Has Todd Bowles Lost His Touch?
July 11th, 2026
Todd Bowles
Yes, Joe has been deep-sea diving into football stats for a read on what went wrong for the Bucs last year and how the Bucs could right the pirate ship?
Famed handicapper-turned-stathead Warren Sharp had a lot of interesting stats on Bucs coach Todd Bowles, few of them good. Sharp also had opposing stats on Bowles. One was good, the other, not so good.
In short, Sharp wonders in his Warren Sharp 2026 Football Preview if Bowles has lost his defensive touch?
Six of their eight total wins, a remarkable 75%, came by a single score, the #4 highest such rate in the NFL. Only two of their victories all year were decided by more than eight points: a blowout of a 1-7 Saints team and a comfortable home win over the [Mac] Jones-led 49ers.
For years, Bowles’ defenses were where rookie QBs went to die. Well, Bowles faced two rookie quarterbacks [in 2025], and he lost to both Quinn Ewers of the Dolphins and Tyler Shough of the Saints.
The loss to the tanking Dolphins and seventh-round pick Quinn Ewers was not just galling, but inexplicable. That loss cost the Bucs the playoffs.
Losing to the Stinking Panthers? Well, OK, they won the division. Losing to the Slimy Saints? Well, they are a division rival. Same with the Dixie Chicks.
But the trash Dolphins? How?
Just when you think the game may have passed Bowles by, Sharp included this nugget:
Down so many weapons, the largest deficit the Bucs overcame in any single victory all season was seven points, which ranked #27 in the league. They could protect a lead as well as almost anyone in football, and could not mount a comeback to save their season.
So if Bowles played with a lead last year, the Bucs were mostly safe? Not too many rotten defensive coaches can say that.
Has the game passed Bowles by if rookies are no longer fazed by his defenses? The fact Bowles can protect leads suggests he’s still dialed in.
Maybe if Bowles would ever embrace an edge rush instead of asking his outside linebackers to “do other things,” rookie signal-callers wouldn’t be able to slice up Bowles’ defenses?
July 11th, 2026 at 11:16 am
Talk about a “layup” of a topic. It is obvious to the majority of the Buc fans on this site think that Bowels has lost a whole bunch of “touches”. My question is did he have any “touch” once he left the BA umbrella.
July 11th, 2026 at 11:16 am
Did he ever have touch?
July 11th, 2026 at 11:33 am
Tyler Shough may be very good.
July 11th, 2026 at 11:39 am
The Buc’s had perhaps the worst ST in the NFL!! Game after game starting early in the season they gave up huge returns, had punts and kicks blocked. In general looked like a high school team ( except the field goal kicker). Most every other HCs would have regrouped STs by replacing the coach. Bowles? No! He waited until after the season to do that! This in action in such an obvious need, cost the Buc’s at least 2 Ws and a playoff birth!! It’s these kinds of moves or lack there of, there were others, makes most Buc fans wonder why he is still in Tampa. IMHO.
July 11th, 2026 at 11:41 am
Joe, I question whether Todd Bowles ever had the touch in the first place.
At least as a head coach.
I know his record as Jets HC wasn’t that great, (about the same as here) but know nothing about how good the players were, injuries, etc.
My take is that his W-L record here should be at least a little better than in is, given the talent on the team since he took over as HC. There’s a few duds, but there’s also a lot of talent that isn’t being coached right or used properly.
As DC, I think he’s regressed a bit. To be fair, it was a much different defense during our Super Bowl season.
But, I wonder sometimes how much of that was BA giving marching orders to Bowles on a few things… edge rush in particular. Funny how BA stepped down and all of a sudden the edge rush wasn’t that important.
July 11th, 2026 at 11:49 am
No, he hasn’t. He’s still a Super Bowl winning DC. He knows plenty about defense and is constantly updating and upgrading his. Seattle had a lot of success in nickel and dime last year which is a big reason behind why we drafted Keionte Scott. His intense speed will help our pass defense a LOT.
