If Not Today, When?
October 4th, 2026
Heat is on.
So the Bucs are staring at 0-4 right in the face, with team leadership now in the hands of an undrafted rookie quarterback with four snaps under his belt. He’s 0-for-1 passing with a pick.
Yikes.
At 0-4, the season would be all but doomed. The only hope if the Bucs get there with a loss today would be the garbage division they play in.
And at 0-4, does Team Glazer begin a coaching search? Remember: Joe was told by a very, very good authority years ago that in October 2013, Team Glazer already had reached out to lousy Lovie Smith to take over the Bucs the following January.
The Bucs, under then-Bucs commander Greg Schiano, started the season 0-8. The Bucs were 0-7 after their final game of October.
On his weekday show for the New York Post, popular sports radio and television personality Adam Schein said he believes if the Bucs don’t win today, they may go a long time before recording their first win of the 2026 season.
And Schein believes you can argue KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles may be the first coaching casualty of the year.
“Green Bay is the next game for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” Schein began. “If the Bucs lose that game, when are they going to win?
“Like the Green Bay game this week is the most winnable game that they will have in quite some time. This schedule, when you combine the teams that the Bucs are playing, in addition to how Tampa has looked, I think there’s a very real chance that the first coach fired in the NFL is Todd Bowles.
“I don’t know how he survives this season. There was a case to can him after last year. I think, and there are others you could argue — Shane Steichen from the Colts quickly comes to mind — if you’re a betting man and you want to bet on people losing their job, I think Todd Bowles will be the first coach fired this NFL season.”
Joe would bet against that, despite the loud cries from fans. Team Glazer has never dismissed a coach midseason. Never. “This Joe” does not like betting against never.
And Joe isn’t confident the Bucs are about to go on a gruesome losing streak. Yes, the next three games are dicey. Today is against the rotten Packers. Then traveling on a short week to Dallas. But then, on extra rest, they have a home game against Pittsburgh in two weeks, a team that doesn’t look all that formidable.
After the Steelers game, the Bucs face two NFC South landfill rivals, the Stinking Panthers and the Dixie Chicks. Neither is the ’84 49ers.
Oh, for Joe to be a gecko on the wall in the Team Glazer suite at The Licht House this afternoon. What conversations could be going on?
“I think there’s a very good chance that the first coach fired in the NFL is Todd Bowles.”@adamschein looks into his crystal ball — and at the Bucs’ upcoming schedule — and sees a gloomy future ahead in Tampa.
Watch the full Schein Time ➡️ https://t.co/uWzV3DW04c pic.twitter.com/f7Ny7nAfIH
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) October 3, 2026
October 4th, 2026 at 12:25 am
His tenure is like a massive tooth ache …
Miserable and uncomfortable until you finally get it extracted and then you just want to forget about it and move on!
October 4th, 2026 at 12:25 am
This game is going to be the best opportunity for Jalon to make a successful start in the NFL.
I hope he does well — and his team is behind him.
Go Bucs! Time for a win!!
October 4th, 2026 at 12:51 am
It’s truly amazing how ill prepared the Bucs were for this season. I don’t know where Jake Browning is playing, but he’ll probably show up to shred Bowles defense some time this year, ala Kirk Cousins.
October 4th, 2026 at 12:54 am
Getting Jeremiah Smith is more important to gen anything else. Keep losing he is a generational talent at wide receiver. We don’t have a single wr who can get open or create seperation. Entire offense will improve with at least one wr who can get open.
October 4th, 2026 at 1:19 am
Dan the Bucs fan, Licht would probably trade down instead of picking Smith.
October 4th, 2026 at 3:08 am
Keeping todd around as this season spirals would equate to rubbing salt in the wound of fans at this point. Even the Glazers have to see by now he’s clearly inept as a HC and the fans calling for his dismissal for the past year+ have been proven justified in doing so. Putting McClendon or Foote as interim HC & Edwards as DC to finish out the season likely won’t change the draft position, but at least it might put a few more fans in the seats and change the narrative around the team a little as the season mercifully comes to an end. The soonet todds face is erased from the sidelines & websites the better. This team needs an enema in the worst way, and todd should make the first splash.
