Playing For Todd Bowles’ Job
December 30th, 2022
Bucs players should be super motivated for Sunday’s game for the NFC South title and a trip to the playoffs. Heck, Todd Bowles says nothing needs to be said about it.
But Joe wonders if players realize more is on the line.
A loss Sunday to another bad football team with another bad quarterback assures the Bucs a losing season and will stamp this regular season as probably the most underachieving in franchise history, considering the available talent, the miserable division and the size and experience of the coaching staff. That would be a terrible look for a first-year head coach who arrived with a losing track record.
A loss would/should put Bowles’ job in jeopardy, Joe believes. That doesn’t mean the Bucs would fire him, but it sure means Bowles would have earned Team Glazer calling an urgent meeting to discuss Bowles’ future over a bottle of whatever fancy cognac the family drinks.
Seasoned veterans of The Lost Decade of Bucs football know how badly Bowles needs a “W” on Sunday.
Mike Evans, Lavonte David, Will Gholston, Chris Godwin, they know how a coach’s seats can get set on fire in a hurry. So Joe hopes those guys step up this week and let the team know what could be at stake.
And hopefully, the roster loves Bowles enough to realize the urgency and step up.
Guys like Tom Brady, Tristan Wirfs, Jamel Dean, Shaq Mason, Vita Vea and others, they know little to nothing about coaches getting canned and regimes getting uprooted from too many losses. It’s foreign territory to them.
Playing Sunday to save Bowles job, and their position coaches’ jobs, should be in the back of every player’s mind entering Sunday’s key clash against Carolina.
Joe sure hopes someone speaks up in the locker room and tells everyone that jobs are on the line.
December 30th, 2022 at 11:32 am
Joes fast on the trigger.
December 30th, 2022 at 11:34 am
Carolina will be playing for their coach that’s for sure. Not sure about this bunch we got here. Looks like they gave up on his hogwash months ago. We’ll see.
December 30th, 2022 at 11:35 am
Sad how far this team has fallen in one season with so much continuity.
Prime example of bad coaching.
December 30th, 2022 at 11:35 am
This is the crap you get with a Defensive head coach.
December 30th, 2022 at 11:37 am
Per our head coach – “nothing more needs to be said.” So we’re good!
December 30th, 2022 at 11:37 am
If it’s about saving Bowles’ job, not sure how motivating that is.
December 30th, 2022 at 11:40 am
“That doesn’t mean the Bucs would fire him, but it sure means Bowles would have earned Team Glazer calling an urgent meeting to discuss Bowles’ future over a bottle of whatever fancy cognac the family drinks.”
I would LOVE to be a fly on the wall in that meeting and listen to Todd Bowels explain himself for changing our offense when it did not need to be changed!
December 30th, 2022 at 11:41 am
The Bucs only scored 3 points against the Panthers with a much healthier offense the last time they played.
The Panthers have a solid defense and unlike the Bucs they can run the ball…
Yikes.
December 30th, 2022 at 11:44 am
If they lose to Carolina and miss the playoffs, that would leave no doubt he should be fired. If they don’t they must have a plan on tanking 2023, for the current heisman winner Caleb Williams. If they keep the same coaching staff they definitely will have a good shot at the number one pick. Hopefully they won’t get caught like the Dolphins.
December 30th, 2022 at 11:48 am
LOL…………..
I don’t think any of these millionaire athletes feel bad for millionaire coaches….
……….Bowles has been in coaching long enough to amass a fortune and doesn’t have to work another day in his life if he never coaches again.
But Todd Bowles is an amazing Defensive Coordinator and will easily get another job in the NFL or elsewhere.
December 30th, 2022 at 11:59 am
Bet the house on the Panthers and the over on ints for Brady & drop balls for Evan’s, they obviously can’t stand him. Joe that means they’re playing for all the wrong reasons. You can also count on White taking his 4th quarter nap on Sunday.
December 30th, 2022 at 12:00 pm
Anthem, NOT as a HC!!!
December 30th, 2022 at 12:09 pm
Hire Payton and move Todd back to D coordinator
December 30th, 2022 at 12:23 pm
The last time we tanked for a Heisman winning QB the results weren’t very good. If Bowles can’t beat a team who fired their coach already, and traded their best player he needs to be fired period. The rebuild will need to begin, and Bowles can’t be leading that team.
December 30th, 2022 at 12:24 pm
Sucks going into a game knowing you’re going to suck for 55min…and then hope Brady does his thing to pull out the victory.
Go Bucs! If you go – don’t leave to early..even when a 1st down seems impossible!
