“I Really Don’t Know Why People Are Ready To Run This Guy Out Of Town”
May 13th, 2026
Todd Bowles has a well-known supporter in town.
Former Bucs guard Ian Beckles (1990-1996) has never shied away from running a guy out of Tampa if he thinks he is keeping the team down. Beckles has had several punching bags through his long media career: Gerald McCoy, Barrett Ruud and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, among others.
But when it comes to head coach Todd Bowles, Beckles doesn’t put Bowles on a naughty list like so many fans do.
He sees Bowles as a proven and respected commodity, though he doesn’t give him the “great” label.
Beckles is considered somewhat of a sage when it comes to Bucs history, which is why he had a role in Raise The Flags: 50 Years Of Buccaneers Football, the stunning 10-part Amazon documentary.
“Todd Bowles, nobody in the history of defensive coordinators could have made that defense great last year. How?” Beckles told The Jay Recher Podcast. “How? We didn’t do anything great. We didn’t have one great [defensive] player last year. So, name me a great defense that doesn’t have one great, dominant player. So it’s not rocket science.
“Listen, I’m not here defending Todd Bowles, I just think he can coach. And I think that the Glazers and [Jason] Licht think he can coach as well, clearly.”
Bowles was retained for a fifth season as Bucs head coach because Team Glazer trusts him and likes doing business with him, per Beckles, and because Team Glazer believes he’ll do a strong job with the right people/players in front of him. Beckles is in that camp, too.
“I really don’t know why people are ready to run this guy out of town, to be honest with you,” Beckles said.
While Beckles seems in disbelief, Joe gets why so many fans are down on Bowles. It’s very much about underachievement last season and in the 2024 playoffs, and not believing Bowles’ eight-year head coaching résumé is good enough to return the Bucs to the Super Bowl.
May 13th, 2026 at 1:10 pm
This is his last chance we loaded up the defense for him. No more excuses Todd.
May 13th, 2026 at 1:17 pm
I’ll forgive Bowles if he does a few things:
Don’t put Bain in coverage more than a few times this year.
Don’t use Trotter like you did Dennis, he can’t cover Bijan either.
Bench guys that are “bored” playing football. They can be bored on the bench.
I’m sure I’m forgetting a few things, but that’s what comes to mind.
May 13th, 2026 at 1:18 pm
I like Todd Bowles. But it’s pretty obvious people want to run him out of town because he generally hasn’t led the team to more than 9 wins a year and the team collapsed last season.
May 13th, 2026 at 1:23 pm
I believe that the only reason Todd is back, is because the Glazers went cheap. Rumors of possible team for sale back this up. Not to mention virtue signaling by certain Glazer owners.
May 13th, 2026 at 1:25 pm
Playing the devil’s advocate here, but Bucs had 10 wins in 2024.
May 13th, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Hold Up Says:
May 13th, 2026 at 1:25 pm
Playing the devil’s advocate here, but Bucs had 10 wins in 2024.
^^^^^^^^
Q: How many games would they have won if the defense was decent that year?
A: More than 10
May 13th, 2026 at 1:38 pm
the defense wasnt as good as it was in past years but they shouldnt have come out “flat” or “bored”…
my issue with bowles is the lack of urgency…i dont see where bowles wants it as much as other coaches and imo, that tickles down to the players…everyone was too nonchalant…
its one thing to have a calm demeanor, but its another to be too comfortable…2026 better look/feel a lot different…players shouldnt come out FLAT or BORED!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
May 13th, 2026 at 1:40 pm
We lost a slew of people once Brady was done. The majority of the talent on this defense left or retired. Other than a couple remaining very good receivers we had little else left. We have been on a multi-year reconstruction process, that much is obvious. We started with drafting secondary players and offensive line since they take longer to develop and a good O-line can improve a team right away. Now we’ve moved on to front 7 while also backfilling for more people that have left. Successive great drafts have accelerated the process. The team should be really good now, and next year borderline excellent. The only wild card is injuries as always. Keep the team healthy and we are heading for a very good season. Lack of injuries early in the season is why we start strong and then hit a bunch of injuries and have a lull midseason. Let’s get out of that pattern and **stay healthy** all the way through! GO BUCS!!!
Also, Todd is an excellent coach. The only coach I would be more excited about is McVay- and he would cost way too much.
May 13th, 2026 at 1:48 pm
I KNOW WHY …
3-28
He can’t win prime time games
He can’t beat good offensive coaches
Gets destroyed by every coach named Sean
Never changes his defense from week to week
Midseason slump every year
Drops our best pass rushers into coverage
His team quit on him last year
The Bucs didn’t actually hire him
Evans left because he knows Bowles can’t win
If the Bucs played in any other division, he’d be long gone
May 13th, 2026 at 1:49 pm
Hey Ian when was Bowles considered good at what he is paid to be, that is HC/DC?
Granted last years D didn’t have one ‘great’ player, and the defense was not by any stretch ‘great’, but Toddy can at least share some blame for that.
Even average would’ve made a large difference….