October 4th, 2026 at 5:01 am
@Dan, I’d love that pick too, but the qb cant do anything when he’s running backwards and scrambling for his life. I’d rather trade down for extra picks and get Kade (RG) and Ipani (C) kick Barton to LG. We have to fix our inner O line first….trenches come first!
October 4th, 2026 at 6:02 am
We do not live in the land of Super Bowl dynasties. Our SB visits (thankfully wins) are followed by mediocrity then demise. We own Licht + Arians + Bowles a thank you for SB55. We landed TB12, figured out over one season how to unite the team and get to the party; and then execute an excellent win on both sides of the ball! The Arians’ exit was odd a best (no further comments) and here we sit. Can we avoid the demise? Only with intelligent executive action. Who wants to repeat ’09-’18.
October 4th, 2026 at 6:35 am
14-3 Baby!!!!!!
Time to make history.
Super Bowl Baby!!!!!
October 4th, 2026 at 6:43 am
Joe … ‘team leadership now in the hands of an undrafted rookie quarterback with four snaps under his belt. He’s 0-for-1 passing with a pick.’
Jalon Daniels can’t do any worse than Baker Mayfield’s been doing. Yes his NFL premier for the last 4 plays of the Vikings game wasn’t a fairytale ending, but he had less than 30 seconds to work with trailing by 6 points & no time outs. And that INT was a Hail Mary pass, and those almost never work.
The INT that was far more damaging was the one Baker threw on the series prior. Bucs had a 1st-and-10 on the Tampa 42 trailing by just 3 points with a full 3 minutes to play.
o Play 1: Gainwell right end for Minus 4 yds.
o Play 2: Mayfield short left to Gainwell for 1 yd.
o Play 3: Mayfield short right to Egbuka – Incomplete
o Play 4: Mayfield short right to Gainwell – INTERCEPTED
As a result, Vikings got the ball back at the Tampa 41 but our defense held them to a FG, using only 1 minute on the clock. Not only was the play-calling on that Bucs’ drive terrible, but Baker threw THREE short passes with only 1 complete for 1 yard.
October 4th, 2026 at 7:03 am
Well first, Congrats to all Rays fans!
I didn’t expect the Yankees to be shutout, much less almost No Hit!
That made no sense to me, but the Rays were terrific!
As for this: If Not Today, When?
It depends on what this is asking!!!!
1.) The The Bucs lose, maybe Todd Bowles gets the Gong today!
2.) Today might be the day, the Bucs win and all fan rejoice!
You will just have to tune in to: “same BUC-time, same BUC-channel”
October 4th, 2026 at 7:14 am
“…the first coach fired in the NFL is Todd Bowles.” Yes please.
October 4th, 2026 at 7:15 am
as a bucs fan i’d rather have them be anything but 0-4 but at this point if it leads to todd being moved out of HC/DC position thats what it takes. i want them to win but they arent. this isnt just a “slow start” that we need to be patient about ronde.
another “ooo we almost made the playoffs 8-9 or 7-10 todd is a guru”, leading to more nonsense and futility next year with todd at the helm isnt worth it.
the “wow we almost won or won a wild card game” or “wow we almost made the playoffs”, is that the point of this?
the bucs have never been closer to making real progress towards becoming a better football team since bowles was annointed head coach than they are this morning.
0-4 ought to do it.
October 4th, 2026 at 7:26 am
Defense Rules, I think today will be a good test to see if the D is improved or was it because the Vikings had no RB or WR with Murry running the show. I’m look to see if they play with the same urgency or go back to the Browns game. Don’t expect anything out of the offense unless they can get the offensive line figured out. If they can at least create holes then we have a chance. Not sticking up for Mayfield because he’s played poorly, but the system is flawed and the blocking scheme IS NOT working.
October 4th, 2026 at 7:31 am
@madmax our offensive line is not bad. The coaching is bad the play calling is bad. When we win the ball well we stop. We have already invested so much money and draft capital into the oline it’s insane to think you’d take a oline with a top 5 pick. Our line is currently ranked middle of the pack in the nfl based on protection time and average yards per carry. Stats show the oline is adequate if you run the ball also Bsker holds it way to long sometimes. Alot of our sacks are longer per second then nfl average.
