Buccaneers’ Head Coach Todd Bowles is entering the 2026 season with one of the hottest seats in the NFL, but the reality is he probably shouldn’t still have the job.

Bowles Should’ve Been Fired After the Buccaneers’ 2025 Collapse

After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers collapsed from a 6-2 start to finish 8-9 and miss the playoffs, the organization had every reason to make a coaching change. Instead, the Glazer family chose continuity, giving Bowles one more opportunity to prove he can lead this team back to the postseason.

That decision now puts enormous pressure on both Bowles and the franchise entering a pivotal season.

National Media Is Starting To See What We’ve Been Telling You

CBS Sports’ Jordan Dajani recently ranked Bowles as the NFL coach with the second-hottest seat, behind only New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn.

“The offense has great potential with weapons such as Bucky Irving and Emeka Egbuka, but Bowles’ defense has to be better,” Dajani wrote.

“In fact, his unit hasn’t finished in the top half of the league in total defense since the Tom Brady days… The Buccaneers were the best team in the worst division last year and still failed to make the playoffs. It was a failure, and another one could lead the franchise to make a change.”

Dajani’s assessment shouldn’t surprise anyone who watched the Buccaneers last season.

Missing the playoffs after leading the division midway through the year wasn’t just disappointing. It was a collapse.

Bowles’ Defense Hasn’t Lived Up to His Reputation

Todd Bowles built his reputation as one of football’s premier defensive minds.

That’s exactly why the steady decline of Tampa Bay’s defense is so difficult to ignore.

Since the Buccaneers won Super Bowl LV, Bowles’ defense has failed to consistently perform at the level expected of a coach widely regarded as a defensive mastermind.

Yes, the roster has changed.

Ndamukong Suh, Jason Pierre-Paul, Shaq Barrett and other key contributors are no longer in Tampa Bay. But every team deals with roster turnover. Elite coaches adapt, develop young talent, and find ways to remain competitive.

For a coach whose expertise is supposed to be defense, finishing outside the league’s top half year after year simply isn’t good enough.

The Collapse Was About More Than the Defense

The defensive struggles were only part of the problem.

For years, Bowles faced criticism for questionable clock management, timeout usage, and late-game decisions. While those issues improved after bringing in assistance with game management, the head coach is still responsible for everything that happens on Sundays.

When a team blows a promising season, accountability starts at the top. The Buccaneers didn’t lose because of one bad game or one unfortunate injury. They unraveled over the second half of the season, and that ultimately falls on the head coach.

There Are No More Excuses in 2026

To Jason Licht’s credit, he spent the offseason addressing many of the defense’s biggest weaknesses.

The Buccaneers added talent at linebacker, improved the pass rush, and invested heavily in rebuilding a unit that struggled throughout 2025.

If the defense doesn’t improve this season, it won’t be because the front office failed to provide help.

The excuses have run out.

The Playoffs Shouldn’t Save Bowles

Dajani suggested that a return to the playoffs could be enough for Bowles to keep his job.

That may ultimately be true, especially given the Glazer family’s patience over the years.

But there’s another way to look at it.

Bowles is coaching this season because ownership chose not to make the move many believed was necessary after last year’s collapse.

In many ways, he’s coaching on borrowed time.

The Buccaneers have assembled a roster capable of competing for the NFC South and returning to the playoffs. If Bowles finally gets this team back where it belongs, he’ll likely have earned another opportunity.

But make no mistake—the pressure he faces in 2026 isn’t just about saving his job.

It’s about proving the Buccaneers made the right decision by not firing him when the 2025 season came to its disappointing end.

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