If I have any loyal Buccaneers readers out there, you may recall a similar article series I did back when the Baker vs Kyle Trask arguments were actually taken seriously.
Despite having my own opinion formed already about what I wanted, I still attempted to take both sides seriously. Now, I will attempt to do this here. If you hadn’t read the last thing I wrote, you wouldn’t know that I have already stated I don’t want Todd Bowles fired. During the season at least. I personally do not think anything good would come about from firing a HC in the middle of the season, especially with the playoffs on the line.
It may not feel like it, but the Bucs are very much in playoff contention. Despite the Falcons having a commanding division lead, the Bucs can still win the division or at least get a wildcard spot. It all comes down to an easy schedule to end the year. With the exception of the Saints, the Buccaneers have played teams with at or above .500 records (usually multiple games above .500). To end the season, there’s a good chance the only team that will be above .500 are the Chargers. So, playoffs are very much in play.
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The reason why I mention playoffs here is that you do not fire a head coach when your team is fighting to get into the dance. There are only seven spots available to sixteen teams in the NFC. Rocking the boat at this stage could lead to the season spiraling out of control. Do you know how many interim head coaches have made the playoffs since the year 2000? One, and it was Rich Bisaccia on the Raiders with one of the flukiest ass seasons of all time. How many interim coaches have there been since 2000? 47 (including Jeff Ulbrich and I don’t believe he will take the Jets to the post season). So, to put that in perspective, that would give the Bucs a 2.1% chance at a post season berth. Infinitely worse than the 22% they sit at now.
The other reason I wouldn’t can Bowles now is that the team clearly still believes in Bowles to be the guy. I haven’t seen this team really give up on him or turn on him in the locker room. There isn’t any quit on the squad, which may not seem like much, but it does matter. Bowles has the respect of the lockerroom and firing him in season despite his recent skid may cause a rift to form and really cause the team to bottom out.
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There’s also not a real candidate to take over for Bowles. You can say Liam Coen til you’re blue in the face, but do you want him to have to focus on the offense and head coaching duties? Hell, we’re all mad at Bowles because he is trying to be the head coach and defensive coordinator. The one strength of this team will suffer if you force them to take attention from it in all likelihood. Will Jason Licht pull Bill Bellicheck and Mike Vrabel from their couches to be the interim? Maybe they would be upgrades, but they’re also unemployed for a reason.
At the end of the day, firing a head coach mid season almost always means you are punting the season, and I am not ready to do that. If the Buccaneers are eliminated from the playoffs, then maybe you entertain firing Todd Bowles. But while the Bucs still have a chance to make it, firing Bowles should be nothing more than a fancy. He still has a chance to turn it around just like he did last season.
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