Fix It, Or Be Gone
April 7th, 2026
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BY IRA KAUFMAN
You won’t be able to identify the 2026 Buc defense without a roster card. That’s a good thing.
A unit that failed to make critical stops during last year’s 2-7 meltdown has been overhauled during the offseason. The upcoming draft will add to this renovation project as Todd Bowles tries to atone for a defensive breakdown that triggered a slew of staff changes.
Marcus West comes over from Buffalo to coach the defensive line. Rashad Johnson was promoted to replace Kevin Ross as cornerbacks coach and Tim Atkins will oversee the safeties following the retirement of Nick Rapone. Todd Bowles Jr. has been named a defensive assistant.
Those are some of the ch-ch-ch-ch-changes on the staff, but those are hardly the only alterations Buc fans will see on the defensive side of the ball.
Gone.
Lavonte David has retired and Logan Hall joins Houston’s dominant defensive front. Jamel Dean is now a Steeler and SirVocea Dennis is ticketed for a backup role at One Buc Place. Haason Reddick is still waiting for a contract somewhere else as a free agent.
That means you’ll see at least five new defensive starters this fall — six if you count injury-prone Calijah Kancey.
“We thought we had to make a few tweaks,” Bowles says. “We got different and we got better.”
This was more than a tweak. This was a painful recognition that the 2025 defense fell woefully short of meeting winning standards. The 4-man pass rush couldn’t get there and the blitzes Bowles dialed up rarely fazed opposing quarterbacks, putting extraordinary strain on the secondary.
Bowles thought he had his defensive issues resolved a year ago, after the 2024 Bucs yielded at least 23 points in 10 of 18 games.
Todd Bowles
“We’ve finally come up with something that we feel like is a successful formula for our defense going forward this year and tweaking a few things,” Bowles said last spring. “I’m excited about that.”
There’s that darned “tweaking’ word again.
Any excitement Bowles felt about his 2025 defense disappeared after the bye week, when opponents averaged 26 points per game. That includes matchups against Arizona, New Orleans, Atlanta, Carolina (twice) and Miami — five clubs that finished in the bottom 10 of NFL scoring.
The Bucs have added bulk and physicality to the defensive tackle position. Alex Anzalone will be an upgrade on Dennis and the Bucs will be seeking David’s successor in the draft. As far as edge rush help, a glaring need, Tampa Bay is hoping untested David Walker can make an impact.
Don’t expect the cavalry to arrive in the form of Maxx Crosby. That’s not happening — unless the Bucs can convince the Raiders to trade their elite pass rusher without demanding Tampa Bay’s 2027 first-round pick in return.
Will five or six new starters tilt this defense toward the middle of the pack? It can happen, but only if Bowles and his new coaches also take a new approach.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. This defense is broke. Fix it, or be gone.
April 7th, 2026 at 4:23 pm
Toad should have been gone the offseason of 2025, with Coen the Coach of your Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I waiver between saying the Glazers are “too loyal” or “too stupid.”
April 7th, 2026 at 4:25 pm
Good article Ira.
Fix it or be gone is extremely apt.
I’ve been down on you Ira but then you pull off an article like this and totally redeem yourself!
April 7th, 2026 at 4:33 pm
He should already be gone. The Glazers are just too smitten.
This guy was forced upon us by BA at a time of the offseason it was too late to find someone else.
The results have been disastrous. Thirty six and thirty six. 1-3 in the playoffs.
I don’t buy that they’ll move on after 2026. He’s signed for three more seasons.
And that contract is cheap. Glazer kids would rather lose and have more cash.
April 7th, 2026 at 4:38 pm
B.A., you won us a championship then did us dirty !!! HAHA
April 7th, 2026 at 4:46 pm
More than anything else we need guys who are sure tacklers. Second, we need to limit how often we drop defensive linemen into pass coverage. Third, we need to quit giving receivers 10-15 yard cushions.
Personally, I doubt Bowlzo can fix this team. I think the whole team will simply quit on him again like they did last year.
