Todd Bowles Will Interview With Detroit, Possibly Today
January 10th, 2021
Todd Bowles
Some fans might read this and pump their firsts while being a tad overeager to wish Todd Bowles great luck.
The Buccaneers’ defensive coordinator had a rough performance last night but before the game he scored another job interview for a head coaching gig.
Multiple sources say the Bucs got an official request from the Detroit Lions to have Bowles interview for their head coaching opening. Here’s a link from the Detroit Free Press. Bowles also is scheduled to sit down with the Falcons this week.
For those fearful of Bowles leaving Tampa, his defense certainly didn’t help him last night, allowing third-stringer Taylor Hienicke to look like Alex Smith in his prime. Bucco Bruce Arians even called the defense “terrible” for 52 minutes.
Joe doesn’t think Bowles will be hired, primarily because of his ugly four-year tenure with the Jets, but also because of the Bucs’ progressive inconsistency on defense this season.
January 10th, 2021 at 8:36 am
He needs to be figuring out how to fix the defense for next week not interviewing for jobs.
January 10th, 2021 at 8:37 am
That sad performance by the secondary is too much their signature game. Unknown QB blows them up. And it has spanned five coaching regimes now, since Raheem Morris was HC. Awful. Don’t think it will hurt Bowles, as he has improved it a bit, and certainly has taken a lowly D in rankings and made them much more respectable, and he was good in calling the blitzes last night when needed. But egads, the secondary.
January 10th, 2021 at 8:37 am
Great, he’s interviewing all week meaning another awful game plan put into the works. I swear the guy doesn’t game plan. He has to be the most stubborn coach I’ve ever seen. Our secondary can’t play zone and he insist we play zone the majority of the game. Our pash rush is none existent which doesn’t help either.
January 10th, 2021 at 8:40 am
Inconsistent, yes. Pass defense definitely has its issues. Maybe it’s a talent thing. Still the Bucs have the 6th ranked Defense in yds allowed and 8th in points allowed. Certainly better than the Mike Smith era. Better figure something out on that back end for the next round.
January 10th, 2021 at 8:41 am
I’m guessing this is more of a courtesy interview/fodder. I can’t see Bowles getting a HC job in 2021.
January 10th, 2021 at 8:44 am
Any coincidence the defense playing bad while their coach is looking for a new job? How much time is Bowles spending on his resume and interviewing techniques instead of game planning for our next opponent?
I hate that the NFL changed the rule that teams had to wait until after teams are out of the playoffs to interview their staff!
January 10th, 2021 at 8:48 am
I agree, I can’t imagine either Detroit or Atlanta hiring Bowles for their new head coach.
IMHO, they are simply going through the motions.
January 10th, 2021 at 8:50 am
STOP ragging on the D-all of you-6th ranked overall in the entire league and number 1 against the run is what they are and that ain’t bad. D will improve with Devin White back next week. Bucs just won a playoff game for the first time in 18 years-FREAKING CELEBRATE and STOP WHINING
January 10th, 2021 at 8:53 am
Colonel Angus
Again let me salute you on your name…that Christopher Walken sketch was oneof the all time SNL greats!
I also agree with your opinion. The only problem is that it’s nuanced and thoughtful. This is a sports blog where’s your hyperbole. *snark font off^
As for last night’s game…all I heard was DC’s talented DL. They didn’t hurt us at all. The line that DID hurt us was their OL which was STOUT.
People want to jump on our DB’s…they did tackle poorly as did the entire D.
But in terms of coverage…back up the truck for just a minute.
We did not get nearly enough pressure on the QB and when we did he fled the pocket and bought more time. Give him props but he had a career game with two TD’s LITERALLY inches away from being OB or juggled.
Now these are not excuses…we won remember..winners don’t need excuses.
How much difference would Devin White have made? I agree with TBBF who I believe was the first to point out his speed was sorely missed allowing the QB to get away with too much running as well as denying us one of our leading sackmasters.
Bowles started the season with one of the top if not THE top young NT’s in the game and VV went down early. Bowles has one of the top perhaps soon to be the top MLB’s in the league, but not last night.
It was a win!! A playoff win on the road. All I can say is THANKS!
THANKS BA…TB12…Bowles..Licht..BL…this entire management team and yes I know Brady is a player but he’s as much part of this management team as the others.
