Bucs Mailbag: Fans’ Mixed Feelings About Todd Bowles

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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport Twitter account each week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to the Bucs Mailbag each week via Twitter using the hashtag #PRMailbag.  Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: Why is it that Bucs fans want Todd Bowles fired after the team made the playoffs?

ANSWER: There are some mixed feelings about head coach Todd Bowles in the Bucs’ fan base for sure. Let’s start by answering your question first. Bucs fans want to win, and the Bowles naysayers don’t like his 17-17 record through two seasons as head coach. An 8-9 record and a 9-8 record in perhaps the worst division in football – certainly the worst division in the NFC – is not a lot to brag about outside of winning back-to-back NFC South championships.

Bucs OC Dave Canales and HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

There is a narrative that Bowles “ruined” Tom Brady’s final season, and limped into the postseason with an 8-9 record. Then there was the 31-14 shellacking at home at the hands of Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys last year’s Wild Card playoff game. That loss was just as much about Bowles’ defense having no answer for Prescott and CeeDee Lamb as it was about the Byron Leftwich-led offense’s inability to score points.

That was not a good way to end the year and I think Bucs fans marinated on a two-game skid that started in Week 18 with a season-ending loss at Atlanta during the entire offseason. And there are some Tampa Bay fans who are still frosty over Bowles’ Cover Zero blitz call against Matthew Stafford that led to the Rams’ win in the 2021 playoffs. As well as Bowles’ penchant for some clock management mistakes and the fact that he is slow to make some necessary depth chart changes.

Then there is the fact that Bowles replaced a very popular head coach in Bruce Arians. Bucs fans loved Arians’ energy and flamboyant style, but loved the fact that he won even more. Bowles is certainly more low-key and doesn’t get animated on the sidelines – or even the press conferences – like Arians would, and it’s a stark contrast. Some would even say Bowles is boring. After all, the Bucs won both Super Bowls with bombastic, offensive coaches in Jon Gruden and Arians.

But Bowles has his supporters for sure. Winning back-to-back division titles has never been done before in Tampa Bay’s history. Bowles is the only one who has done it. And Bowles has actually been a part of three consecutive NFC South championships and winning Super Bowl LV when you count his role as defensive coordinator from 2019-21.

The fact that Bowles and general manager Jason Licht found the right quarterback to replace Brady in Baker Mayfield, and that Bowles has had to work alongside a promising, yet rookie play-caller in Dave Canales has been quite a challenge. And to take on that challenge with nearly $80 million in dead cap money and not have the funds to find more help in free agency and forced to carry over a dozen rookies on the roster only added to that challenge. Then to bounce back from a 1-6 stretch to win five of the last six games, capturing a division title along the way? Well that is quite an accomplishment, and worthy of some praise for sure.

QUESTION: I am sorry Scott, but there is nothing to celebrate here. Cannot even score a touchdown against the NFL’s worst team? We are going to get our ass kicked next week. God, I hope Todd Bowles will get fired next Tuesday because we are going to be eliminated next week.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: Let’s see how the playoff game works out for Todd Bowles and the Bucs first. These Bucs are mercurial. I expected Tampa Bay to beat New Orleans in Week 17 and lose at Carolina in Week 18 – largely because of Baker Mayfield’s rib injury and the momentum lost with the loss to the Saints. So I really don’t know if the Bucs can beat the Eagles or if they can’t right now. It depends on which team shows up because there is a version of these Bucs that can beat Philly.

What I do know is that the Bucs have won five of their last six and the Eagles have lost five of their last six. One team, Tampa Bay, is trending up and won their season finale with a shutout, while the other team, Philadelphia, got destroyed by Tyrod Taylor and the New York Giants in Week 18.

The Eagles are a wounded team right now, as quarterback Jalen Hurts suffered a finger injury on his throwing hand, star wide receiver A.J. Brown suffered a knee injury and rookie safety Sydney Brown tore his ACL against the Giants. This is not the same Philly team that came into Raymond James Stadium and beat the Bucs, 25-11, in Week 3 on Monday Night Football.

And this is not the same Bucs team, either. Tampa Bay has proven it can run the ball and put up points down the stretch (although not nearly enough over the last two games) – something it struggled to do against the Eagles back in Week 3. So what happens if Bowles and his team prevails on Monday Night Football? What if he shows that he can win in the postseason? Would you still want him fired then? Let’s give the man a chance and see how this plays out first.