December 30th, 2022 at 12:50 pm
Maybe I read this wrong. I’m 71 and sometimes I do that. Joe are you saying that the Bucs players would play harder to save the Mummy’s job????????????????????????????????????? If the Bucs win, it will be because the players want to be winners not weiners. You mentioned Cognac When I was in Germany in 72-73 we drank 5 star Cognac and partook in….. Let’s just say it started with “ha” and ended with “ish” I think Todd has been partaking because it makes you paranoid. You know, kinda like Todd being so scared to pass in the red zone because he’s “afraid” Tom would throw an int. Todd have you EVER seen Tom before he came to Tampa?????????
December 30th, 2022 at 1:12 pm
Aaron … ‘Sucks going into a game knowing you’re going to suck for 55min…and then hope Brady does his thing to pull out the victory.’
Doesn’t there seem to be a certain bit of irony there that for those first 55 minutes Bucs put exactly the same QB, same OLine, same WRs, same TEs & same RBs on the field, and yet … as you so eloquently stated Aaron, they suck. But then that same QB pulls out the victory? Or not.
December 30th, 2022 at 1:13 pm
So WHY do we have to get ourselves in deep doo-doo BEFORE we decide to actually kick some butt? Some will say that it’s the hurry-up offense; that we need to be doing a lot more of that. Some will say that we need to run even less than we do & put the ball strictly in Tommy’s hands for all 60 minutes. Others will say we need to move the medical tent so that it covers Bowles & Leftwich and keeps them from influencing what’s happening on the field.
December 30th, 2022 at 1:13 pm
they need to pray this weekend and i mean PRAY TO THE GODS they have it in them on sunday.
December 30th, 2022 at 1:15 pm
PERHAPS our problems on the field lie more with Tom Brady than any of us are willing to admit. Might be injury as many have alluded to. Might be a lack of confidence in the guys charged with protecting him. Might simply be age catching up with him like it eventually does with all of us.
Or MAYBE what we’re seeing is all of that playing out at the same time.
December 30th, 2022 at 1:20 pm
If they think they are playing to save the job of Todd Bowles, they may just make a lot of mental mistakes to ensure he is not their coach next year.
December 30th, 2022 at 1:25 pm
Forget Bowles, the players should be playing to win a championship, win for their teammates and the fans, and to save their own jobs. Bowles and Leftwurst are lost causes.
December 30th, 2022 at 1:27 pm
I wonder if we lose if we go after Sean Peyton to keep Brady in Tampa
December 30th, 2022 at 1:28 pm
If Bowles tenure comes to an end after this season…Hello, Kliff Kingsbury!
I’m only half way joking… Could totally see Glazers going OFF HC next hire & pairing him with young gunslinger QB. (one that’s not 5’7″ in cleats & injury prone)
December 30th, 2022 at 1:33 pm
If Bowles’ job is the motivation to win, we’re in trouble.
December 30th, 2022 at 1:42 pm
Joe’s not fast on the trigger. Let’s all face it. Bowles is a good defensive coordinator but he is not a head coach. Being an NFL head coach has to be one of the most difficult jobs in all of sports. Very few are cut out for it and are capable of turning a team into a winner or keeping a team a winning franchise when they take over. I hope the Glazers realize this, win lose or draw on Sunday and next Sunday. Even if the Bucs make the playoffs this year, next year without Brady everyone will see how important Brady has been to this team.
December 30th, 2022 at 1:50 pm
DR
Maybe it’s the largest coaching staff in the league not having this team fundamentally sound after years..
December 30th, 2022 at 1:50 pm
For me the only way bowles can salvage his job is to get to the nfc championship game. There has been too many mishaps from him. His coaching decisions have costs us games..I am talking specific coaching decisions,,timeouts, challenges.. etc
December 30th, 2022 at 1:51 pm
For me the only way bowles can salvage his job is to get to the nfc championship game. There has been too many mishaps from him. His coaching decisions have costs us games..I am talking specific coaching decisions,,timeouts, challenges.. et
December 30th, 2022 at 1:54 pm
Fire Bowles. He has mismanaged this team given all the high-priced talent that has failed to perform. That rests on the HC’s shoulders. Bowles couldn’t cut it in NY and he can’t cut it in Tampa. Fire Bowles now.
December 30th, 2022 at 1:56 pm
I rather have a new coach staff no matter who wins.
December 30th, 2022 at 2:01 pm
DR,
Fair points and hard to argue with your logic. Look, none of us outside the building, and perhaps few inside the building, know what’s really going on, and certainly not how to fix it.
If they could’ve fixed it, they would have, about Week 10 at latest.
