Bucs Star Shows Support For Todd Bowles

Todd Bowles weathered the storm of a topsy-turvy 2023 NFL season and yet another offensive coordinator search to remain the man in charge of the Bucs for next season, which will be his third as head coach in Tampa Bay. After Bowles and the team had lost six of seven games, there was much chatter about Bowles being on the hot seat.

However, the Bucs made it through and got all the way to the divisional round, giving him the green light for next year.

Though Bowles deserves credit for righting the Bucs’ ship, he still receives much criticism for some of his coaching decisions. The main detractors include his late responses to making necessary personnel changes, such as subbing out Ryan Neal at safety or taking way to long to put in YaYa Diaby in the starting lineup at outside linebacker instead of Joe Tryon-Shoyinka.

Another gripe is his in-game managements of timeouts or critical decisions. There was a big one at the end of the Bucs vs. Lions playoff game when Bowles failed to call a timeout at the end when the Lions took a knee too early. That would have forced Detroit to do something on fourth down – go for it, kick a field goal or punt. Instead, the clock ran out with the timeout Bowles should have used.

Rachaad White Speaks Up For Bucs Head Coach Todd Bowles

While critics can point to Todd Bowles’ positives and negatives, the most important opinions are those of Bucs players that work with him on a daily basis. We know how many of the defensive players feel about Bowles considering he calls the plays on their side of the ball, but the feeling is also mutual about the guys on offense.

Sitting down with SiriusXM Radio during the Super Bowl week, Bucs running back Rachaad White gave his support for Todd Bowles.

“He leads us the right way,” White said. “I say the biggest thing about him is he always has poise. He’s very, like, poised. He’s very in-the-moment. He’s one of them guys that, they always say, ‘never get too high, never get too low.’ That’s the best way I can describe him.”

It’s obvious that there’s two sides of Bowles. The one that doesn’t give much away to the media during his press conferences, and understandably so. The other is a coach that will always go to bat for his players and throw in a sense of sarcasm as well. That’s the one of the reasons why players gravitate to him.

“He talks. He has passion about the game,” White said. “Enthusiasm about the game. I love Coach Bowles a lot. He’s a great leader for us.”

What The Bucs Coaches Think Of Rachaad White Heading Into 2024

Rachaad White will be heading into his third season with the Bucs and presumably his second as the starting running back. He came very close to 1,000 rushing yards on the season, but also emerged as a huge threat in the passing game, as White was fourth among NFL running backs in all-purpose yards from scrimmage.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: USA Today

It’ll be interesting to see how the Bucs view the running back room this year. Chase Edmonds was on a one-year deal.  He was okay as a backup, but typically isn’t healthy for a full season. Sean Tucker was an undrafted free agent that rarely saw playing time. Will the Bucs draft a running back this year or elect for another inexpensive option with White leading the way?

Bowles spoke of White after the season and raved about how he grew in many different areas.

“It was great to see him grow from a mental standpoint,” Bowles said. “He was always talented, physically. Being a running back is not just carrying the football and running and trying to find daylight. He’s got to know where the hole is before the hole opens. He’s got to know where the blocking is, he’s got to know how to pick up pressures. He runs pass routes, he does a lot of things. From a growth standpoint and a mental standpoint where he was frustrated early in the first few weeks, he kind of eased into it and figured it out.

“Skip [Peete] did a heck of a job coaching him and Rachaad is going to be a heck of a football player – he already is, but mentally, just knowing where the holes are and playing faster and playing smarter. He got a lot better at protecting the football where he let a few go early in the season. You can’t say enough about his growth. You could see it as the weeks went on, as the months went on. I’m very proud of where he is.”

Bucs OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Matt Matera/PR

Another caveat into all of this is that Rachaad White is working with a new offensive coordinator Liam Coen this season. By the sounds of it, Coen has big plans for the talented running back.

“Pretty dynamic dude,” Coen said. “I evaluated him coming out of Arizona State. We were excited about him in L.A. as well. The ability to be able to motion him out of the backfield. To line him up in empty. Free release him out of the backfield. He’s shown that he can do some of those things. And that’s not easy to handle as a young back.

“To be able to do both the run and the pass at a pretty high level. Now, hey how do we get better at sticking our foot in the ground and getting vertical. Being violent with our shoulder pads down and getting downhill on people. But man, he’s eager. I just met him in the wait room and he’s an eager dude. He’s excited and wants to get back to work and run football. But he seems like he can be a good all-purpose back.”