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Are Todd Bowles’ Days as Buccaneers Head Coach Numbered?
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- Are Todd Bowles’ Days as Buccaneers Head Coach Numbered?
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
Things are bad for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers right now.
Really bad.
Sunday's shocking home loss against the lowly Cleveland Browns served as a new low for the Bucs in the Todd Bowles era. After dropping their season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals a week earlier, the Bucs appeared to have been given a gift by the schedule makers with a Week 2 home game against one of the NFL's worst teams.
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Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka said earlier in the week that the Bucs were hoping to " put on a show" for the home fans.
It was the kind of show that gets canceled after the pilot episode.
The Bucs blew a 16-6 third-quarter lead. Quarterback Baker Mayfield was booed by the home crowd after being completely outplayed by Deshaun Watson , who replaced him as Cleveland's QB four years ago.
The fans even had to wait out a two-hour weather delay at the two-minute warning with the Bucs driving for a potential game-winning touchdown. Once they resumed play, the Bucs were unable to get the TD they so desperately needed.
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It was an unacceptable loss, something that has become far too common under Bowles.
Which is why Bowles' days as the Buccaneers' head coach may be numbered.
Not Playing To Talent Level
On paper, the Bucs have a talented roster. Mayfield, though he hasn't played like it to start the season, is a franchise quarterback. Bucky Irving is one of the most explosive running backs in the NFL. The WR room is deep and talented. The offensive line was supposed to be among the best in the league.
On defense, Bowles' specialty, the team loaded up this offseason. Tampa signed several high-profile defensive free agents and then drafted Rueben Bain Jr., Josiah Trotter, and Keionte Scott with three of the team's first four picks.
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Bain has been invisible through two games after dominating the offseason. Free agent linebacker Alex Anzalone has been a train wreck so far. He was brought in to stabilize the LB room, but he looks like a shell of the player he has been throughout his career.
The defense also has David Walker and Calijah Kancey back after serious injuries a year ago.
Bowles has no excuses for his defense not playing up the team's high standard.
It is not. Frankly, it hasn't for years.
Bowles hasn't had a defense ranked better than 14th in DVOA since the 2021 season. For a coach who is supposed to be a defensive genius, that is unacceptable. Any success the Bucs have had during Bowles' tenure as HC has largely been the result of the offense. Both Dave Canales and Liam Coen earned head coaching jobs after only one season each as Tampa's offensive coordinator.
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If Bowles can't coach his defense to at least equal the offense, he isn't meeting his own standard.
Days Are Numbered
After last season's 2-7 collapse down the stretch kept Tampa out of the playoffs, there were plenty of calls for Bowles' job.
He remained, but he started the 2026 season already on the hot seat. Some felt that with a Week 10 bye, the team might make a coaching change mid-season if the Bucs sputtered out of the gate. Bowles needed a hot start to have any job security.
Instead, the opposite has happened. Not only have the Bucs dropped their first two games, but they have also looked terrible in the losses. Week 1 was full of turnovers. Week 2 was full of settling for field goals, with the offense unable to get much going and the defense not getting stops when it mattered most.
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Sloppy, inefficient football falls on the head coach.
Tampa's next four games are against the Minnesota Vikings , Green Bay Packers , Dallas Cowboys , and Pittsburgh Steelers . All but the Cowboys' game will be played at home.
Even if they split those games, they will only be 2-4, having played four of six games at home. 1-5 or 0-6 look to be on the table.
If the Bucs can't beat the Browns at home, who can they beat?
After the loss to Cleveland, the fans calling for Bowles to be fired are getting louder and louder . I don't know how he survives a 1-5 (or worse) start to the season.
Final Thoughts
Two games aren't a big enough sample size for any coach to be fired, but the issues the Bucs have had under Bowles date back much longer.
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If he can't consistently have Tampa fielding a top-10 defense, his specialty, then he is underachieving as a coach. The Bucs haven't had a top-10 defense in years.
That falls squarely on Bowles.
Unless Tampa goes on an expected run over the next few weeks, I don't think Bowles will survive the bye week. The organization made a statement this offseason by paying both Mayfield and defensive tackle Vita Vea . It expects to win now.
The first two games have taken away what little faith anyone had in this team. Especially after a turbulent offseason following last year's epic collapse.
If Bowles doesn't find a way to right the ship quickly, he likely won't be around long enough to go down with it.
