Analyzing Todd Bowles.
Very interesting general football chatter directly related to Bucs coach Todd Bowles was on an SI.com podcast this week.
Colleagues Conor Orr and Albert Breer were discussing Bowles and the heavily-listing Bucs. Of course, the discussion turned to Bowles and his job security.
(Thank you for the shoutout, Conor!)
Orr asked what Joe thought was a very fair question: Is Bowles squeezing the most out of his talent? The insinuation is perhaps the Bucs’ personnel is overrated and Bowles is maxing out the talent he has.
“Are we making it as good as it could be, or is this really underperforming?” Orr asked. “And that’s the big mystery within any NFL team. You never know.
“You could fire Todd Bowles and you could hire — insert whatever guy to be — and this team goes to 4-12, and you’re like the Jets and the guy that you ended up having before might have actually been better than he got credit for.
“So I don’t know, I don’t know the answer to that question.”
This is fair and it is also a question when viewing the team from high above.
However, watching the Bucs and seeing head-scratching, if not face-palming moves and decisions each and every week leads Bucs fans to a very different conclusion than Orr’s reasonable concern.
Joe doesn’t expect Breer or Orr or any national sports media type to stress over the Bucs like Joe does or any hardcore Bucs fan. They don’t put every Bucs transaction or game decision under the microscope and dissect it into a half-dozen pieces.
These guys cover the league, not a team or teams. There’s only so much time in a day.
In theory, the easy answer is if Team Glazer decides to move on from Bowles, then hire a good coach. That’s why the Bucs had The Lost Decade. Team Glazer kept hiring bad coaches.
Raheem Morris was a reach. Greg Schiano was over his head working with adults. Lousy Lovie Smith was a desperate if not terrible attempt to bring back past magic. Dirk Koetter was promoted because of one player who the Bucs had millions invested in.
(Joe still maintains Koetter may have worked out if he hired a decent defensive coordinator. Once again, hire a good coach and good things happen.)
When the Bucs finally hired a good coach, Bucco Bruce Arians — boom! Look what happened.
Coaching matters.
Joe has spoken to Bowles at length a couple of times over the years and heard him talk about how Mike Leach had it right about making sure all weapons get even touches and not just one or two receivers and one back. And Joe’s heard Bowles say he discovered certain Bucs defensive coverages watching seven-on-seven football. And then you see how he goes to college practices and games (yeah, mostly because of his sons), from which Bowles said he learns. So Bowles comes across, in person, as a really fresh, open-minded, savvy, new-age coach.
Then you watch Bucs games and wonder, “Was Joe even talking to the same guy?”
Again, Joe thinks Orr is asking a fair question. But on Christmas Day 2025, it sure feels like Bowles’ ceiling with the Bucs is division titles and maybe one playoff win.
Just because certain assistant coaches aren’t household names does not mean they aren’t good potential head coaches. Joe is convinced next year, or in two or three years, there will be coaches leading teams through successful playoff runs that 97 percent of Americans never heard of before December 2025.