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Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht.
If you’ve watched the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play the last few years, you’ve come to understand that while the Buccaneers are never really bad … they’re also never really good, either.
They’re meh. They’re middle of the road. They’re a Wild Card loss waiting to happen.
That might not be good enough anymore. Especially after a shocking, 24-20 home loss to the lowly New Orleans Saints in Week 14.
The loss was the third in the last 4 games for the Buccaneers and dropped them to 7-6 overall. Tampa Bay is now tied for first place in the NFC South Division with the Carolina Panthers, who are also 7-6.
The Buccaneers play the Panthers twice in the last 4 games — Week 16 in Carolina and Week 18 in Tampa.
The Saints entered Week 14 with a 2-10 record and in the running for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft.
Fans Call on Licht to Make Wholesale Changes
The person being pressed the most to make changes on the Buccaneers is general manager Jason Licht — ostensibly the final say in the franchise on when a head coach gets hired or fired.
In this case, head coach Todd Bowles has been consistently underwhelming (but not bad!) since he took over in 2022.
Bowles is 34-30 with the Buccaneers and 60-71 overall as an NFL head coach. He served as interim head coach for the Miami Dolphins for 3 games in 2011 and as the head coach of the New York Jets from 2015 to 2018.
“How Jason Licht handles the end of this season/offseason will either put the Bucs back where they want to be or set them back years,” Bucs Wire’s Ashlie Abrahams wrote on her official X account. “Looking at you, GM.”
“Jason Licht has to fire every single coach and start over man,” Buccaneers fan Jackson B wrote on their official X account.
“Todd Bowles always getting out coached,” Bald Dudes R Us wrote on X. Jason Licht made the wrong decision.
“It is time to clean house,” Buccaneers fan Jeffrey Wenzelburger wrote on X. “Fire Bowles, Jason Licht, and everyone who is in the scouting dept. They are all pathetic. This team has NO talent on Defense.”
Previous Calls to Oust Bowles in Favor of OC
Tampa Bay’s last 2 offensive coordinators have been hired as NFL head coaches — Carolina head coach Dave Canales following the 2023 season and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen following the 2024 season.
Both the Panthers and Jaguars are currently in first place in their divisions after being 2 of the NFL’s worst teams in recent years.
The loss of Coen was especially tough. He’d initially said he was staying in Tampa Bay before flipping on the Buccaneers, not returning Licht’s calls and winding up as the head coach in Jacksonville.
“Jason Licht chose Todd Bowles over Liam Coen and now he’s living with the results,” Bucs GameDay’s Collin Haalboom wrote on his official X account.
There’s another outcome where both Licht and Bowles end up in the unemployment line, although Licht can still hang his hat on putting together a Super Bowl-winning coaching staff and team in 2020.
“Just another reminder that Bucs GM Jason Licht is 60-83 in the regular season without Tom Brady, and has only ONE 10-win season in 9 seasons without Tom Brady,” TB Sports Guru wrote on X. “Brady saved Jason Licht‘s career, but at what point does Licht need to actually perform on his own merits?”
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame
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