The Case To Keep Todd Bowles As The Buccaneers Head Coach

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The season is over for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following a disappointing upset loss to the Washington Commanders. It was a game the Bucs were favored in. It was a game where the Bucs were the home team. Frankly, it’s a game that the Bucs should have won.

But they didn’t win. Now instead of talking about a matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles and a path to the Super Bowl (which was a realistic expectation) now we are left talking about what went wrong. These conversations have led to a common theme.

Head coach Todd Bowles has taken a lot of heat following the game. In fact, he has received quite a bit of criticism for a while now. So much so that the status of his job is now in question.

I’ll be the first person to tell you that the Buccaneers have underachieved under Bowles. His game management has left a lot to be desired and he has been too conservative consistently throughout his tenure. Todd Bowles is far from a perfect coach.

However, if you think firing Bowles is an easy decision then you are nothing short of naive. In fact, there are a lot of good reasons to keep him in place as the head coach. I took a step back and looked at it all objectively and made the case to keep Todd Bowles as the Buccaneers head coach.

Leadership

We have heard from everyone who covers the team how much players love playing for Bowles. He keeps all the team’s business within house and controls the message very well. And he has handled his share of situations in his tenure.

There was the Tom Brady and Bruce Arians retirement saga, getting stuck with inept coaches like Byron Leftwich, having such a bad offensive situation that coordinators were turning down the tema left and right, Devin White drama, turning over a roster with young talent and probably a lot more that we don’t know about. With all that in a three year span, Bowles shouldered it all. He maintained a locker room that was professional and focused. There is a lot to be said about that.

The team mirrors his calm, cool and collected demeanor. Even when things have looked the worst and the team has gone on losing streaks, Bowles has steadied the ship and turned things around. Not every coach in the league could do that.

Defense

We can criticize Bowles on a week in and week out basis about the specifics of his defense, but at the end of the year we look back and he has always done a good job. In his three years as head coach the defense ranked 13th, 7th and now 16th in points allowed. Keep in mind that he lost his best defensive player in Antione Winfield Jr for most of the season, his best pass rusher in Calijah Kancey for a month and an emerging young linebacker in SirVocea Dennis for basically the entire season.

Regardless of everything, Bowles has been consistent with two things. First, the run defense is always good, finishing in the top five of rushing yards allowed per game in each of the last two years. Second, Bowles finds a way to manufacture a pass rush as he has finished in the top ten in sacks every year since coming to Tampa.

We may not like every single thing that Bowles does defensively. I know I personally hate the soft cushion coverage in zone defense. However, I am also aware enough to know that Bowles is smarter than me and understands the specifics about his players more than I do. I don’t believe coaches or front offices just deserve the benefit of the doubt, but Bowles has earned enough trust for me to believe that he does that things for a reason and the overall results still come out as a positive.

Player Development

An under-appreciated aspect of Bowles as a coach is his ability to develop players. He is a good teacher and mentor and that has resonated with the Buccaneers young players entering the league. The play of the field speaks for itself.

In his time as head coach Bowles has helped develop several foundational players. Even if you look only at the defensive side he has worked with Calijah Kancey, SirVocea Dennis, Zyon McCollum, Tykee Smith, Christian Izien and Yaya Diaby. Of these players, all but Kancey was a third round pick or later. Now they are valuable pieces on the Buccaneers defense.

If you want to go back to his time as defensive coordinator you can also credit the likes of Antione Winfield Jr, Carlton Davis, Jordan Whitehead, Jamel Dean, Anthony Nelson and Vita Vea. And if you think the culture Bowles has created hasn’t help the offensive players develop as well then you are sadly mistaken.

The Evil You Know

This isn’t a thought process that I personally subscribe to. However, there is something to be said about familiarity and knowing what you have in Bowles. A coach that brings leadership, player development and a great defensive mind isn’t a bad thing to have.

Keep in mind that whatever coach might replace him (say Liam Coen for example) might not bring as many good things to the table. We have seen time and time again that an up and coming coordinator fails as a head coach. This position demands more than just X’s and O’s and not every coach has that.

Now I’m not saying any given coordinator does or does not have the ability to lead this team. That’s not really something we can know from the outside looking in and oftentimes the front offices doing the hiring don’t truly know. But keep in mind that intangibles matter and the grass might not be greener on the other side just because someone is a good play caller.

Overall

I’m not here to tell you that keeping Bowles is the right or wrong move. His tenure has been underwhelming and with the emergence of Liam Coen at offensive coordinator there is obvious temptation to do anything possible to keep him in house. Promoting Coen to keep him makes sense in a lot of ways.

But we can’t deny that Bowles brings positive things to the table. Things that Coen or whatever other potential replacement might not be able to replicate. Todd Bowles may not be perfect, but he is a good coach and I believe that he can lead this team to where they want to go.

For more from J.T. click here, then make sure to follow him on Twitter.

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1 COMMENT

  1. Unfortunately, I think this is Bowles’ ceiling. Tony Dungy had four straight .500 or better seasons and he was let go, then look what happened. I don’t know that will happen again, but I do know what won’t happen, and that’s him getting the Bucs to the next level. Time to go.

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