Although the sting of four straight losses buried the Bucs, the team’s struggles began in November when Tampa began losing seven of its last nine games.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield’s play declined significantly. Although he did not miss a game, he was playing with an injured shoulder. Mike Evans, now with the San Francisco 49ers, played in just eight games. Quarterback Bucky Irving, wide receiver Jalen McMillan, offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs and linemates Luke Goedeke and Cody Mauch, along with defensive lineman Calijah Kancey and cornerback Jamel Dean were among the long list of Bucs who missed significant time.
Add all that up to six losses that were decided by six points or less, and you might assume that Bowles is hardly to blame for the Bucs’ frustrating season. After taking over for Bruce Arians, who is retiring before the 2022 season, Bowles still has just two winning seasons in four years, and has only posted double-digit wins and made the playoffs once.
“I would say as a franchise, everybody’s goal is to win the Super Bowl every year,” Glazer said. “That’s your hope, but only one team wins the Super Bowl every year. Every season, you have to look at the season, look at how things went, look at where the franchise is at, look at the overall situation year in and year out. That’s how you evaluate things. Last season started great – didn’t end so great. Obviously we were disappointed, we were disappointed, more and more. it.
“Every team has injuries, but there were significant injuries last year in key spots. There were a lot of close games that didn’t go our way. But we’re trying to build a championship team. You can try to throw a dart every year — or you can try to build a Super Bowl winning team. We feel like we’ve had a great team and we’re building, which we’re constantly building.
Assuming the Buccaneers are a healthier group than they were a season ago, it’s still very likely they’ll be viewed as the NFC South favorite again.
It was a dramatic Week 15 division loss to the Atlanta Falcons that led to the usually stoic Bowles’ frustrations boiling over after the game.
The veteran coach joked about a memorable press conference earlier this week Good morning Football.
“Sometimes you get angry and it has to come out,” he said. “It has to come out. It came out quieter in the press than in the locker room. But g–d— that, I don’t care.”
The fight and desire to win is not in doubt for Bowles and his Bucs.
However, one has to believe that a second straight season of playoff success could put Glazer in a position to make another tough decision regarding Bowles’ future. For now, however, Bowles has the solid support of Buccaneers ownership.
“If you look at our roster, if you look at our team, I think we’re great in a lot of places. But like a lot of teams, you’ve got to add,” Glazer said. “So obviously the head coach is ultimately the one who falls at his feet, but I know Todd is very respected in the locker room and nobody wants to work harder than Todd.”