THANKS GUYS YOU BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYES.
After 5 years of the choker and years before that dealing with retreads like McCown…near misses like MG…
I guess I’m simply too full of gratitude this morning to rip any Buc.
Hey as Jon Gruden likes to say…” Our future’s so bright we gotta wear shades.”
January 10th, 2021 at 9:00 am
The Buccaneers’ defensive coordinator had a rough performance last night –
So, David’s sack on Washington’s last drive wasn’t a big play?
And Godwin’s dropped td was Bowles’ fault?
And the horse collar penalty and Heinicke’s incredible scramble and dive for td after Vaughn’s fumble was Bowles’ fault?
The offense should’ve scored 40 in this game and the D played well considering White was out and JPP is hurting.
January 10th, 2021 at 9:00 am
That Gruden quote was the kiss of death/beginning of the end. 🙂
Agree that there is lots to be thankful for in Buckland. That doesn’t mean Bowles will get a HC gig in 2021.
January 10th, 2021 at 9:01 am
This sucks. Shouldn’t take one hour away from next week and he is interviewing?
I thought the D played decent last night. Their QB was on point!
I noticed the backside of DBs getting exposed…ie 15-20 yards deep between the DB and Safety, which is new and I think means they were more aggressive which I can’t complain about. DW pressures was missed there.
January 10th, 2021 at 9:02 am
Atlanta and Detroit could just be having a chat with Bowles to help satisfy their Rooney Rule quota of 2 external minority interviews for their head coaching spots. Not everyone is going to get a crack at Eric Bieniemy.
January 10th, 2021 at 9:03 am
Ridiculous comments. That kid at qb for Washington played a great game. Sometimes you have to give credit to the other side. He was under a lot of pressure and showed great elusiveness. The loss of Vita has hurt us all year. Football Outsiders rates us as the third best defense in the league. We have a very inexperienced secondary. That’s just a fact. Every team in the NFL has weaknesses. Also we badly miss 45. Don’t be at all surprised if Bowleds gets offers.
January 10th, 2021 at 9:04 am
For Bowles sake, not ours, I hope he doesn’t get that job. That place is career suicide for someone trying to work their way up the ladder.
January 10th, 2021 at 9:13 am
Washington was 5-2 in it’s last 7 games. Its Defense gave up 15.8 points during that run. Washington is a decent team.
The Bucs Defense had 5 three and out series last night. The strategy was stop the run, make them work. The QB had two fantastic runs, both of which could have ended in sacks. He also had a 36 yard completion and another long one. One DB dropped a sure INT which would have prevented a FG.
Devin White did not even play.
Brate and Godwin dropped TDs. That cost them 10 points, or this would have been a blowout.
So why the hell is everyone complaining about the Defense? I thought they played well.
January 10th, 2021 at 9:14 am
The Jets and Chargers are interviewing the Ram’s d-coordinator Staley. The Ram’s defense showed up all game yesterday. You can coach and interview.
January 10th, 2021 at 9:17 am
I absolutely hate how this happens every year. Teams should be ultra focused 100% on the playoffs and preparation. Instead, every year there are coordinators taking off and doing job interviews. They should ban it until the Super Bowl is over.
And no, I do not want Todd Bowles to leave. I think he’s pretty damn good, he needs a couple more pieces for better execution
January 10th, 2021 at 9:17 am
I’m ok with Bowles leaving next year for Detroit or Atlanta, but I’m not ok with interviewing during the playoffs. What is the NFL thinking allowing this type of activity during a playoff run? I’m not very impressed with Bowles as a DC, think we can do better.
January 10th, 2021 at 9:20 am
@Dreambig…the defensive secondary has been playing bad for years. The D line actually did well yesterday overall, and the blitz packages were on the mark. No excuses for the secondary, but your claim is a bit outrageous.
January 10th, 2021 at 9:21 am
I highly recommend him for any HC job. Please take him from us Please!
January 10th, 2021 at 9:23 am
@Buc4ever…think of it this way…the NFL puts out a product and the product is best when the coaches are the best, and get hired on soon after the season. I know there is a certain amount of interview prep, but sleep, working out, family time, etc also eats up some time. There is such a thing of not having good work/life balanance. If they had a rare bad game last night, that’s one thing…but it’s not rare.