May 13th, 2026 at 1:50 pm
He’s coached 8 seasons as a head coach he’s overall record is 62 and 77 he’s 35 and 33 in Tampa Bay followed by 1 and 3 in the playoffs #!! How is that for you #? Good coaches don’t have mid season slumps every year #!!
May 13th, 2026 at 1:50 pm
“I Really Don’t Know Why People Are Ready To Run This Guy Out Of Town”
Answer: Two 8-9 seasons in four years. One lone playoff win against a floundering Eagles team, and three losses in the playoffs.
Absolutely zero hope of even getting to the NFC title game is another.
Also, Bowles was forced upon the team by BA. His hand picked successor.
Everyone wants to say, “Look what he did in the SB versus the Chiefs”.
He wasn’t the HC then, and Brady was the QB. Enough said on that one.
Byron Leftwich was the OC in that SB and where is he again????? Nowhere.
We are exactly a .500 ball club under Bowles in a putrid division. After winning a SB and almost going to another the next year that isn’t good enough.
Plus we witnessed what Bowles thinks is good defense versus the Rams in the playoff game at home. It got torched just like every year he’s been the HC.
Todd handed Brady his only losing season in his NFL career.
That’s what Guru’s do. They fail upwards despite results.
May 13th, 2026 at 1:51 pm
Todd’s back because he had them playing the best football last season at 6-2 ,then the injuries cut them down and the depth wasn’t very good ! There’s a reason why players are ” 2nd string” and there’s a reason why some players stay on the practice squad… Bowles has had this team playing meaningful games in December Regardless of the record and im looking forward to todd and the bucs this season
May 13th, 2026 at 1:55 pm
I agree completely with Beckie’s. The defense had no players last year nobody could have coached this team up. Yes they could have hustled more, but people seem to think this defense had potential, it didn’t. Now what you can blame Bowles and Licht for is not putting talent on the field. They told us Dennis was a great LB ,he wasn’t. McColumn apparently was considered better than he was. Morrison was flat awful. Winfield barely showed up. Dean who played well was injured. Vea was good, YaYa good, however that is about it. So as Beckles says how do you get a top or even average defense To play at that level with no talent.
You saw the results. The old saying don’t expect to get blood from a turnip.
May 13th, 2026 at 1:58 pm
I agree completely with Beckie’s. The defense had no players last year nobody could have coached this team up. Yes they could have hustled more, but people seem to think this defense had potential, it didn’t. Now what you can blame Bowles and Licht for is not putting talent on the field. They told us Dennis was a great LB ,he wasn’t. McColumn apparently was considered better than he was. Morrison was flat awful. Winfield barely showed up. Dean who played well was injured. Vea was good, YaYa good, however that is about it.
The old saying don’t expect to get blood from a turnip. That sure fit for that defense.
May 13th, 2026 at 2:09 pm
It’s put up or shut up time.
If in 2026 we have a much higher ranked defense and our offense is clicking along like it should and we avoid the injury bug, Bowles will need over 10 wins and get past the first round of the playoffs to quiet the “Fire Bowles” crowd. If we end up close to 500 or worse and miss the playoffs, I will probably join the “Fire Bowles” club myself.
Let’s see how this season goes.
May 13th, 2026 at 2:10 pm
Football 1 Says:
“Morrison was flat awful” You think????
Well guess what? He was hand picked by Toad Bowels.
You know, the defensive mastermind that had the 32nd ranked red zone defense.
If the HC\DC isn’t being supplied with these mystery players that are going to magically turn his defense into the 85 Bears, who’s at fault for that????
I’d say the GM is at fault if I bought your premise. Which I do not.
You can’t have it both ways. The GM supplies the HC with players that should fit the scheme that is in place.
It’s the chicken or the egg debate. In this case the HC\DC or the GM.
In a perfect world both would be gone. But Licht has actually won a SB.
Bowles was just a passenger in that bus ride to the top. Not the reason we won.
That belongs to TB12 and him alone. No Brady = No 2020 SB title
May 13th, 2026 at 2:12 pm
Well, whatever. But…. I will say this and Some Way, Some How it’s the bottom line.
I’m NOT saying it makes sense but here is The Truth…
For the “Glazers”, for the reasons Only they know and we’ll Never know …
It Was because “there wasn’t a better choice that made sense for their predicament”.
Now, was it money? Likely. And does the public Really Know what the contract says? The One they foolishly hurried? It could have So Many different pit falls in it that they just foolishly signed on the dotted line without true “due diligence”… Maybe drunk?
Don’t know. But in the end, somehow it was “cheaper to keep her”. Otherwise, I can’t imagine the Glazers wanting to keep a guy around that ran the entire organization into the ground, in place, and OBVIOUSLY costing A LOT!
The Millions they are losing bringing him back, and the highly likely Tough Sledding with a team that has Already turned their backs, somehow was “Better Than” the contract that THEY (the Glazers) SIGNED…
You know, at this point, I Wouldn’t Be surprised to hear that indeed Bowles Does Have pictures of some Glazers in Very Uncomfortable situations…. I just can’t see the angle otherwise. “Cheaper to keep her”
May 13th, 2026 at 2:12 pm
3rd and 28……..nuff said
May 13th, 2026 at 2:27 pm
Ian “to be honest with you” Beckles.