Want to guess where our wr rank right now in NfL? Dead last we have the worst wide receiver room in the NFL based on catch percentage and seperation percentage and yards per game. Advanced stats show they can’t get open they can’t get seperation and they are almost leaders of the league in drops
Jeremiah Smith is who you tank for my friend! Respectfully
October 4th, 2026 at 7:39 am
Daniels will be 1-0 as the starter after today and the Baker purge will begin.
October 4th, 2026 at 7:41 am
Hmmmmm, what’s Mike Tomlin up to these days??
October 4th, 2026 at 7:52 am
“Hankus Says:
October 4th, 2026 at 7:41 am
Hmmmmm, what’s Mike Tomlin up to these days”
Hopefully staying retired. No thanks.
October 4th, 2026 at 7:58 am
It doesn’t matter who we draft with this team if they don’t get rid of these coaches. Coaching matters. 0 percent desire for Tomlin. Give me an offensive minded head coach please.
October 4th, 2026 at 8:00 am
If Tampa loses the “most winnable game for quite some time,” that’s not a schedule problem. That’s an obituary.
Bowles’ seat is so hot the Glazers could rightly use it to cater halftime.
October 4th, 2026 at 8:04 am
If team Glazer has not already complied a list of HC candidates, that would be malpractice.
What we have witnessed so far from the Bucs coaching staff is complete incompetence
October 4th, 2026 at 8:05 am
The Glazers love Tomlin. I’ll pass.
October 4th, 2026 at 8:12 am
@FlBoy84,
I get the sentiment but I am on the opposite side of firing Todd before the season is over. To me it’s letting him off too easy. If we are going to have to be miserable watching a train wreck of a season, his a** needs to be on the sidelines taking it all in. Then don’t even let him get to the Monday after the last game. Put out the press release 15 minutes after 0:00.
No paid vacation for Bowles in 2026.
October 4th, 2026 at 8:18 am
@Dan: Jeremiah Smith is who you tank for my friend! Respectfully
Who is throwing him the ball, Dan?
No, I respectfully disagree with both you and MadMax. This is the year of the QB. You never use a 1st rd pick on a guard, but take one in the 2nd rd if you like. And a CB or ILB in rounds 3 and 4. And don’t tell me drafting a QB is a gamble – ALL picks are gambles. How is Marvin Harrison Jr doing in AZ?
Baker mentors the rookie QB in ’27 then we trade him (we are paying him, might as well get something out of him).
October 4th, 2026 at 8:24 am
I’ve been watching this packers team somewhat for fantasy purposes. They have NO run game. Averaging 48 yards a game. Last in every category. If they run on the Bucs today ill be incredibly disappointed. That shouldn’t happen though because run defense has been strong.
October 4th, 2026 at 8:24 am
DR:
“Bucs had a 1st-and-10 on the Tampa 42 trailing by just 3 points with a full 3 minutes to play.
o Play 1: Gainwell right end for Minus 4 yds.
o Play 2: Mayfield short left to Gainwell for 1 yd.
o Play 3: Mayfield short right to Egbuka – Incomplete
o Play 4: Mayfield short right to Gainwell – INTERCEPTED
Just friggin WOW BAD. BAD. BAD.
Thanks Todd, great hire. Did Liam scare you with too much scoring or maybe not running enough to control the clock? You know, keep the game close for the other team? WTF?
October 4th, 2026 at 8:26 am
I hope like hell the Glazers don’t hire another stubborn defense-minded coach. None of them worked out. Dungy was the best but couldn’t close the deal. Raheem sucked, but I don’t think he was stubborn. Lovie Smith was very stubborn. Bowles appears to be every bit as stubborn as Smith. Schiano was also stubborn. We need another offense minded coach with at least an average defensive coordinator next season. That’s what we won with.
October 4th, 2026 at 8:27 am
Dan the Bucs Fan Says:
October 4th, 2026 at 12:54 am
Getting Jeremiah Smith is more important to gen anything else. Keep losing he is a generational talent at wide receiver. We don’t have a single wr who can get open or create seperation. Entire offense will improve with at least one wr who can get open
I disagree with you, I see wide receivers open all the time. either Baker’s overthrowing them or not seeing them altogether
October 4th, 2026 at 8:52 am
Every year a team is a different team than the year before. In 2023 we were 9-8 and made the divisional round of the playoffs. In 2024 we were 10-7 and lost on a final second kick in the first round. In 2025 we were 8-9 and tied for first place and lost on a tiebreaker to the team we’d beat in week 18.