January 10th, 2021 at 9:26 am
@SPBF, spot on once again my friend.
I get some of the criticism some of you are handing out, but how good was our offense last night? 30 points on one of the best D’s in the NFL; ME/Godzilla having 119 yards at 19 y/c and Brate playing like Gronk!!! AND that is with Godwin having a rough night and Brate dropping a TD pass and not having our 978 yard RB and loosing Cappa. If you factor in those things, I think the Bucs played better than should be expected. Really people, appreciate how half full the glass is. The Oline kicked butt against a super talented Dline. Gave TB enough time that he could have enjoyed a 5 course dinner back there and gave Fournette an opportunity to shine like he USED to (that was the Fournette I expected to see months ago).
Defense? Well there are some things to work on, but yes, we were missing D White. But that is an excuse IMHO. One has to keep in mind this Heiniken guy was flipping burgers last month. Him scoring 23 points made our D look a little like Lovie or Realists heart throb Dave Smith was coaching.
Bottom line, the D will do better with White back and if the Oline keeps playing like they did last night, we have a VERY REAL SHOT at playing in Rayjay in February.
Go BUCS!
January 10th, 2021 at 9:26 am
Good Luck Mr. Bowles. Thank you for giving us a top 10 defense!!
January 10th, 2021 at 9:28 am
@Davenport
Ditto sir. Please take him away. He cant game plan, or adjust mid game. Awful coach.
January 10th, 2021 at 9:30 am
Bucs are the first team to beat a losing team in the playoffs. The 2010 Seahawks (7-9) beat the Saints (11-5) in the beast mode game. And the 2014 Panther (7-8-1) beat Arians Cardinals (11-5), although the Cardinals were down to their 3rd string QB. Heincke played his ass off last night, he’d gave any team problems playing like that. The kid rose up to the challenge. 18 years since our last playoff victory and it tastes sweet.
January 10th, 2021 at 9:31 am
Was detriot watching the game last night or no? LOL
January 10th, 2021 at 9:31 am
The defense played poorly last night but I think people are putting too much heat on Bowles for that. Numerous blitzes got home and Bucs defenders didn’t finish the play. That’s in addition to a dropped INT and a blown call on what should have been a sack/fumble recovery by Shaq Barrett. Bowles surely deserves some blame but I think the players deserve more.
January 10th, 2021 at 9:35 am
BREAKING NEWS…. Detroit saw the game last night and is pulling out its scheduled interview with Todd Bowles. Same thing with Atlanta. Guess what bucs fan, we are stuck with Toilet Bowles’ defense.
January 10th, 2021 at 9:39 am
The only cure for the “to often exposed secondary” is to harrass the QB, and knock him around and put him on the ground. Both Brees and Goff feasted on the Bucs defense with short passes, so if they do not get real pressure on the QB, it will be a painful next week unless they score 35-45, so they can be competitive and have an honest chance to win. GO BUCS!!!!
January 10th, 2021 at 9:45 am
Yea he has an ugly night and I actually hope he gets hired. Mike Smith could have had a top run defense with this front. Can’t have a damn slot receiver playing 10 yards of the line of scrimmage against a team like this and it be ok with the coordinator. This secondary is pure trash
January 10th, 2021 at 9:46 am
Somehow I think Todd Bowles can work a couple 2-hour zoom calls into his schedule the next 48 hours. He doesn’t even know who to gameplan for yet today!
January 10th, 2021 at 9:47 am
So why did SMB and C. Davis not come out of the game at all (72 plays, 100% and Cockrell only play (6 plays, 8%). Why don’t they rotate our CBs more, especially when they are constantly getting burned. Maybe because they are gasping to catch their breath?
