Bucs have to consider an exit plan for Todd Bowles after loss to Falcons and there’s only one way he can save his job
Bowles is officially on the hot seat after another pathetic loss to a bad team and there’s only way out of the hole he’s dug himself.
A lot of people were calling for Todd Bowles’ job after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the New Orleans Saints in Week 14 and it’s safe to say the heat is at an all-time high after Thursday night’s disastrous loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
While Baker Mayfield’s fourth quarter interception weighs heavily into the equation, it was the Bucs defense that allowed the Falcons offense to score on three straight fourth quarter possessions that amounted to 17 points in the final 15 minutes of the game.
Execution was certainly a problem, but this is something we’ve seen too frequently during Bowles’ tenure and that puts the Bucs in a spot where it’s time to seriously consider moving on from the fourth-year head coach.
Bowles proves he can’t get Bucs over the hump
The Bucs have gone through some kind of slump every single year under Bowles, but this is officially rock bottom. The last two teams to beat Tampa Bay owned a combined 6-19 record before each game’s respective kickoff.
That’s simply inexcusable for a team that not only wanted to instill a killer instinct heading into the season, but one that also had Super Bowl expectations, not just aspirations like the 31 other teams in the league.
It’s not just the slumps, either. It’s how they’ve came about. Every year, it’s because of frequent breakdowns/communications on the back end of the defense or it’s because the pass rush can’t make a play without blitzing half the defense. Or, it’s just a matter of poor execution on a player’s part either because they were put in a bad spot by the coaching staff or because they simply couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain in translating their responsibility from the playbook to the football field.
At this point, it feels like the Bucs are stuck in a new-age version of Groundhog Day and unfortunately for them, it doesn’t look like they’re getting out of this funk with Bowles in charge.
It’s playoffs or bust for Bowles moving forward
The only way the Bucs are guaranteed a playoff berth is if they sweep the Carolina Panthers and that’s anything but certain at this point. Remember, it took a miraculously-timed forced fumble by Anthony Nelson to avoid an upset in Carolina, last year, and that win was pivotal in the Bucs’ eventual fourth-straight NFC South title.
This is a way better Panthers team that, while they have a lot of inconsistencies, they beat arguably the best team in the league in the Los Angeles Rams just two weeks ago and are in great shape to make a run over the final month of the season.
That, along with the familiarity from last year and Dave Canales’ time with Baker Mayfield and the Bucs in 2023, makes the Panthers series a total toss-up that could go any direction.
Bucs should consider Bowles’ future even if they make the playoffs
Frankly, another NFC South title shouldn’t cement Bowles’ job security. Yes, the Bucs just extended him back in June and it would be awful business to fire someone before their new extension even kicks in, but again, this is rock bottom. The Bucs are in a spot they’ve never been before under Bowles and not only is it a bad spot – it feels like a culmination of everything that’s happened over the years.
In other words: This has all been building up due to what is a poor coaching job in an overall sense and the injuries simply paved the way to the real truth that is the Bucs’ ceiling under Bowles.
It’s crazy to think we are halfway through December, yet we have no idea what to expect from this Bucs team. That’s an indictment on everyone, but it’s up to Bowles to create the culture that supports the killer instinct he wants and it’s up to him to make sure the Bucs don’t go through the same crap every year to where they’re white-knuckling it over the final handful of games just to make a wild card game and then get bounced.
The Glazers have a lot to think about in the coming weeks and whatever decision they make will be pivotal moving forward because there are some good head coaching candidates that should become available during this cycle and apprehension could cause them to miss out on the guy that can actually maximize this roster and get the Bucs where they need to go.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers News
Baker Mayfield and Bucs eat their own words against Falcons and it looks like they don’t even want to make the playoffs
The Bucs are a bad team and all they’re doing is talking. Talk is cheap. Winning teams make plays and they aren’t doing that.
