Todd Bowles’ Hot Seat
September 7th, 2026
Is his seat really hot?
So, if the Bucs have a repeat of last year and do a faceplant in the second half of the season, who takes the fall?
Will it be Baker Mayfield, whose contract will be up after the Super Bowl? Or will it be KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles?
Or, maybe both?
Joe keeps reading that the Bucs are the default winner of the NFC South landfill this fall because, all together now, the Bucs have the most talent/have the best quarterback.
So if you agree, (Joe thinks so) would failing to win a trash division put heat on Bowles? Frank Schwab of Yahoo! thinks it absolutely should.
… The Buccaneers have arguably the most talented roster in the division, and if they can’t win the division this season then there would be conversations over whether Bowles is the right coach for Tampa Bay going forward. He has a 35-33 record over four seasons as the Buccaneers’ head coach.
Joe will once again repeat that since Team Glazer took over the team 30-plus years ago, only one coach has survived back-to-back losing seasons. And that man’s name is Chucky, and he got Team Glazer the franchise’s first Super Bowl. So Chucky had significant street cred.
Bowles isn’t in that class (though Bowles’ gameplan to shut down the Chiefs in the Super Bowl should and probably will go down in NFL history as one of the greatest defensive feats).
The thing that muddies this up is potentially winning the NFC South landfull and securing a home playoff game with a losing record. It happened to Bowles and the Bucs in 2022.
Most fans, rightly so, think of a wild card game as little more than a stepping stone to bigger and better things. But when a coach makes an ownership group extra millions with a home playoff game, that tends to put a smile on owners’ faces and could buy a coach a modicum of job security.
September 7th, 2026 at 7:33 am
I think you just made a damning case in your last article Joe. In the last 3 seasons Bowles passing defense has been ranked in the high 20’s. There are 32 teams in the NFL. What is his specialty again? I mean this is considered a passing league with all the rule changes, right?
September 7th, 2026 at 7:41 am
Should have walked the plank last year.
September 7th, 2026 at 7:52 am
I thought the real reason the Glazer kept Bowles was because he was a player’s coach and was responsible for helping player retention, but after seeing Mike Evans bolt, this is no longer a valid reason to keep him.
Injuries last year kept Bowles from the chopping block, but I highly doubt it will save him a second time.
September 7th, 2026 at 8:12 am
If the Glazers are happy with the Bucs being a perpetual average football team, then Todd is your guy. If the Bucs were not in this division would the Glazers have kept him this long? I am not sure he ever would have been in the playoffs except maybe the 10-7 year, but you could easily say if they weren’t in the landfill of the south the record wouldn’t be that good. So, I think Todd should need to win playoff games not game or win the division or this team will continue to have outstanding talent and under achieve every year.
September 7th, 2026 at 8:14 am
Joe is phoning in recycled articles. 🤙🏻🤙🏻
September 7th, 2026 at 8:16 am
Loser with a capital L
September 7th, 2026 at 8:18 am
The SB versus KC was six years ago and Todd wasn’t the HC.
Also, let the record show that KC had a severely banged up O line.
Bowles defense only looks good against awful teams or injury riddled teams.
Clinging to the past before he was anointed as HC is irrelevant.
Coen should have been our HC after 2024. Now we’re stuck in reverse.
September 7th, 2026 at 8:33 am
The only reason Bowles was successful against the chiefs was that KC was missing 3 of their starting five Olineman (including both their tackles). Still think we would have beat them in a shootout if their Oline was healthy.
September 7th, 2026 at 8:34 am
Joe, let’s not forget that Barrett and Pierre-Paul went against back-up O-tackles. Kind of like our guard situation last year.
September 7th, 2026 at 8:35 am
Joe … ‘would failing to win a trash division put heat on Bowles?’
The Glazers well remember the pre-2019 years (no playoffs in over 10 years?). In the 7 years since BA arrived, Bucs have won a Super Bowl, won the NFC South 4 times, won 6-out-of-10 playoff games, had a Top-10 offense 4 times and a Top-10 defense 3 times. Got a hunch the value of the Bucs’ franchise has risen astronomically. They’ve surely made a lot of money with this franchise, and are likely to be a bit wary of ‘rocking the boat’ by gutting the coaching staff (and very possibly the GM staff).
Still, when you rise to the level of the big dogs, you’ve gotta perform like a big dog. We’re not a chihuahua any longer, but we’re not a rottweiler either. This COULD be the year though.
Todd Bowles knows that he’s on the hot seat; he’s said it multiple times. Every NFL head coach is on the hot seat IF they don’t win enough. Only the Glazers however know ‘how much is enough’. Apparently in Bucsville it’s fun to beat dead horses though.
September 7th, 2026 at 8:36 am
If Bowles wins the division, it was a weak division. If he loses it, fire him. That’s some airtight sports-radio logic right there.
September 7th, 2026 at 8:42 am
Ask the ticket sales reps how things are?
With David and Evans gone, I’m over not wanting to blow the whole thing up. I would not have hated if we opted to move on this past season, but to whom? Going after Tomlin or McDermott sets us up for more churn at offensive coordinator. Depending on how the season goes, 2027 might have a better crop of head coaches to consider.
September 7th, 2026 at 9:05 am
Fire the guy now. Should have never been the head coach,
Thanks DEI
September 7th, 2026 at 9:19 am
You never know which HC seat is Hot, which is Warm, which is Cold
99% of this fanbase, NFL Analysts, NFL fans thought Bowles was fired last season
Probably less than 5% thought McDermott, Tomlin, Harbaugh would be sacked
This is only speculation
September 7th, 2026 at 9:55 am
Bummer going into a new season with what appears to some quality improved talent, but knowing success is predicated on winning in spite of the HC.