January 10th, 2021 at 9:53 am
fortmyersdave. My hats off to you!!!!! FINALLY someone with enough balls to say it. This is PC at it’s worse. I’ve always been a Brady fan. Bowles? It’s like the prisoner that digs his way out of prison with a spoon. He will get out. He will be free. I am so damn sick of everybody making excuses for our piss poor secondary. They are professional athletes. They do what they are coached to do. I have learned over the many years that “reasons” and “excuses” are not the same thing. Does anybody remember when Todd was the coach of the Jets? He just stood there motionless, (mentally and physically). You could actually read his mind. “DAMN I can’t believe they pay me to just stand here” COME ON PEOPLE! D.C. took a QB right out of his muffler shop and embarrassed our secondary. carved them up like a turkey. Whats going to happen when we play a team that can slow Brady down. It really reminds me of KC with Mahomes. You had to outscore them. As i’ve said since game 1, my head almost exploded watchin QBs carve us up. All of you better thank God we have TB
January 10th, 2021 at 9:55 am
When we play man with our dbs chasing receivers with their backs turned to th qb we have been victimized by mobile qbs and check downs. When we play zone were so soft receivers are wide open. Devin White was sorely missed. And did Shaq play yesterday? I don’t remember seeing him out there.
January 10th, 2021 at 10:02 am
If he’s flying around the country side on job interviews, when is he doing his job? Obviously not last week. Let’s make it easy fire the loser. He stinks as a coach and anyone that doesn’t agree doesn’t know the game. He has way too much talent for them to be playing this bad. GET OUT!!!
January 10th, 2021 at 10:13 am
If I were interviewing him I would ask “So, when Heinicke came back with a bad shoulder injury, why did you stop blitzing and played nothing but soft zone straightforward 4 man rush no stunts against a QB who is going to avoid contact and not be as effective a runner.”
January 10th, 2021 at 10:17 am
Statue defense by the secondary. Never should’ve let Motley get away, also Herb Miller should’ve gotten some playing time. Don’t recall seeing him at all. All coaches have blindspots. Belicheks was Wr. Bucs is dbs. No veteran presence hurts too. Offense will have to stay hot and put up some serious points going forward.
January 10th, 2021 at 10:19 am
Someone like him who is at best inconsistent doesn’t need the distraction of an interview.
January 10th, 2021 at 10:20 am
He couldn’t run the Jets.. and this defense blows. Who in their right mind would want him?
I sense the “Rooney” effect.
January 10th, 2021 at 10:59 am
The Rooney Rule requires league teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching positions.
It’s likely Bowles is being used to make quota this year. I suspect he’ll be a serious HC candidate after next season … and possibly for the Bucs.
January 10th, 2021 at 11:00 am
instead of interviewing he needs to be at work fixing a defense that currently resembles swiss cheese…
brees and rodgers are no joke…
and honestly before the washington game i thought to myself:
“they’re going to make another untested or rookie qb look like a star again”
the bucs have a way of letting these unheralded quarterbacks look like pro bowlers against them in their first games…
this is nothing new…
and it happened again last night…
heineken was able to complete basically every intermediate pass he threw…it was wild
January 10th, 2021 at 11:03 am
when the dungy/gruden bucs faced an untested qb back in those days, said qb’s stats would always look something like this:
11/26 122 yards 0 tds 2 ints…
these are the type of stats heineken should have had last night
January 10th, 2021 at 11:20 am
It’d be nice if he could put together a competent game plan instead worrying about interviewing with other teams.
I guess it’ll just be more soft zone coverage against LA or NO instead! Good thing they don’t have offenses that will shred that to pieces….
January 10th, 2021 at 11:26 am
Bye.
January 10th, 2021 at 11:28 am
it’s a damn shame we are stuck with Bowles for the next game. Detroit is the PERFECT place for him. They don’t give a crap if he moves or not. We’d get to watch the Lions lose on Thanksgiving
January 10th, 2021 at 11:30 am
123urout
I stand in awe of your well thought out post. Well done sir! *snark font off*
“BREAKING NEWS…. Detroit saw the game last night and is pulling out its scheduled interview with Todd Bowles. Same thing with Atlanta. Guess what bucs fan, we are stuck with Toilet Bowles’ defense.”
So much critical thought in that post…so much to back up your post. And hey who can argue with an occasional fifth grade level bit of humor.
“Toilet Bowls” ? Really? That’s the best that you can do?
As they say in the NBA when a dude drives weakly to the hoop…get outta here with that weak spit.
This just boggles my mind. We went 11-5…we WON our first playoff game, are still alive for the SB…with a team IMHO that is very close to being balanced.
In fact when VV and White play I think BOTH sides of the ball are pretty equal.