April 7th, 2026 at 4:55 pm
HE SHOULD ALREADY BE GONE!
#TeamDelusional
April 7th, 2026 at 5:09 pm
Can’t fix injuries
April 7th, 2026 at 5:38 pm
Fix it or begone! You’ve got to tell it like it is Ira. Gotta coach it better and gotta play it better won’t work as an explanation for poor play this year.
April 7th, 2026 at 5:53 pm
Can’t be fixed until he is gone.
April 7th, 2026 at 6:26 pm
LOL Begone Bowzo. Can’t put lipstick on this pig.
April 7th, 2026 at 6:32 pm
By the end of last season I’d of been fine with keeping Vea, Diaby, Kancey, Parrish and Smith on the defense. And that’s it. For a number of reasons we have to keep more than that. But 5 or 6 new starters, or 7, will at least be exciting to watch. And Sage. Good article but I listened to my favorite podcast this morning and somebody needs to refresh our Joe about having a few “leaders” on this defense. He couldn’t be more wrong about the value of leadership as a trait worth possessing. You should call him on it. The discussion about its value will reveal what we’ve been missing.
April 7th, 2026 at 6:38 pm
Slight tweak??? lol. This team is trash. Enough is enough. Seattle made a change and saw major improvement. GB same. Even with in our division they improved. Bucs are going no where next season. Skipping 2026
April 7th, 2026 at 6:44 pm
Too little, too late.
And every assistant is a guy who was fired from a prior position or could not find a better gig.
This is no longer a franchise on the rise.
3rd & 28. 4th & 14. Sub .500 Coach. Bored losers on Defense.
April 7th, 2026 at 6:51 pm
Would love to hear the Glazers at the mic say “fix it or be gone” so it’s crystal clear to all.
10-7 or kick rocks.
April 7th, 2026 at 6:55 pm
On a side note. I would draft Ty Simpson. Let Baker play out his final year. No way I d give him 55 mil a year. It will cripple our teams future. Get Simpson and he can play on his rookie deal for 4 years with a 5th year team option like Brock Purdy did. Look at the teams in the playoffs. Many had young QBs. With the money you save you can build a heck of a team for all the money you’ll save on a rookie deal.
April 7th, 2026 at 6:57 pm
The results have been disastrous? 1-3 in the playoffs? That means we made the playoffs 3 out of 4 years, right? How in the hell is that disastrous??? And we’ve been eliminated because of injuries and still fought through tons of injuries almost every season. The last season we ended very healthy was the Super Bowl one. If we could stay 100% healthy we’d go deep into the playoffs every single year.
That’s not even remotely disastrous. Picking up Baker and last year’s draft were both absolute GENIUS moves. Last year’s draft was brain-shatteringly amazing. We started a 7th round pick for most of the year and he was GOOD for heaven’s sake! Yeesh.
April 7th, 2026 at 7:02 pm
Disastrous is 10 consecutive seasons of 5 wins or less. Which is where we are going if we get rid of BAKER OR LICHT. Or Todd unless a truly amazing coach like McVay was coming here. Not Mike Tomlin. No coach that has been available is even an upgrade. So stop it.
April 7th, 2026 at 7:15 pm
I’ll point out again that Jason Licht tied his career path to Todd Bowles with the extension they did a year ago. That was a mistake. I like Jason Licht but he has some weaknesses. For whatever reason we have been good at drafting O-Line and receivers all along during Licht’s tenure. We were horrible at drafting Running Backs for awhile but now that seems like a strength. We still have trouble with corners but there does seem to be some light at the end of the tunnel. Safeties seem good. Defensive line is a giant problem and ever since Devin White exploded Lavonte has been carrying the LBs. He was good enough to pull that off for a bit last year age caught up.
We’ll see. Personally I think the whole thing is going to get flushed next year.
April 7th, 2026 at 7:24 pm
How do u fix crap drafting and
Lack of talent ?
April 7th, 2026 at 7:26 pm
I thought Anzalone was David’s replacement, not Dennis. We need a MLB, Rodriguez needs to be the pick.