservative with his offense and game management. As it stands, the combination shows 0 killer instinct and that’s what the team has.
March 18th, 2026 at 1:07 pm
Probably any marginal player hanging on to a roster spot by a thread would defend the only guy in the NFL who’s keeping his career alive.
March 18th, 2026 at 2:06 pm
Totally agree with the TE. I also beleive that this is the NFL and by now you shouldn’t have to teach fundamentals. That is taught thru all the ranks and by time you reach the pros you should know fundamentals by now.
March 18th, 2026 at 4:04 pm
Front Four
It’s easy to love a coach that never holds you accountable for mistakes and puts your butt on the bench
We have coddled players by the coach and overpaid by the GM. Entitled attitudes for mediocre performance. Top heavy pay distribution also
What could go wrong?