Todd Bowles = Father Dungy, Mike Tomlin
April 14th, 2022
Bucs coach Todd Bowles.
One of the biggest questions Bucs fans have now and will continue to have until the season kicks off is, what can we expect from new coach Todd Bowles?
Appearing on the “Matt Lombardo Show” hosted by FanSided, Bucs free agent defensive tackle Steve McLendon spoke about Bowles. Lombardo asked McLendon to sort of pull the curtains back on Bowles.
McLendon played for Bowles with the Jets and obviously, much of the past two seasons played for Bowles as Bucs defensive coordinator.
“It’s not just about what Todd does on the field,” McLendon says. “What really makes Todd special is what he’s able to talk to us about life, off the field. He was a head coach in waiting [with the Buccaneers], he could have gone anywhere else and gotten a head coaching job, but he has groomed so many men here to be better men and better fathers, and that helps us to be even better on the football field.
“He’s been a head coach, he was just the head coach of the defense. He’s an absolutely amazing man. He’s that guy that would take the blame first. Anything that happens, it could be a player’s fault, he’ll always step up to the plate and take the blame. He’d be on the sideline and say ‘hey, that’s my fault, it’s not his fault,’ and that would make me want to step up and take accountability, take ownership.”
Now who does that sound like to you? Right away Joe thought of Father Dungy. (And before you scoff at Bowles preaching about life away from football, so too did former Bucs Super Bowl-winning coach Bucco Bruce Arians.)
But man, if you didn’t know better, that sounds like a perfect description of Father Dungy.
And McLendon wasn’t done there. McLendon compared Bowles to one of the NFL’s best coaches, a guy McLendon also played for, a guy who has never had a losing season. And this guy just happens to be a Father Dungy disciple who was an assistant with the Bucs. That would be Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.
“They both understand that family comes first,” McLendon points out. “But, they really understand the business, they understand what it looks like to win. Both of these guys are extremely intelligent men, both on the football field and in life. Their preparation is almost identical; Coach Tomlin gets to the building extremely early, and Coach Bowles comes in extremely early.
“Coach Tomlin didn’t have many rules, Coach Bowles is the same way. Their rules were pretty much the same; take the field. You know what that meant. When you step on that field, you own that field. They teach you the true meaning of how to stay focused, how to be driven.”
Well, if Bowles really is like Tomlin, that means the Bucs will be contenders each year for a long time so long as Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht continues to stock the roster.
Of course, talk is cheap and all of this sounds really good. In a few months, this chatter has to transform into wins.
April 14th, 2022 at 6:04 am
Let’s hope he’s more Mike Tomlin than Raheem Morris.
April 14th, 2022 at 7:16 am
What about Lovie Smith?
April 14th, 2022 at 7:16 am
Except he curses
April 14th, 2022 at 7:36 am
That’s why it’s called a team effort.
April 14th, 2022 at 8:04 am
That’s what you want from a leader of men
April 14th, 2022 at 8:06 am
Dungy was the coach that changed this team to a winning team. BA bought a superbowl he didn’t really build nothing here like what Dungy did .Dungy was the best coach in Bucs history and he didn’t have use curse words to do it and still became a superbowl winning coach . A lot of these black coaches will never get the credit they deserve. The Bears ain’t been nothing since Lovie left and Lovie built the bears into a winer from scratch . Ira Kaufman and the other guy with the funny voice seems to down play every black coach the bucs had . They never say anything bad about Shaino and he was the coach that set us back 10 years by getting rid of our good players on defense but Lovie became the scapegoat for Shaino!!
April 14th, 2022 at 8:41 am
Man Oneil everything really is about r@ce with you. I’m agreeing with the boomers on here.
Yes Oneil Lovie smith was such a great NFL coach he definitely got another job in the league and wasn’t at illinois for years.
Also I know this may be hard for you to hear but Schiano had a better record then Lovie who blew the team up (that’s light considered normally when they decide to blow rosters up they get something for players they let go) and blew the end of the 2015 seasons.
April 14th, 2022 at 8:44 am
Also no, Schiano sucked too. Todd Bowles is an accomplished football coach. Only the trolls hate him.
April 14th, 2022 at 9:23 am
Better hope he is like Tony Dungy like I said once before that was the best coach of all time for y’all made that team back then and every other one one of the best
April 14th, 2022 at 9:37 am
I think Bowles will have his own identity. Just because he is black doesn’t make him another Dungy or Tomlin. He will probably be closer to Arians or Parcells. Hopefully some day people will be saying this coach could be the next Bowles.
April 14th, 2022 at 9:49 am
Only difference between Dungy Tomlin and Bowles Dungy had one losing season in his career, Tomlin hasn’t had a losing season and Bowles has three losing seasons.
April 14th, 2022 at 9:55 am
He already has the team like grunden did just can he do anything with it just like it was built for grunden the his years when Dungy made that team grunden isn’t a good coach never has been with Raiders or Washington or the bucs!!! Let’s see what Bowles can do best of luck to him realtalk
April 14th, 2022 at 12:13 pm
Hopefully Bowles does turn out to be a good leader on this team for years. He sounds like a well respected person. I’m just glad he isn’t calling plays on defense anymore!
April 14th, 2022 at 12:30 pm
What’s interesting …
When Bowles was named head coach there was no real reaction from Bucs players, fans, or the media. We all were surprised that BA stepping down but not that Bowles stepping in. It tells you he’s a natural fit for the job.
April 14th, 2022 at 1:10 pm
I like the Glazers well enough, but let’s face it, they’re no Rooney family. Tomlin is a great coach, but he also has the greatest coaching job in the NFL: head coach of the Steelers. Not only are the Rooneys extremely patient with their coaches, they give them everything they need to succeed.
If Bowles has a bad year this year, the Glazers will probably fire him immediately. There is no patience here.
April 14th, 2022 at 2:14 pm
Joseph Simmons, the Rooneys are cheapskates tho
April 14th, 2022 at 6:35 pm
O’Neil & Aaron – Both of you don’t know anything.. Obviously you both just started watching the Bucs when they won the Super Bowl. I swear you both are the worst fans in the world.. Go Bucs
April 14th, 2022 at 10:08 pm
Bowles success will rise and fall depending on whether the Bucs have a good quarterback. Just like Arians had a losing record his first season with the Bucs, so will Bowles once Brady is gone unless he can find a decent replacement for Brady.