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 enjoy Bucs games again.
That would be when Bucs coach Todd Bowles has to clean out his office.
Bowles, wildly unpopular with the rank and file Bucs fans, takes all sorts of potshots from fans who can’t wait for the Bowles era of Bucs football to come to an 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 most 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. 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/Frank the Tank kind of way.
Anyone can act the fool but very, very few people 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 coaches in NFL history 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 with players that Bowles’ even keel demeanor is actually a good thing. Sometimes, an extrovert coach who constantly hollers and yells, the message grows thin and who knows what may or may not 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 want a cartoon character on the sidelines. But as far as Joe is concerned, a guy’s personality doesn’t amount to a hill of beans whether he can coach or not.
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. We could sit 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 5:56 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
Todd Bowles isn’t judged on sideline emotion, he’s judged on results, and they consistently point to a limited ceiling. His teams are cautious, offensively stagnant, and rarely outperform expectations. Until that changes, Tampa Bay won’t be good this year because the same constraints are still in charge. I don’t care about the nonsense division titles, means nothing.
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 6:25 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