QUESTION: Has a head coach ever been demoted back to their coordinator position? For all the crap he gets, Todd Bowles is still an above average defensive coordinator. Shame we will have to lose so he gets (rightfully) fired.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles and ILB Devin White – Photo by: USA Today

ANSWER: No, I can’t recall a time in the NFL where a head coach has been demoted to a coordinator role and a new head coach has taken over. That certainly wouldn’t happen here in Tampa Bay with Todd Bowles. He’s either going to remain the Bucs head coach moving forward or he’ll get fired when/if Tampa Bay loses in the postseason.

As for Bowles being an above average defensive coordinator, his Bucs defense has regressed in total defense (23rd, 344.2 ypg) and pass defense (29th, 248.9 ypg), but made huge strides in run defense (ranked fifth, 95.3 ypg) and scoring defense (tied for sixth, 19.1 ppg). Give Bowles a better safety than Ryan Neal, a better edge rusher than 31-year old Shaq Barrett, healthier cornerbacks, a more consistent inside linebacker than Devin White and a more experienced Calijah Kancey and YaYa Diaby in their second year in the system and Tampa Bay’s defense is even better in 2023.

If the Bucs get crushed at home by the Eagles, I think there’s a good chance Bowles gets replaced. If it’s a narrow loss, the Glazers and general manager Jason Licht have a lot to think about when it comes to Bowles’ future in Tampa Bay. If the Bucs win a home playoff game, Bowles rightly returns after showing significant improvement from the previous season.

QUESTION: Does Todd Bowles have more say on the offense game plan than we believe? Dave Canales talked about play-action concepts from Seattle during the preseason, and early in the year – a few games – it seems to be there. But most games seem to have the same runs and downfield shots from last year?

Bucs OC Dave Canales and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: Todd Bowles has almost zero input on the Bucs offense. He runs the defense and has given offensive coordinator Dave Canales full autonomy over the offense. So Canales sinks or swims on his own when it comes to game-planning and play-calling.

As for the use of play-action, it does seem to disappear in stretches, but when it’s called it usually works pretty good, right? I would like to see Canales really open up the playbook and put together a game plan that really resembles what took place at Green Bay or at home against Jacksonville.

Scoring 30 points or more against Philadelphia would be nice, right? The Eagles have one of the worst scoring defenses in the league, and are allowing 25.2 points per game, which ranks 30th in the league. Canales did not have much success against the Eagles back in Week 3 when Tampa Bay gained just 174 yards and scored 11 points in a 25-11 loss.

STATEMENT: Antoine Winfield Jr. showed out again and should be first-team All Pro and considered for Defensive Player of the Year. The disrespect is unreal.

Bucs FS Antoine WInfield Jr. and Falcons QB Desmond Ridder – Photo by: USA Today

REACTION: Yes, Antoine Winfield Jr. should have been a Pro Bowler over Arizona safety Budda Baker, who finished the 2023 season with zero sacks, zero interceptions, zero forced fumbles and zero fumble recoveries. It’s one of the most embarrassing Pro Bowl snubs of all time in NFL history.

Winfield finished the season with 122 tackles, six sacks, six forced fumbles, which led the NFL, four fumble recoveries and 12 pass breakups. Those are not just Pro Bowl-caliber stats. Those are NFL Defensive Player of the Year-type numbers. Let’s hope that the NFL does the right thing and names Winfield first-team All-Pro to make up for this embarrassing gaffe.

And yes, Winfield did show up in Carolina. He shook off his worst game of the year, which was the loss to New Orleans the previous week, to be the one-man-gang that he usually is against the Panthers. His touchd0wn-saving forced fumble on D.J. Chark was easily the biggest play of the game, and then he added another sack to his stellar season, too.

QUESTION: What’s the Bucs’ single biggest need in the 2024 NFL Draft?

Bucs OLB YaYa Diaby – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: The Bucs have obvious needs at strong safety, edge rusher, guard and could use an upgrade at center. Tampa Bay also needs to find a starting-caliber running back to team up with Rachaad White in case he goes down with an injury. Chase Edmonds isn’t in White’s class as all-purpose back and the Bucs would be one-dimensional without White.

Even though the Bucs finished with 48 sacks this season, including 7.5 from promising young outside linebacker YaYa Diaby, Tampa Bay needs another stud edge rusher to replace an aging Shaq Barrett. If the Bucs don’t find one in free agency, and Jets pass rusher Bryce Huff would be ideal, then landing one in the draft seems like a must for Tampa Bay’s defense to get to the next level.

Remember, the Bucs won Super Bowl LV with Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul both being in their prime. Pierre-Paul was the Bucs’ lone Pro Bowler with 9.5 sacks and Barrett had eight that season. Both got after the quarterback in the postseason, too. Barrett had three sacks in Green Bay and one against Kansas City in Super Bowl LV, while Pierre-Paul had a pair of sacks on Aaron Rodgers and multiple pressures on Patrick Mahomes.

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