Tampa Bay’s once-promising season ended with a win, but officially ended when the NFC South’s other results eliminated it from playoff contention on Sunday.
The result capped a massive collapse that had people watching Todd Bowles’ job security. However, Bowles believes his track record outweighs the Buccaneers’ breakdown.
“All I can do is coach and be myself. I’ve earned the opportunity,” Bowles said Monday. “I’ve won three league titles in a row. So that says a lot as far as I’m concerned. I don’t really have a message for the fans. Other than the true fans, they’re true fans and we’re going to try our best to go out there and win for them. They’re going to feel how they feel. It’s not a coach’s problem. A coach’s problem is to make the team better.”
After a 6-2 start, the Buccaneers won just two of their last nine games, surrendering their one-time lead in the NFC South and leaving the door open for Carolina to take the division crown, snapping the Bucs’ four-year streak as division champions, the last three under Bowles.
The ending reflected poorly on Bowles, the coach of a team that claimed an early spot among the NFC contenders, got healthier as the season went on but faltered in the executive department. As Bowles explained it Monday, “the mistakes we made weren’t skill-driven, they were mistake-driven.”
“It’s disappointing that we didn’t get in. It’s very disappointing,” Bowles said. “[It’s the] first time in five years, so you get used to it a bit. But we did it ourselves. We did it to ourselves. We must take a deep assessment, starting with myself. When I do, I will evaluate the coaches and the players and we will proceed accordingly.”
Buccaneers fans, who rode the Tom Brady wave to a title and watched their team claw their way into a playoff spot after the departures of Brady and coach Bruce Arians, were content to remain competitive, even if it came within one playoff win of Bowles’ three division titles. So did the 2025 season, opening the floodgates of frustration that spilled over so hard, even the normally mild-mannered Bowles unleashed a tirade after his team blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter of its Week 15 loss to Atlanta.
“I understand their frustration, and I understand our frustration,” Bowles said Monday.
The Buccaneers are in a better position than the average team that hosts a warming coaching bench. Tampa Bay has its quarterback in Baker Mayfield and a group of promising youngsters on the offensive end, which includes quarterback Bucky Irving and a trio of receivers in Emeka Egbuka — once the favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year — Jalen McMillan and Tez Johnson. They also have a handful of key defensive players in YaYa Diaby, Vita Vea and Antoine Winfield Jr..
But with 2026 comes a possible shift. Draft legends Mike Evans and Lavonte David could each play their final game in red, a battered offensive line needs to get healthy in the offseason, and after a difficult road back from injury, Chris Godwin’s $33.6 million cap hit for 2026 isn’t exactly palatable.
The Buccaneers also need to figure out their defense – Bowles’ strength – after finishing 19th in yards allowed per game and 27th against the pass. The addition of pass rusher Haason Reddick failed to address the Bucs’ need at the position due to his injury-related struggles, and their attempt to add depth in the second round with third-round draft picks Jacob Parrish and Benjamin Morrison was mixed at best.
“We need to make some changes. Whether it’s schematic or whether it’s physical, we probably need to make some changes going forward,” Bowles said of his defense. “We will evaluate it in the next few days and see exactly what needs to be changed. Funnily enough, I know I’ll have to make some adjustments depending on the players we get back. Coaching-wise, we need to make some changes overall in what we’re doing on the field and how we’re teaching guys certain things. Some guys are probably good at certain things that we need to expose certain things that we need to expose. to fight with.”
Maybe now is not the time for Tampa Bay to change coaches. It could indeed be a matter of implementation. After all, no one enjoyed pointing out the “little things” in 2025 more than Mayfield during his weekly press conferences.
On the other hand, in order to properly address the details, the Buccaneers could use some new leadership. Bowles plans to meet with the Glazer family – the owners of the Buccaneers – this week.
“We listen and we talk about football, but we don’t get into what we talk about because those are private conversations,” Bowles said. “At the same time, I coach this team and I understand football very well and I have a good sense of what we need and what we don’t need.”
We’ll see if the Glazers find Bowles’ plan worthy of taking another year, or if they want to join the handful of teams looking for new coaches in 2026.