And amidst all of this success we want to toss out Bowles or BL? Or BA? Or Bowles. That’s as smart as replacing TB12 next with JW who would certainly be available,
Why F with success? If I have a gripe it’s with the NFL, They should NEVER approve Coaching interviews until after the season. It’s just NOT FAIR to ANY team in the midst of a playoff run to distract a key piece and create chatter that is totally unproductive.
If a team is without a coach right now it’s THEIR fault not ours. We do not owe them the right to interfere with OUR playoffs run because they sucked so badly they need a new coach. Hire better the next time.
January 10th, 2021 at 12:10 pm
he is REPLACABLE …. why we care……good luck…… he had done nothing special here…..average defense. … thats it.
January 10th, 2021 at 12:36 pm
“He needs to be figuring out how to fix the defense for next week not interviewing for jobs.”
Exactly right, Its a really bad look for him to do interviews in the middle of the playoffs especially after his defense was shredded by a former XFL backup.
This just shows where his head is right now, he’s in it for his career and not the team.
January 10th, 2021 at 12:45 pm
“STOP ragging on the D-all of you-6th ranked overall in the entire league and number 1 against the run is what they are and that ain’t bad”
How many times do I have to explain on here that having the #1 run defense in todays NFL doesnt have much value if you cant stop the pass?
Lovie Smith had good run defenses when he was here.
The Bucs have struggled against the pass all year as opposing QBs have had a 69% completion rate against us which is 4th worst in the league right next to the Texans, Jags and Jets.
But but Run defense and that 1 Packers game is all I keep hearing about. The pass D is a liability and dont expect it to suddenly bounce back against Drew Brees next week.
January 10th, 2021 at 12:51 pm
Exactly Bigdaddio! Our defence and coaches needs to play like they are possessed. 😈
January 10th, 2021 at 1:03 pm
Let’s give Heineken (sp?) some credit. It’s not like he was sitting back there playing toss and catch with wide open receivers. He was on the money to tightly covered receivers often throwing under pressure, on the run and off balance.
Think of how often throughout NFL history a QB with no scouting report making their first NFL start played lights out.
Remeber Cam Newton’s first few games? Has he ever matched that output since? Does anyone really believe Lamar Jackson will ever have a better season than his rookie season?
Was the Bucs defense really that bad or did H just play the game of his life?
January 10th, 2021 at 1:03 pm
Teams should NOT Abe allowed to interview coaches still in the hunt. MAJOR distraction.
January 10th, 2021 at 1:04 pm
Rooney Rule.
January 10th, 2021 at 2:26 pm
I love all the secondary and play Man coverage guys… Last time I checked you have to have Experience and talent at DB to play man! Which is why we see zone. Bowles does a great job of creating pressure while playing zone and creating turnovers. Now if you address DB and secondary PERSONNEL you’d see more man vs decreasing the amount of chunk plays in the passing game!! Common sense guys!
January 10th, 2021 at 3:10 pm
Rings:
Forget the “distraction” 🙄. It is not fair to coaches currently to coaches with playoff teams.
January 10th, 2021 at 6:24 pm
bowles is basically a monotone speaker…
listen to his pressers…
he will sleepwalk the lions into a 4-12 season
January 10th, 2021 at 6:55 pm
I have one question for Bowles: what happened to Jordan Whitehead? Bowles forget about him in all the hoopla about Winfield Jr.? Bowles gets another job, so be it. Bucs need to draft 2 DLs. Otherwise, Bucs look pretty good. Hope we get a chance to kick the crap out of the Aints and Payton.
January 10th, 2021 at 7:00 pm
DET is a mess…But it’s NFL HC gig & they have some young talent to go w/ a proven QB…Would hate to see him go, but he’s deserving of a HC gig.
Only issues w/ Bowles getting an interview now is the potential Covid exposure from the added travel. No worried about game planning, analysts are likely doing the deep-dive today anyway for meetings tomorrow.
January 10th, 2021 at 7:55 pm
87
Agree the Rooney rule influences this but it can still wait until the end of the season. It’s not like the white coaches have an interview jump ahead of the black coaches. NO interviews for ANY coaches on playoff teams until they’re out of the playoffs.
January 12th, 2021 at 1:21 am
Recockuless. That is redickuless on steroids