Bucs are heading toward a full-blown nightmare scenario with Todd Bowles
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers no longer control its playoff destiny after the Atlanta Falcons upset the Los Angeles Rams on “Monday Night Football.” Therefore, a win against the Carolina Panthers on Saturday means nothing if the New Orleans Saints lose to Atlanta on the subsequent Sunday. If the Bucs lose to the Panthers (or win […]
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers no longer control its playoff destiny after the Atlanta Falcons upset the Los Angeles Rams on “Monday Night Football.”
Therefore, a win against the Carolina Panthers on Saturday means nothing if the New Orleans Saints lose to Atlanta on the subsequent Sunday.
If the Bucs lose to the Panthers (or win and still miss the playoffs), the future of Todd Bowles and a large chunk of the team will rightfully be in question. And it’s not a minuscule matter, either, as big changes are expected to be made in multiple areas.
When it comes to Bowles’ specific future, however, it doesn’t sound like the Bucs will part ways when reading ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler’s latest take on the situation. That’s a recipe for disaster if the Buccaneers finish 7-10 and it’s extremely easy to see why.
Fowler says Bowles’ buyout may be too steep for the Glazers
Real quick, below is what Fowler had to say regarding the likelihood of the Bucs and Bowles parting ways if the collapse comes to full fruition against the Panthers:
“On the Bucs, Todd Bowles’ buyout would be hefty after the team extended his contract through 2028, and the team doesn’t seem overly eager to pay that. Bailing on Bowles would be the Bucs’ way of embracing a rebuild. But someone will have to pay if they lose to Carolina. Staff changes are not off the table either way.” — Jeremy Fowler, ESPN
NFL coaching contracts aren’t public, so someone with connections would have to do some digging in order to find out just how much the buyout would be. Either way, Buccaneers fans will be disgusted if that’s why Bowles keeps his job, and it’s logical.
How can Bucs fans get excited for another year under Todd Bowles?
The Bucs are about to enter a nightmare scenario if things go South on Saturday. Fans are going to check out on the 2026 season simply due to the fact they don’t want to see the same product on the field. Especially after a disastrous 2025 campaign.
Who can argue against that? The Bucs do the same crap every year under Bowles. They win the first two games, then go on a long midseason slump just to snap out of it as they play their division rivals. By the way, division rivals that have helped make the NFC South one of the worst, if not the worst, divisions in the NFL over the last few years.
Without the downtrodden NFCS, the Bucs don’t have their title and playoff streak. Book it.
Fans are completely aware of this and they realize just how much Bowles and the Bucs have underachieved despite owning one of the NFL’s best rosters for most of the aforementioned years.
The league has figured out how to sell hope and optimism like no other sport in the world, but it’s going to be impossible to sell any of that to Bucs fans and you can’t blame them for feeling that way.
Bucs don’t have to fully rebuild without Bowles in 2026
Fowler mentioned the Bucs would embrace a rebuild with Bowles’ departure, but that’s largely inaccurate if they get rid of him after this year.
They’d still have Baker Mayfield and a solid enough roster to compete, especially on offense. They aren’t guaranteed to have that in 2027 due to the fact guys like Mayfield, Vita Vea, Cody Mauch, and several other key players will be impending free agents and could go elsewhere.
If the team flops in 2026 with Bowles and this cast of characters, then yea, the Bucs may as well go ahead and blow it all up in 2027. Again, though, that isn’t something that absolutely has to happen. As we saw in 2023, there are ways to keep the roster competitive through a large transition.
This is a crucial week for the Bucs that can play a large role in both the present and immediate future. The franchise needs to be very thoughtful and pragmatic with how it wants to move forward after Saturday, because the wrong decision could quickly result in the end of the most successful era in Buccaneers history (2020-2024).
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