Whenever someone constantly uses that phase, they’re usually full of sh**.
May 13th, 2026 at 2:28 pm
SLY PIRATE
YOUR EXACTLY RIGHT
MIKE TOMLIN WILL GET THIS DEFENSE AND TEAM RIGHT NEXT YEAR
REAL COACHES STILL MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING
THIS GUY INHERITED A SB TEAM AND HAS DECLINED EVERY YEAR
YOU WANT 99/100 OVERALL PLAYERS WITH HOFs ON EVERY LEVEL OF THE DEFENSE…
EVERY ONE WANTS THAT….
HOW IS IAN EXUSE WE DONT HAVE THE PLAYERS WHEN WE STILL HAD VITA AND CREW IN SB ERA..
U STILL DONT HAVE ANY EXCUSES IN THIS DIVISION
LIKE OTHERS SAID
UNDER BOWELS WE ARE 4-6 WIN TEAM AT MOST IN ANY OTHER DIVISION
May 13th, 2026 at 2:29 pm
Todd Bowles biggest mistake was sticking with Mayfield and Bucky
Those two players were our greatest downfall
If only he had bench Baker and Bucky for poor performance
The Glazers seen what went down, and how it went down
If Bowles would’ve bench Baker, this fanbase would’ve been all over him
He’s the Head Coach and he’s responsible for the team
He didn’t cost us to lose games, the players did
But, at the same time, some players wasn’t performing up to par
And those players should have been benched
You can say that the players were injured
But, that only gives you more reasons to bench them
May 13th, 2026 at 2:31 pm
This “defensive mastermind” has seen his defense get worse every year since the SB. It is passing him by. He has not made the adjustments needed. A 4 man pass rush might fix everything but the jury is out.
May 13th, 2026 at 2:32 pm
Give me a freaking break. So many willing to accept mediocrity.
May 13th, 2026 at 2:35 pm
His first 3 years of mediocrity was blamed on him having to take BA’s staff. Then he got to hand-pick each one. Each one completely sucked. How the F are you a HC in the NFL for 10 yrs, and can’t pick a competent assistant? Or need help with GC management? Maybe you are looking for the wrong qualifiers (smh). Should have been fired for the ST debacle alone. Let alone being dead F’ing last in the league in redzone defense. Bowles is average…at best.
May 13th, 2026 at 2:36 pm
LynchMob50 … ‘Bowles was just a passenger in that bus ride to the top. Not the reason we won. That belongs to TB12 and him alone. No Brady = No 2020 SB title.’
‘Bowles was just a PASSENGER?’ Seriously? No, never mind, no way any true Bucs’ fan could take that comment seriously. Even those who don’t like Todd Bowles. He called a very good Top-10 defense that season.
And as far as the 2020 SB title goes, you’d better check a few stats. From what I remember, RoJo scored 7 TDs & Lenny scored 6 TDs. They oughta get some credit for doing good. And ME13 got 13 TDs receiving, with Godwin adding 7 TDs & Gronk getting 6 TDs. Wow, that totals 39 TDs from just 5 players not named Brady. But of course you’re right, they don’t deserve any credit. They were just doing their job.
And oh BTW, as I remember that year, our big dog Vea got hurt fairly even on and was lost until the last 2 playoff games. But interestingly, Suh & RNR & Gholston all stepped up to ‘man the middle’ … without Vea … and produced a defense that had the #1 Run Defense in the NFL and the #8 ranked defense overall. Take away Suh & our defense probably would’ve struggled a LOT more.
Of course, we could say the same about the OLine. How do you think Brady would’ve done in 2020 behind the 2022 OLine? Jensen, Marpet & Cappa probably contributed a little to that 2020 SB win.
May 13th, 2026 at 2:49 pm
Football 1 Says
COMPLETELY agree with you!!! I bet these trolls have never played a down of Football at any level!
Anyone who thinks a coach can just scheme up and make adjustments on the fly or motivate his players which are not any good is a moron!!! The only way you win in any endeavor is to hire people who are already motivated and good at what they do and love doing it. That’s how you win at anything. I don’t know if Todd Bowels is a good coach or a not so good coach, but I do know we don’t have a lot of good players playing defense right now!
May 13th, 2026 at 2:57 pm
@Defense Rules
Facts are facts. Bowles sucks as a HC\DC and that is an undeniable fact.
He may have had a decent run as a DC under BA for a few games, but that’s about it. That did not make him a qualified candidate for the HC job.
If he had any sense left he would relinquish the DC position and hand it over to someone with fresh ideas.
Instead he chooses to try and prove everyone wrong, but failing to do so as a result.
Argue for him all you like. I’ll never be fooled by a snake oil salesman.
A real HC would focus on that lone job and prove his worth.
Bowles is happy to blame everyone but himself.
May 13th, 2026 at 3:00 pm
Better yet, how do you think Brady would have done with last year’s O-line in their injured state? He would have not even made it through the season!
