A disappointing 2025 finish casts doubt on Todd Bowles and Baker Mayfield's future together. Can the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rebound in 2026?
2026 could be the last hurrah for Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles and quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Because of the way 2025 ended up for the Bucs -- seven losses in the last nine games to lose an NFC South that didn't have a single team finish with a winning record -- some Bucs fans would like for both to hit the road.
That isn't happening now, but one national NFL writer noted that it might happen soon.
Saad Yousuf, who covers the NFL for The Athletic, pointed out that this is the last year of Mayfield's contract, and that what Mayfield might be looking for in his next deal could be different than what the Bucs would want to pay him, especially if the franchise decides to move on from Bowles.
Right now, Mayfield is entering the last season of a three-year, $100 million contract. Even considering how 2025 ended, that's a bargain.
Eighteen quarterbacks are making more annually than Mayfield, including:
- Geno Smith, who piloted the NFL's worst team in 2025;
- Kirk Cousins, who only started this season because the Atlanta Falcons' starter, Michael Penix Jr., got injured;
- Deshaun Watson, whom the Cleveland Browns should regret running Mayfield out of town for; and
- Tua Tagovailoa, who has been both injury-prone and ineffective for the Miami Dolphins.
Even Mayfield's critics would probably take him over all four of these guys.
Mayfield is not a lock to come back in 2027.
In a scenario in which the Bucs miss the playoffs again and Mayfield regresses, the time might come for Tampa to try to find a new quarterback and a new head coach.
The Bucs have been successful with both Bowles and Mayfield. Even though Mayfield has only been in Tampa for three seasons, one could easily argue he's the best QB in franchise history aside from Tom Brady's final act (which, to be fair, says just as much, if not more, about past Bucs QBs than it does Mayfield).
Bowles is up there with Tampa's best all-time coaches, too, ranking fourth in wins (third if you don't count John McKay, who went 44-88-1).
There's a realistic universe where Mayfield eclipses Brady at No. 1 (Brady was in Tampa for three seasons) and Bowles goes down as Tampa's top head coach (he's only 23 wins away from passing Jon Gruden atop the team's all-time wins list, which would require two more seasons).
If Tampa returns to double-digit wins, takes the NFC South, and does some damage in the playoffs, it would merit a long-term deal for Mayfield and job security for Bowles.
But for this universe to become a reality, 2026 probably has to go well.
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