“It Was 10 Times Worse Than That In The Locker Room”
April 1st, 2026
Todd Bowles got bleeped out on NFL Network early Monday, but never fear, Joe was 6 feet from Bowles on the makeshift NFL Network studio as the sun rose in Phoenix.
Bowles hopped on Good Morning Football for an extensive interview from the NFL owners meetings at the swanky Arizona Biltmore resort.
The show played Bowles’ entire now famous profanity-laced rant from his postgame news conference in December — after the Bucs choked away a Thursday night game to the Falcons. When it ended, Bowles was asked if he was fined by the NFL (or the Bucs?) for the presentation.
“I don’t believe I got fined but it was 10 times worse than that in the locker room,” Bowles said.
“You know, sometimes you get pissed and it got to come out. It has to come out. It came out more calmer in the press than it did in the locker room. But God dammit, I care!”
Bowles’ closing line there drew roars of laughter from the morning show crew and didn’t make it past NFL.com sensors.
No, Bowles is not the stoic figure to the degree many fans think he is. Ranting and colorful language do not win games, but they do usually improve fan perception of the head coach.
Given that Bowles’ youngest son is going on 16 and his two older children are adults, Joe expects to see Bowles show more of his fiery side publicly in 2026. Joe is not expecting major change, but Bowles said years ago that he always conducts himself publicly to be a proper role model for his young boys. They’re no longer in that stage of life.
April 1st, 2026 at 10:16 am
Joes you are such suckers to the owners and the coach of this team. embarrassing to journalism overall
Thank you for your daily patronage here. Of course, this is nonsense. The archives here share the truth. For those unaward the NFL owners meetings are an event for credentialed NFL media. Joe does not attend on a Glazer jet. –Joe
April 1st, 2026 at 10:18 am
Still devastated over that game after witnessing it live. But was very proud of the entire fanbase for booing them off the field afterwards
April 1st, 2026 at 10:25 am
He lost the team and threw a tantrum awesome absolutely fantastic.
April 1st, 2026 at 10:26 am
He did all of that, and they stunk worse the next 2 games
You can’t motivate some players, the best you can do is let them go
Just bring some high quality players with high football IQ to this team
Players with high motors, smart players that think on their feet
April 1st, 2026 at 10:40 am
But but but the culture! The leadership! The shining beacon of integrity atop Devin Whites high horse!
Surely the leaders dug them out of the spiral? Surely they didn’t go out and lose to Quinn Ewers?!
Big shoes to fill – ha! The shoes retired and/or jumped a sunken ship
This franchise needs an enema to clear their heads of delusions- And don’t call me Shirley
April 1st, 2026 at 10:41 am
I lost a lot of respect for Bowles after that locker room tirade. Not because of his passion but because of his use of profanity. Show some dignity. It was absolutely unnecessary considering the fact that the NFL is sold as a family friendly sport. Call me old fashioned, I am in my mid 70s, and these cultural trends have me perplexed. I am of a generation where this sort of language was unacceptable. Judge me however you wish, just telling you how surprised, maybe shocked to hear this language coming from an NFL head coach in a publicly available arena. I am thankful my grandkids weren’t listening.
April 1st, 2026 at 10:42 am
“…it was 10 times worse than that in the locker room…”
Remember when it happened, I said he instantly lost the locker room?
Seems like he made things right later.
April 1st, 2026 at 10:45 am
What a society where “ranting and raving” curries favor and “improves perception”
And how we are all hypocrites because we ourseives hate that boss that rants and raves all the time….yet we crave it as “fans” and want more if it
The psyche of a fan is something I tell ya. Very sensical stuff. Holy smokes.
April 1st, 2026 at 10:51 am
The Glazer family hive-mind has bet everything on Bowles, and it will cost them.
Lots of problems with this team, but no one can ignore the role of bottom-of-the-league coaching. Young players who aren’t developed, translating to wasted draft picks. Inability to teach the overly complex defense, leading to confusion, frustration, and the departure of a critical team leader. Wretched game management, that inevitably costs otherwise winnable games.
Most critically, the team is at a disadvantage in every aspect that coaching touches, putting pressure on players to be execute perfectly, and amplifying the impact of their mistakes.
I get that the Glazers are business people, but this is willful destruction of their own property. Fewer fans, money wasted on players who don’t pan out, irrelevance and the contempt of the rest of the league.
April 1st, 2026 at 10:51 am
At bare minimum, it was clear that Coach Bowles shared same pain & frustration – which I applaud. Concur with Lakeland above that there were/always are players that won’t be affected no matter what* and should be cycled out. Bet some of them have been already.
*just like any workplace, really IMHO, throw 50+ people together and some will be leaders striving to win and some will timeclock punchers. We’d all like to think that the stakes are higher in profession football but reality is that humans are humans. What makes each of us tick varies.
April 1st, 2026 at 10:53 am
Bowles is a career loser and even him going off couldn’t make these players care. The owners may be rich but that does not make you smart. This team will implode again by week 6 and it will be another rinse and repeat of the same garbage we have seen since Bowles has been head coach. Start out good and then the slump begins.
April 1st, 2026 at 10:58 am
Bowles has shown again and again that he can’t adapt (in game or during the duration of an entire season). And he can’t get the best out of a player i.e. he is too stubborn to run a defense that will better suit our players talents. Being fiery or calm isn’t going to change this aspect of his coaching.