Hi Jack I’ve been around here on and off for many years, but I don’t think I used a different name at any point. It’s really ludicrous how anti-Bowles and anti-Licht and anti-Baker people congregate here. You’d think they would be in a Saints or Panthers or Falcons site instead? Makes no sense. This is JoebucsFAN, not JoebucsTROLL. And saying Bowles had nothing to do with winning the 2021 Super Bowl when his defense held KC to 9 POINTS IN 60 MINUTES is absolutely dim-witted and foolish! By the way, this past year KC had no offensive line and look how Mahomes performed? This is just what happened to Baker too.
May 13th, 2026 at 3:02 pm
Has Beckles ever noticed the fact that Bowles defense gets torched by every rookie and backup QB? And how the NFC South sucks, and Bowles squeaks by with 8 or 9 wins a year? The 10 win season was an aberration. He must owe Bowles money.
May 13th, 2026 at 3:03 pm
He’s not superbowl level coach. He’s a 7-9 win coach over his entire career.
He’s NOT a defensive guru. He cannot develop players. He’s the reason we have to have a new OC every year. And last, but not least. He didn’t earn this job. It was gifted to him by Bruce Arians since he hamstrung the team when he “retired “. IF You want Mediocrity, he’s your guy!
May 13th, 2026 at 3:04 pm
The Glazers made the decision to retain Todd Bowles
So all of this chit chat is meaningless
It’s just a waste of low quality negative comments
May 13th, 2026 at 3:06 pm
Bucboi813 and Sly Pirate and Smoke Porterhouse and a bunch of commentators are right.
I specifically like Bucbou813 comment because the lack of urgency is so obvious. He sometimes coaches like he thinks there is a 5th quarter coming or that his D will definitely get a turnover so they don’t need that extra possession on offense.
10 wins in 2024…good for you Todd, you had a top 5 offense and should have won 12 games. Coen leaves and immediately gets 12 wins with the Jags! That tells you all you need to know.
May 13th, 2026 at 3:06 pm
Bowles is an excellent head coach and DC. And that’s an undeniable fact. Give him more and healthy talent and watch and see. He has revolutionized defensive football over the years along with the other 3-4 masterminds. Now he has a hybridized scheme prepared for anything if he has the requisite athletes and tacklers. We lost a lot of talent and are steadily bringing it back. We need to avoid major injuries and especially clustered injuries to specific position groups if we want to go deep into the playoffs.
May 13th, 2026 at 3:08 pm
How he manages the clock, Detroit playoff game. Chris Godwin still on field for a game that is over and get seriously hurt. I could keep going but I will finish with Todd and Ian must be friends or he’s just fanning the flames for attention
May 13th, 2026 at 3:21 pm
The most talented and healthiest teams make it to the playoffs and win games in them. That’s been true as far back as I can remember. Running Bowles out of here can only hurt the team. Running Baker out of here would hurt the team even more. Only 1 out of 32 teams win the Super Bowl. You can’t expect to win it every year or you’ll let perfect become the enemy of good and ruin your own team’s chances. We are a very good football team RIGHT NOW. Let’s not make a dumb mistake and ruin it. A couple more excellent players and we would be almost fully loaded for another run. Let’s do that instead.
May 13th, 2026 at 3:26 pm
Joe this Stpetematt fool should be banned for ignorance based solely on this statement:
“Bowles is an excellent head coach and DC. And that’s an undeniable fact.”
Sheeeesh.
May 13th, 2026 at 3:27 pm
“Good coaching can make average players better, great coaching can make good players great, and elite coaching can make great players legendary.”
Does the current Bucs coaching staff rise to any of these levels?
May 13th, 2026 at 3:31 pm
Whatever ian so what they didn’t have the talent as you say I could deal with that if the effort was being put in but the team looked like it was just going through the motions talented or not it was a failed look time will tell if that continues bur please save the I don’t know why they want to run Todd out of town, the team collapse that’s why Mike saw it fans saw it Mike moved on and us as fans stay and have to deal with what I guess our lying eyes are telling us.
May 13th, 2026 at 3:38 pm
Bowles sucks as a coach. Any fan that has watched this team for 5 plus years can see it. Follow the trends. Starts out good then mid season slump happens and then the season is over. This is the guy that had to hire clock management people because he couldn’t figure out how to use time outs and would hang on to them like he was going to get a prize for not using them. He will be out after this year and Tomlin will replace him.
May 13th, 2026 at 3:40 pm
Hey Defense Rules would you be willing to repost your injured starters vs. wins statistics for the past 5 years again? I’ve never seen a more obvious correlation that is so telling as to what is happening with this team! Thanks!
May 13th, 2026 at 3:47 pm
@Lakeland
It’s a waste of nothing. It’s an on going debate amongst fans.
Of course you are right that Todd is the coach and our bickering and opinions won’t change that.
BUT… you better believe the Bucs brass was well aware of how upset fans are with Todd and retaining him for another year.
This debate will end after this season. The Bowles supporters will be right if he can win 11 games and win a couple playoff games.
The rest of us will be right when he inevitably doesn’t win a couple playoff games and is given his walking papers.
May 13th, 2026 at 3:49 pm
Sounds like a solid Meh vote for Bowles.