Losing 10 of 12 has nothing to do with this year’s team. We are 0-3 in 2026. Each year a team will be defined by its record. We have 14 games left, and many on this site have written us off.
And a fair share of you are downright giddy that Baker is down. At the moment, anyway. And you’re relishing the fact that he’s down.
Guess what? Our team doesn’t give a rats a$$ about any of the idiocy being spouted by you goofballs. Of course Baker isn’t hoping the team loses. Making statements like that, DR, is not going to fly with me or many others.
Darn right we will be cheering for a win today- and every game we play. This season is by no means over. It’s just getting started. And if some of you guys get your jollies by knocking Baker Mayfield, let it rest. Today is all we can focus on, the past is just that.
I think we have the makings of a good football team. We can judge our 2026 team soon enough. But not after 3 games.
October 4th, 2026 at 8:55 am
If they loose today I will post only 1 more time to this sod of myopic leniency and it will not be pretty.
October 4th, 2026 at 9:09 am
All this could have been avoided if the glazers did the right and sane thing and fired Todd Bowles last season. All they did was brush the problem under the rug thinking it was going away. Todd can’t coach, doesn’t know how to coach, had no idea how to be creative, and adjustments never happen
October 4th, 2026 at 9:11 am
The panthers and falcons should the breaking point. If you lose those games well what division we’re in is irrelevant. He should be fired so a real head coaching search can begin openly
October 4th, 2026 at 9:16 am
We have a late bye week this year. Who knows, depending how bad things are than, the Glazers could very well do what they’ve never done before. That would at least signal to the fans a new day is coming. Give us something to hope for next season.
October 4th, 2026 at 9:23 am
On the field , it starts with Baker. He has been a big disappointment after his big payday.
October 4th, 2026 at 9:25 am
@Defense Rules👍
October 4th, 2026 at 9:26 am
This one is so bad he might beat “never”
October 4th, 2026 at 9:26 am
Robinson will be thrown under the bus first?
October 4th, 2026 at 9:27 am
No risk it no biscuit. In football terms, Todd does not know how to do the former and probably has no idea how to make the later happen.
October 4th, 2026 at 9:46 am
2 guys to keep an eye on that are good offensive minds that are on the hot seat ( not nec their own fault ) LaFluer , who we need to beat today and maybe even better , Stiechen w the Colts , I’d be happy w either , maybe Daibol as a third option
October 4th, 2026 at 10:16 am
Todd is a winner. The record is just one thing, it’s not everything.
October 4th, 2026 at 10:27 am
Best way to clean house is to let the Licht, Bowles, Robinson, play out their string this season, and fire them in the offseason. Give the incoming GM what will likely be a high draft pick to work with.
Don’t let an interim asst. coach put in a performance thats just good enough to keep the job. More of the same.
Glazers should let the season play out, fire everyone, then do a thorough vetting of the possible candidates out there in the offseason.
October 4th, 2026 at 10:33 am
@Dan, you’re stupid and have no reading comprehension….try again later
October 4th, 2026 at 11:06 am
What a clown
October 4th, 2026 at 11:07 am
Can they fire him today
October 4th, 2026 at 11:37 am
If the Bucs are 0 – 6 after Thurs night, it is time to play for draft position. So you might as well keep Bowels through the end of the season. BUT, force him to relinquish his defensive duties AND his authority over the defense so that an interim coordinator can try out a different scheme (preferably a 43) to see if it better suits Bucs defensive personnel.
October 4th, 2026 at 12:19 pm
Only reason I think Licht survives is he didn’t hire Bowles. Stuck with him. Its not his fault coach doesn’t seem to have a heartbeat and has no idea how to use players.
October 4th, 2026 at 12:22 pm
Firing the coach with an undrafted free agent at starting QB for the next three games (minimum) would make this team worse, not better. Daniels needs at least a little stability behind him to get through these next few games.