The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came into this season with a lot of mystery surrounding their future.

Was Todd Bowles still going to be the coach come the start of 2024? Would Baker Mayfield be able to keep his job through a full season?

The head coach and the starting quarterback were obviously the biggest points of conversation, and after a full season that will include another NFC South Championship, the future with these two Buccaneers has become much more clear.

As it stands, the Buccaneers have no choice but to keep Todd Bowles and Baker Mayfield for 2024. While both could absolutely be better in certain areas, it is hard to argue with the results.

Winning the NFC South and having a good shot against the Eagles in the first round isn't conductive for firing a head coach that is 2/2 with NFCS Championships and also doesn't give the team a quality draft pick to find Mayfield's replacement.

Even if the Bucs lose, it doesn't seem likely that they will be in play for one of the franchise-changing quarterbacks that will come off the board in the top-ten. Beating the Eagles only makes that prospect all the more unlikely.

While keeping this duo probably puts a cap on just how great this team can be as a Super Bowl contender, the division looks like it is going to be bad for a while. If Mayfield and Bowles are good enough to keep winning the division, something the Bucs have struggled with historically, it seems hard to rationalize moving on from either.

The Buccaneers were able to outperform almost every expectation and did all of it with the deck stacked against them. This team won in ways that most other teams couldn't fathom, and that will at least keep the duo of Bowles and Mayfield employed in Tampa for one more year.

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