May 13th, 2026 at 3:57 pm
WHY? Because he has shown an inability to be analytical. He does not have the skill set to be an analytical thinker. A great position coach maybe but a field general Not a chance.
May 13th, 2026 at 3:58 pm
Bowles had players blitzing from every position because the Bucs lacked disruptive players for the past 4 years.
They tried free agency and found only Over the Hill gang players. This draft looks promising with Rubin and Scott and some off season player acquisitions.
2026 looks promising. The defense actually looks good on paper. Now its up to the coaches to put last year’s Bucs in the rear view windows ?
May 13th, 2026 at 4:24 pm
after all this time do we have a definitive answer to the collapse last year and missing the playoffs? must’ve been the injuries accumulating finally added up to a losing team. all we needed was a stop here and a field goal there and we would have made the playoffs. that defense was really bad and the offense not much better, it wasn’t todds fault, more baker’s fault for not making plays and throwing pics. this year rookies need to make an impact free agents also for us to have a chance. the saints are better with their new qb as are the panthers… falcons i don’t think improved at all. hopefully the bucs improve significantly, the motto till september should be ‘just stay healthy’
May 13th, 2026 at 4:36 pm
49ers made playoffs with WAY more injuries than Bucs, tougher schedule in much tougher division. St Pete Matt: Kyle Shanahan is a good HC, Todd bowels is not.
As I like to keep saying Todd did not earn this job it was handed to him. Ever wonder at all why a guy would do 2 jobs for less than the market value for one?
You know why he won’t hire a defensive coordinator. Maybe Rashaad White was hinting at the truth.
May 13th, 2026 at 4:47 pm
I’m in, the Bucs aren’t gonna hire a Defensive Cordinator so we going with the genius as HC & DC. I like what the team has done hiring new energy coaches on both sides of the ball. I like the FA s & the Draft signings a high B+ group that along with the FAs are a serious upgrade over the B team that we had last season. It does scare me that the players Quit on Bowles last season but to his credit most if not all the lay down players are gone . (Hopefully) . Plus his back is against the wall it’s now or never for him. Win or he’s gone. I think some of the reasons he kept his job is that the buy-out was too much last season. The injuries were abnormal for any team on any level hope that the Bucs brain trust has figured that out what the problem was. We all know how the walk thrus worked out. . Any way, once a BUC ALWAYS A BUC , I hope C. Bowles proves everyone wrong & the Bucs win the South outright & make at least the NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!!!! IT could Happen!!!! Go BUCS!!!!!
May 13th, 2026 at 5:10 pm
The team has gotten steadily worse over the past five seasons. Either the GM is faltering, or the coach, or both.
May 13th, 2026 at 5:14 pm
Beckles is clueless
May 13th, 2026 at 5:21 pm
LynchMob50 … ‘A real HC would focus on that lone job and prove his worth.’
I doubt that anyone who frequents JBF has argued longer than I have that Todd Bowles’ biggest mistake has been being dual-hatted. Relatively few coaches can pull that off … and Todd isn’t one of them. Those who do typically have a coordinator on the other side of the ball who can operate virtually independently. Todd hasn’t had that since he’s been HC here, except maybe for 2024 when Coen was our OC.
Not hard to notice that our defense performed ‘less admirably than before’ when Todd had to spend a LOT of extra time last season on both the Offense AND the Special Teams. Yes we lacked talent and we lacked depth, but we’ve had that problem in previous years also.
May 13th, 2026 at 5:22 pm
Actually mj it’s mostly not Baker or Bowles’s fault. It was fate. We lost too many key players due to injuries especially the 2 starting (and backup) guards on the offensive line responsible for protecting Baker and keeping him upright. That collapsed the entire offense. Really it made the entire team dysfunctional since we could no longer move the football consistently.
May 13th, 2026 at 5:24 pm
Hi DR I mentioned you in a post above…
May 13th, 2026 at 5:36 pm
All games are won and loss in the trenches, easy to blame the qb,you dont here that the guards or tackles suck its always the qb especially for the common fan and that’s all that’s on this forum!
May 13th, 2026 at 5:51 pm
Playing Mike Evans against Detroit was stupid!!!!
May 13th, 2026 at 5:57 pm
Beck is a company man doing company man spin. Didnt have one great defensive player last year?
Not one?
Who is responsible for that? Darcy Glazer?
May 13th, 2026 at 5:57 pm
Wait until they win 6 games
This year.
May 13th, 2026 at 5:57 pm
Just wish the Glazers would have at least forced Bowles and Licht to hire a real DC. If Zac does a good job at OC this year he will be the next HC, Bowles will be retired, and maybe the Bucs will finally get a decent DC.
May 13th, 2026 at 6:17 pm
The Bucs have been uncannily good at getting key high priced or high draft pick starters injured. Think about it. 2 years ago almost our entire starting secondary was out for large parts of the season. This past season, we lost all our starting wide receivers, and almost always 2-3 starting offensive linemen culminating in losing both starting guards for the year. By the end of the season, our top 2 starting corners were out too. Those are all extremely high leverage positions and I’d argue the guards crippled the team entirely. If you’re playing against a team whose top 2 starting corners are out AND both starting guards are out you have a huge advantage both on offense and defense. It’s untenable. And it’s crazy bad luck. We are due for much better luck now!