July 11th, 2026 at 11:52 am
“Down so many weapons, the largest deficit the Bucs overcame in any single victory all season was seven points, which ranked #27 in the league. They could protect a lead as well as almost anyone in football, and could not mount a comeback to save their season.”
This shows how bad the offense was. Outside of the Rams game, during the last 9 games of 2025 the Bucs lost 7 of them by an average of 4 pts. Other teams are really good so you’ve got to find a way to comeback from more than a score or two.
The only time Bowles had touch was when he solely focused on the defense and nothing more. Being a HC puts too much on his plate.
July 11th, 2026 at 12:03 pm
I think he’s lost the players at least the majority of them. He has certainly lost some fans he ain’t nothing special ask mike evans tom brady won that superbowl
July 11th, 2026 at 12:15 pm
Ever since that all-out blitz against the Rams in the playoffs, Bowles has lost his playcalling mojo and he has been a TERRIBLE playcaller.
Hopefully he figures things out again.
July 11th, 2026 at 12:27 pm
FloorMatt again citing a game that happened more than half a decade ago when the Bucs had a real head coach and their opponent had two cocktail waitresses at OT and a QB on one leg. Stupid is as stupid does.
28-13 lead over Atlanta in the 4th quarter. Ya, Bolwes knows how to protect a lead.
3rd and 28
Mike Evans
July 11th, 2026 at 12:28 pm
Bowles blitzes….thats it. The formula for success for the opposing offense is get the ball out quickly. Not rocket science for an OC like McDaniels. Let’s not act like we’re shocked….Bowles defense has been making rookies and backups look like Pro Bowlers since Brady was here. Bowles defense has only been effective when it was loaded during the SB year and following year. Anyone could have won with that lineup
July 11th, 2026 at 12:40 pm
Teams have figured out Bowles’s scheme and he doesn’t know how to counter. Look at what Zac Robinson did to him as OC for the Falcons.
July 11th, 2026 at 12:47 pm
At least the offense will look like a juggernaut during training camp.
July 11th, 2026 at 1:15 pm
3rd and 28!!!!!
July 11th, 2026 at 1:26 pm
the only hope for this season is that it is todd bowles last as hc of the bucs.
July 11th, 2026 at 1:49 pm
Bowles never had a touch.
Go Bucs! (to where I have no idea)
July 11th, 2026 at 1:50 pm
Please tell me what year he had this touch you speak of?
July 11th, 2026 at 1:51 pm
How’s that compared to “citing” something last season ?? 328 that’s your whole gig! Citing sh!? from last season???
July 11th, 2026 at 2:14 pm
5 years ago isn’t a lot when you are talking about a Super Bowl victory. And our DC now was our DC then. Apparently it’s a thankless job for some people. I know I appreciate Bowles effort back then and he quite simply hasn’t had the personnel since to begin to compete with that defense.
Maybe this year they will be a lot closer to what they need to be.
With the return of the whole Offensive Line I think the offense will be explosive. Add in a playmaking defense and this could be an awesome season. Im looking forward to it, that’s for sure!
July 11th, 2026 at 2:17 pm
Toad Bowels:
When asked about the lack of an edge rush
“We ask our outside linebackers to do other things”
“We don’t ask them to drop back in coverage very far”
Yep, that’s the defensive linemen’s job LOL
During the epic collapse last year
“We’ve done all we can do as it coaches, it’s now up to the players”
As an owner, I would have canned him right after that remark
Bowles was asked by a reporter why a specific losing streak “wasn’t going to snowball.”
His exact reply: “I don’t think it’s snowballing. I think we’re making mistakes at the wrong time.”
So there is a right time for mistakes?
He is so far over his head in the modern day NFL it’s ridiculous!
July 11th, 2026 at 2:54 pm
Got to love all of these gloom and doom articles. One of the Joe’s absolutely loves to feed the trolls.