April 1st, 2026 at 11:00 am
Usually when you root for a team you want them to win.
But here is seems that the sole purpose of some of these posters is to get rid of a successful coach and GM and QB because of an injury plagued season.
Led by posters whose names never appeared until recently.
What will you all do if the team goes 11-7 and wins more than one playoff game?
April 1st, 2026 at 11:08 am
I never had an issue about his stoic figure oe his demeanor.
The issue for me is gameclock management/situational football, the inability to adjust and the constant view of an opponent catching the ball with the closest Bucs defender 3 yds away at least. That is coaching and gameplanning.
Dont care if he smiles, shouts, throwing stuff or just stand.
I do care about what we see on the field by the team he is the HC.
Go Bucs
April 1st, 2026 at 11:12 am
I’m not sure what some ppl want Joe and other journalists to do. It’s called business etiquette. They’re not going to be rude to Todd, Jason or the owners of the company. Nor is it their job to call for firings.
If you can read between the lines they’ve been plenty harsh and have insinuated needed changes when discussing the owners, coaches, players, scouts and executives. That’s all you can ask for.
April 1st, 2026 at 11:13 am
jcscycles. – Bowles lost the team last year and we got worse as our team got healthier. We have never been a top tier team since Bruce semi-retired and there is no reason to believe 2026 will be any better. To the contrary, all signs point to it being the same or worse. Doesn’t make anyone less of a fan to point out the obvious. I see 2026 as positioning for the 2027 draft and new coaching staff. If I’m wrong, I will be the first to admit it. History isn’t on Bowles side.
April 1st, 2026 at 11:16 am
@jcscycles no just dump the DC and we will improve.
Hopefully the next HC has the courage to bench Baker when he is hurt.
Todd is the reason ME13 is gone for less money.
April 1st, 2026 at 11:19 am
3 and 28 is spot on.
April 1st, 2026 at 11:21 am
The Todd Bowles hate is dominating most of the posts on JBF.
It’s getting difficult to navigate to read anything else.
Perhaps Joe should put up an open thread for Bowles comments.
April 1st, 2026 at 11:28 am
I’m sorry, Joe, but I don’t get your point about the age of his kids. The uncontrollable use of vulgar, obscene, scrofulous language is not a sign of maturity or adulthood. It is childish although more fully developed in adolescence. It is abandoned as one develops intellectually through learning vocabulary and emotionally through cultivating self-control. A man’s adult children are more embarrassed by a father’s linguistic ineptitude than younger children who do not understand or adolescent children tempted to think he is one of them.
April 1st, 2026 at 11:37 am
It doesn’t work that way, Todd. You can’t for years let players get bored, not tackle at practice, act like big brother to them and then throw a one time tantrum and cuss at them and think it fixes it.
Bad coaching strategy. Bad coaching effort. Bad strategy on field. Bad preparation. Bad players. And then injuries with dog crap for backups. All of that explains 2-7 and 3rd & 28 and 4th & 14.
April 1st, 2026 at 11:51 am
I said this even during the season then.
April 1st, 2026 at 12:06 pm
A real head coach never allows that collapse to happen in the first place, but moving along the process, what a real head coach would have done afterwards is single out the two or five players who totally mailed it in, soiled the linens, humped the dog, whatever metaphor you want to use that vaguely describes the detritus observed on National TV.
No Accountability Todd just wants to show he cares. That was a staged as anything I ever saw, just him trying to save his own large hind end.
Way to chase Mike Evans off, Todd. Congratulations.
April 1st, 2026 at 12:22 pm
The 2026 season is over already. Bowles will be fired after the season. I’m spending zero dollars on anything Buccaneers this year.
April 1st, 2026 at 12:34 pm
I care about my golf score, but it doesn’t make me a good golfer
April 1st, 2026 at 12:39 pm
Try having actual practices, instead of walk-throughs. Actually practice tackling. Maybe hire your cousin to watch how bad your backup Gurads are and act accordingly. Try to have your DBs closer than 10yds off the LOS. Here’s an idea….actually cover the middle of the field, so the next time we play a rookie QB, we don’t have to fit him for a gold jacket.
April 1st, 2026 at 12:46 pm
What TG said and we’ll criticize the coach when we damn well feel the need and the need is currently here.
April 1st, 2026 at 12:57 pm
@ModHairKen
I said that about McCollum, too! Maybe that’s why he was starting to “feel bored.”
April 1st, 2026 at 1:08 pm
Should have asked Bowles if that Baker 4th quarter INT was the worst INT he’s ever seen. I know for me, it’s the worst one I can remember. I know Winston never threw one that bad, but maybe Vinny did and I just can’t recall it.
April 1st, 2026 at 1:12 pm
Not so bold prediction here: Zac Robinson will be Bucs head coach in 2027
Let’s stop cycling through O coordinators and start 2027 with fresh D coordinators. Coen gave a ringing endorsement to Zac and I can’t see Glazers making the same mistake again.
April 1st, 2026 at 1:15 pm
Challenge for rodmunch: make a single comment not related to your childish obsession with blaming your QB for the incompetence of his coaches, defense, and ownership. (Difficulty impossible)