May 13th, 2026 at 6:21 pm
IT’S IMPORTANT TO ALSO ADD THIS …
The Bucs have had Tony Dungy, John Gruden, and Bruce Arians.
We’ve also had Lovie Smith, Greg Schiano, and Raheem Morris
GIVE BUCS FANS A LITTLE CREDIT …
We know what good and bad coaching looks like.
May 13th, 2026 at 6:26 pm
You forgot Dirk Koetter another coach that was a bad head coach decent OC though. Some guys are just not cut out to be head coaches. Most of the Bucs past head coaches got that except Gruden, Dungy and Arians in which all 3 one a Super Bowl at some point.
May 13th, 2026 at 6:35 pm
3rd and 28….4th and 14…enough said!
May 13th, 2026 at 6:50 pm
Team talent and health is way more important than coaching especially if you have at least an average coach.
May 13th, 2026 at 6:54 pm
Joe, all I know is that you don’t find excellence without shooting for perfection and you never find excellence when your happy settling for mediocre or sub-standard results.
May 13th, 2026 at 7:01 pm
We list the NfC south amd all we needed was one more win. Lose, lose,lose, lose, lose, lose. Why do want him gone er dur duh derrrrp dur. Lose lose and lose and lose and……lose. Because he content being a loser. Lose, lose, lost again, lose
May 13th, 2026 at 7:35 pm
I think everyone likes Bowles if you are looking for mediocre. Your 9-8, 8-9, make the playoffs and then lose in the first or second round. But, if the goal is to win the Super Bowl who believes that is going to happen with Bowles. Bowles is not Sean McVay, Bill Belichek or the Big Tuna. He’s not Vince Lombardi, Andy Reid or even Sean Payton. I’m not saying that the Bucs had a Super Bowl caliber defense but those coaches I listed could take average players and put them in positions to be great. Does Bowles do that? Not a chance. Don’t tell me he is a great coach when he is constantly dropping edge rushers into coverage every game.
May 13th, 2026 at 7:38 pm
He was failing both directions.
DC – need to be able to coach around your weaknesses
HC – need to make good on game decisions.
He struggled on both accounts.
May 13th, 2026 at 7:38 pm
He was failing both directions.
DC – need to be able to coach around your weaknesses
HC – need to make good on game decisions.
He struggled on both accounts.
May 13th, 2026 at 7:43 pm
The Pom Pom waiving crowd want you to suspend reality like you’re watching a Tom Cruise movie.
Meanwhile we’re forced to watch Bowles again try to McGruber his way to another meaningless NFC South title, only to lose in the first round.
He’s perfectly happy being just barely at the top of the turd bowl.
Until Bowles is let go, we will not be Lombardi Trophy contenders.
May 13th, 2026 at 7:44 pm
No one with any sense listens to Beckles. He was a journeyman, and a horse abuser.
May 13th, 2026 at 8:16 pm
If he can coaxh, why has every Bucs defensive player been mediocre at best since AWJ and Vea? Cant all be on Jason.
May 13th, 2026 at 8:19 pm
If you can’t see Todd Bowles winning a Superbowl in Tampa then why is he here? Is he a good coach, yes. The only way Todd Bowles goes to the Superbowl as head coach is if he buys a ticket. He could not win with Tom Brady. What does that tell you?
May 13th, 2026 at 9:10 pm
(Long post ahead)
I very rarely agree with anything Beckles says, mostly because when he was on the radio, he made a lot of claims that were racially biased. Ironically, things are nationality biased in our country now. But that’s for a different platform.
Surprisingly, I at least partly agree with him this time: “I just think he can coach.”
I also think he can. Most of the players do as well. Sure, the trolls will say Lavante David and Mike Evans didn’t, but I that’s just not the case. Lavante aged out. Period. Mike wanted another ring, and didn’t think the Bucs could rebuild the defense fast enough. Turns out he was likely wrong.
Now I’ll address some comments below:
? “This is his last chance we loaded up the defense for him. No more excuses Todd.”
Not up to us. The Glazers proved that this year…but…I do believe it’s possible they at least called Mike Tomlin to feel him out, and he probably wants a year off. So you may end up being right.
? ” Todd is back…because the Glazers went cheap. Rumors of possible team for sale back this up. ”
Neither of those clues are remotely true.
? Stpetematt nailed it. Also, Bowles had everything to do with the Superbowl defense. Arians was hands-off.
? “He’s 35 and 33 in Tampa Bay”
Two games over .500 is a winning coach…just ask Jon Gruden.
Also, last year would have been dramatically different if not for there being so many injuries.
I don’t care what he did for the Jets. I’m not a fan of that team.
? “Last year was his fault.”
He certainly shared some of the responsibility…but certainly not all of it. Not even a lot of it.
Beckle is right about the lack of defensive talent. You can’t expeppct a DC to excel without giving the tools. But majority of the issues last year were caused by excessive injuries to key positions, including our top 2 WRs…and QB…and OL…and G…and T…and RB…and CB…etc.
The other big part was Special Teams.
