“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 2:11 pm
@Stpetematt
I’m pretty sure I remember you from last year and before but I could be wrong.
I think you had a diff name but it still had stpete in it. You were another objective and optimistic commenter that I’d missed having around to help offset the trolls….
Anyway, I appreciate you and the many others who try to sway the losers opinions around here. If you’re who I think you are (not going to post who I think you were before) welcome back. If not – still glad you’re here 👍🏼
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 3:42 pm
Joes – I think it would be pretty easy to add a like/dislike button for comments. Should be a plugin available.
Just a thought 🤔
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 4:03 pm
“Facts are facts. Bowles sucks as a HC\DC and that is an undeniable
factopinion” .Fixed it for you 😁