Tampa Bay's promising start crumbled into an 8-9 finish. With elite talent and missed playoffs, has Todd Bowles' tenure run its course?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered the 2025 season with high expectations. Many in the media landscape expected them to not only win the NFC South, but be very much in contention to win the Super Bowl. Quarterback Baker Mayfield was back and his receiving corps looked even stronger than last season with the addition of rookie Emeka Egbuka.
The Buccaneers got off to a 5-1 and a 6-2 start and things were looking good, even with injuries at the wide receiver position, namely Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and even the preseason injury to Jalen McMillan.
Yet, when the receiver group started getting full again, and the offense, for the most part, was available, this team somehow got worse. Mayfield was an MVP candidate in the first half of the season. He played nowhere near that level in the second half. It all added up to a 2-7 mark in the second half of the season, an 8-9 finish and missing the postseason for the first time since 2019. They had won the division four years in a row and made the playoffs five straight seasons -- Tampa Bay won Super Bowl LV as a wild card team.
All this is brought up to ask one simple question: Should the Buccaneers move on from head coach Todd Bowles?
The Buccaneers feel like they've been stuck in purgatory in recent years. In four years under Bowles, the Buccaneers have won between 8-10 games. His records each year: 8-9, 9-8, 10-7, 8-9. Had the New Orleans Saints defeated the Atlanta Falcons Sunday, the Buccaneers would have the NFC South for the second time under Bowles with an 8-9 record. Instead, they fall out due to a three-way tiebreaker that favored the Carolina Panthers.
Even with making the playoffs, the Buccaneers haven't made any noise under Bowles. He is 1-3 in the playoffs as Tampa's head coach. His one win came against the 2023 Philadelphia Eagles team that completely self-destructed after a 10-1 start.
Bowles is 35-33 in the regular season as Buccaneers head coach and 61-74 in his career -- 24-40 in four seasons as Jets head coach from 2015-2018 and 2-1 as interim head coach of the Miami Dolphins in 2011.
Given the talent on this team, there can certainly be a feeling of underwhelming and disappointment. The preseason win total for the Buccaneers was set at 9.5 and some would argue that felt low. Ten wins should have been a good bet for this team. Instead, it's an 8-win season for the second time in four years, only this time, they don't get into the playoffs.
The defense, led by Bowles, was average, at best. Entering Sunday, they ranked 18th in expected points added per play allowed at -0.03. Incredibly, the Buccaneers ranked 3rd in quarterback pressure rate at 39.1%, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. The problem was that they only managed 37 sacks, which was 18th in the league entering Sunday.
There just always felt like something was left on the table with this team. Especially this season. After a 6-2 start, 2025 will feel like a major "what if" season. Yes, they had Tom Brady, but it was only five years ago this team won the Super Bowl. They've won two playoff games since.
On the flip side...this year's group of head coaching candidates isn't as strong as other years. There are some good candidates, including 49ers defensive coordinator and former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh, Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, Denver Broncos defensive coordinator and former Broncos head coach Vance Joseph and Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, grandson of longtime Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula and nephew of Mike Shula.
Would the Buccaneers think any of those candidates would be a better fit for the franchise than Bowles currently is? That's a tough call, though Saleh running this defense would be quite intriguing to think about.
The Buccaneers are in a tough spot. They also don't want to stay stuck in football purgatory. Time to move, one way or the other.