When you hit 4th string backups…and guys that off the street, your season is going to suffer…
? “It does scare me that the players Quit on Bowles last season…”
They were trying, until he threw the players under the bus in a presser. I believe that got rid of any fight they had left. Those were mostly backups playing at that point. They’re not starts for a reason.
? “3rd and 28….4th and 14…enough said!”
Cracked ribs. Injured throwing shoulder. Injured non-throwing shoulder.
Now it’s enough said.
? “He’s perfectly happy being just barely at the top of the turd bowl.”
I don’t believe that’s the case. I think he’s looking forward to retirement…and that probably means he wants a ring to go out on top. Is that possible this year?
Probably not. Even with a great draft for defense, maybe two will do great to start if we’re lucky. The others will take half a season to a full season to acclimate and get past weaknesses. But we should see a pattern of improvement from player to player.
Still, the offense should be mostly healthy to start the season, and we saw what they can do the first half of last year. Can OC Zac make them play even better? I think he wants a HC job, so he’ll certainly try.
And I have a strong feels we’ll have on of the best Special Teams in the NFL this year.
So I think anything might be possible.
And finally:
? “Defense Rules Says: Todd Bowles’ biggest mistake has been being dual-hatted.”
I personally do not believe dual roles should be permitted for HC positions. In our case, even more so. There should always be a staff member who can take over the role. For numerous reasons. Bowles could still influence the important things, but he’s also got HCA stuff to do…and that isn’t fair to defensive players.
May 13th, 2026 at 9:14 pm
Sorry for the typos. Autocorrect changes things well after I type it on thid tablet.
May 13th, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Why apologize and excuse inadequacy? Using the Gruden record comparison is comical as the NFC South was pretty competitive in those days…and oh yeah, in the end Gruden WAS fired for his body of work.
May 13th, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Never cared for Beckles. His ego is too big for the player he was. With that said, TB should be on the hot seat. Time will tell but I honestly feel he’ll never be a Superbowl winning coach.
May 13th, 2026 at 10:20 pm
The record is why.
Simple
May 13th, 2026 at 10:43 pm
The facts are that he is a sub 50% winner as a coach for his career.
Jets (2015–2018): 24–40 — never had a winning season after year one (went 10-6 in 2015, then 5-11, 5-11, 4-12).
Buccaneers (2022–2025): 34–33 regular season, 1–3 in the playoffs.
He inherited a Super Bowl roster and barely made the playoffs. Granted he inherited a salary cap hangover after Brady but still. Jason Licht got him a starting caliber QB for next to nothing. Here we are.
It’s not rocket science.
May 13th, 2026 at 11:05 pm
i know jason was in charge of making sure we had enough water for the boat trip last year but todd doesnt get a free pass on that issue either imo.
May 14th, 2026 at 12:00 am
I’m not here to defend Bowles but he does have the 3rd best winning percentage of any Head coach for this team. Only BA and Dungy are better. He’s barely ahead of Gruden and then there’s a 15 point drop off to 35% Wyche & McKay 33%.
It’s gonna be interesting if this offense plays well this year and the defense shows improvement. I don’t think the Glaziers are gonna let a young up in coming OC get away again.
May 14th, 2026 at 12:18 am
Kudos to those fans who have their heads screwed onto reality. You know who you are. Cheers.
The Pom Pom Pollies have a hard crash coming especially if a light injury season still leads to what is inevitable. Excuses are harder to come by with every year of regression.
Dude is excellent at increasing caloric intake at an accelerating rate. Anything associated with improving the team’s performance is decelerating. Look it up.
May 14th, 2026 at 12:39 am
Adams again? Sorry.
May 14th, 2026 at 2:16 am
Could Bowles have done a lot more with the players he had last year? Well, he could have played Dean more and sat Morrison.
More significantly, Bowles and Licht are responsible for the deplorable decision to go into the season with David and Dennis as the starting ILBs.
Jihaad Campbell on the board when the Bucs picked last year, and the Bucs could have moved back and picked up a third round pick to use on a WR and still taken Campbell. But, they made the less than brilliant decision to pick a wide receiver.
Campbell was on track to win defensive rookie of the year until Nakobe Dean came back from injury and took 400 snaps away from Campbell.
Campbell’s coverage grade was 78.6 – fifth in the NFL for ILBs. Do you think that would have changed a few games? Bowles could have probably done something with that.
David was 69th in coverage, 48th in run defense, and 48th in pass-rush defense with 19 missed tackles; he should have been hanging around as the veteran presence teaching the new dog.
Dennis was 84th in coverage, 42nd in run defense, and 13th in pass-rush defense and 14 missed tackles.
Campbell was 5th in coverage, 36th in run defense, and 52nd in pass-rush defense (Nakobe Dean was 3rd in pass-rush defense and took those snaps), and Campbell only had six missed tackles all season.
With Campbell focusing on coverage and Dennis focusing on pass-rush, they would have had a much better pairing.
With the injuries on offense to Godwin and McMillain and Evans,by happenstance, maybe Egbuka had as much of a positive impact last season as Campbell would have. But, he hit a wall. And, maybe the Bucs would not have turned their backs on the success White and Tucker were having running the ball if they didn’t think that that could force feed Egbuka.
And, that wide receiver room is looking pretty crowded right now, and the ILB room still looks thin. So, Bowles and Licht should not really get a pass for last year’s defense. And, there were some DTs on the board who would have been a lot more use than Morrison.
May 14th, 2026 at 3:42 am
Don’t know why people are trying to run him out of town? GAME MANAGEMENT! The head coach doesn’t know how to manage TIME OUTS CORRECTLY!!!! He is the reason for two of the Bucs loses each year.
May 14th, 2026 at 5:07 am
Dude is gaslighting here. He knows damn good and well why people do not want this guy coaching the Bucs any longer. The damage has already been done. He cost us the rest of Mike Evans career with the team, and no decent free agents wanted anything to do with this team in the off season… 3RD and @*!!!!!!
May 14th, 2026 at 5:09 am
Stpetematt … I don’t keep track of previous posts (ie, ‘injured starters vs. wins statistics for the past 5 years’). Pretty much believe though that folks have their mind made up at this point on Todd Bowles (5th year as our HC & 8th as our DC). Reposting previous analyses won’t change their minds, but winning will.
I choose to go into each season with a positive attitude about ‘my Bucs’ (all true fans take ownership IMO). Todd would have a much better career record as a HC if he (1) wasn’t dual-hatted; and (2) brought on a high quality DC to work with him. A leader IMO is only as good as the people he has working for him, and in Todd’s case that’s first-and-foremost the next tier down … his coordinators.
Interestingly, there have now been 60 Super Bowls played, but there’s only been ONE dual-hatted HC/DC (he called the defensive plays) who’s won it … Seattle’s Mike MacDonald last year. MAYBE there’s a bonafide reason that percentage is so low?
May 14th, 2026 at 7:37 am
Well, the good news is I fully expect lots of wins this year if the position groups stay healthy. Also, I don’t think being dual-hatted hurts Bowles nearly as much as you. He has plenty of defensive assistants and even HC assistants with his clock management. All he really needs to do is organize the defense and call the defensive plays and do interviews for the team. His OC has the offense and STC the special teams this year, so he will be fine. I *hope* he continues being more and more aggressive on 4th and 1 to 4th and 3 and goes for it more.
May 14th, 2026 at 9:18 am
I really do think ME13 is in SF because he knows that the Bucs can’t do any better than win the worst division in the NFL & a 1 & done in the playoffs maybe. The Glaziers not dumping Bowles last season as purely economic, the buyout before the first year was astronomical & is reduced dramatically after the 2nd season. (We can all hang onto the hope that our owners contacted Mike Tomlin & strongly feel that he will take over the Pirate Ship after a season off. Maybe he even gave a wink & nod to the revamped coaching staff which has a Steelers feel to it.) It could happen, plus they don’t want to admit they made a mistake rushing to reup a mediocre coach.. Hopefully alot of work was put into eliminating the injuries from last season which was probably te worst I’ve ever seen. So if the B grade FA class they & our Rock Star GM hired plus we hope the draft picks develope quicker than normal & our roster development turns into a divisional winner & a 2nd round win then what ???. Will the Glaziers fire a coach that won 12 games .?? Although i really think we cap the wins at 10 if everything goes right probably a 9-8 season of the same ole Bucs. GO. BUCCANEERS!!!! Enjoy
May 14th, 2026 at 11:00 am
Two things are gonna happen this year…one Blows needs to change his approach and do whatever he can to make playoffs and win first round at minimum…and two if he is pig headed and his defense still looks like crap with all the draft picks and free agents…he will get fired, like a lot of people are hoping for and we get to start over with new energy and a new approach! Either way we win! So enjoy the ride of the season this year my friends!
May 14th, 2026 at 11:11 am
Our collective opinions “won’t change their minds, but winning will”. Spot on, DR. FWIW count me as cautiously optimistic. Also do appreciate the multiple perspectives (read: supporting Bowles AND dissenting view). Not sure why the dissenting side is so rabid. IMHO Bowles isn’t perfect but also far from terrible. Concur on 2026 being make or break year. I’m cheering for the team to have winning season. In order for that to happen, Bowles has to coach it well (+players have to play it well haha). Thus I’m supportive and want Coach Bowles (along with the team) to have a truly successful 2026 season.
*Yes, opinions – not facts. Example: “sucks” cannot be used in any context that establishes a fact. Nothing wrong with saying coach sucks of course – the premise of comments is for us to offer our own opinions.
May 14th, 2026 at 11:52 am
As far as NFL coaches go Todd Bowles is a good but not great coach. I have said this before. This does not mean he should be “run out of town”. Nor does it mean he cannot take a team to the Super Bowl. It means that the odds are against him.
He is well respected by his colleagues. This means a lot to me. Because he is our coach I support him.
May 14th, 2026 at 3:14 pm
Using what considerations, factors or statistics is Bowles a GOOD HC? Numbers indicates he is much closer to average. Having to endure it first hand tells me not even average.
Whatever positives he brings to the table are neutralized because he tries to wear 2 hats…and he CANNOT do that.