This season is such a huge head-scratcher to me – I mean like, What the heck just happened this season? So confused, and disappointed. But I’m not disparaged yet, unless we lose to the Kitties.
GO BUCS!!!
December 30th, 2022 at 2:09 pm
SUPER INTERESTING …
Bowles didn’t want to play the Bucs’ up-tempo, winning football, because (as he thinks) it wore out the players.
Have you seen the injury report? Turns out slow-paced, losing football is just as taxing.
NOT GOING TO WIN …
Seriously doubt the Bucs win this game. Carolina has momentum. The Bucs are lost and key players are out.
FIRED ON MONDAY …
The Bucs should fire Bowles on Monday if they lose on Sunday. What he’s done the organization is inexcusable. They canned Lovie quickly for similar results with a far worse team.
December 30th, 2022 at 2:17 pm
If we lose to the Panthers on Sunday and Bowles is not fired at the end of the season, that signals to fans, in my opinion, the owners have written off 2023 and are preparing to lose. If that happens let’s hope we can draft and develop a franchise quarter for once in our history. That will mean firing Bowles after the 2023 season and bringing in a new regime. It annoys me when you see other franchises with so much consistency at the quarterback position year after year. Green Bay went from Farve to Rodgers. Nice! The Steelers enjoyed a long ride with both Bradshaw and Rothlisberger. Dallas went from Staubach, then White, Aikman, Romo, and now Prescott. San Diego had Fouts, Brees (briefly), Rivers and now Herbert. You all get the point. Why in the hell can’t the Bucs draft a quarterback, develop them, and then keep them for 15 years? Please, for the love of God!
December 30th, 2022 at 2:41 pm
WE ARE NOT GETTING SEAN PAYTON PEOPLE
December 30th, 2022 at 2:44 pm
What if the players don’t like him as a head coach?
December 30th, 2022 at 2:46 pm
The players have been blindfolded and hogtied by this failure of a head coach. Bowels is the only one who can save himself. Unshackle the offense, unleash the hounds, whatever. Yes the OL is decimated, so let Brady run no-huddle in slow mode .
Toad is as Toad does.
December 30th, 2022 at 3:11 pm
We have no idea if that is true. I still think he stays.
December 30th, 2022 at 3:21 pm
Do the players care enough for the Bowles cleaner/Leftie team to both to show up at all?
If they loved their coaches, they would have shown up a lot more this season.
December 30th, 2022 at 3:28 pm
I just do NOT see a majority of players busting their butts to win sunday just to ” save todd bowles job” !!!
December 30th, 2022 at 3:42 pm
Lol….
Now they are going to start playing because of that..
Puke !
December 30th, 2022 at 3:54 pm
If it means this staff gets the stagehook, I may be a Kittie fan for a day.
December 30th, 2022 at 3:59 pm
Todd Bowles said “nothing needs to be said about it!” Another reason he should be fired!!!! He should be spilling his guts out before every practice!!! After every practice!!! This game is their season!!! That “nothing needs to be said” thing has so far produced a losing season!!!!! Someone should tell Bowles that motivating a team to play up to or above their capabilities is the MAIN JOB of the head coach!!! SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE SAID!!!
December 30th, 2022 at 4:06 pm
Bucs will try to not get hurt in prep for the great escape from The Bowzo Bucs.
December 30th, 2022 at 4:06 pm
As a Buc supporter, I have to root for them and live and die with them. What I cannot accept is not being prepared for opponents, not having the timing down between QB and star receivers and getting the snot kicked out of the offensive and defensive line in the trenches.
Sunday’s game is as “must win” a game as you can possibly have in the regular season. Playing on your home turf you have to ball out and have plays that can get 24-27 points on the scoreboard.
A loss seals the end of this window of success the Bucs have had. Its so hard to watch a team struggle as much as these guys have. I only hope they can reach down inside and play smart and harder than the opponents.
December 30th, 2022 at 4:06 pm
DR, could be. So when he goes into hurry up, is that the Gerital kicking in? You constantly stick up for Bowles and for the life of me I don’t know why. He admitted he changed the system, we’ve heard wr’s are running blocking routes, oline is last in the league and the running game is invisible. So how is any or that Brady’s fault? I doubt he called for a 50 & 55yd field goal, a fake punt on their own 27 giving up 3 pts and I 100% know Brady wanted the ball to get in FG range to win the Cleveland game.
You want to pin the turnovers on Brady for Ciny sure but it was the D that let up 34 points NOT the O.
December 30th, 2022 at 4:13 pm
Bowles record speaks volumes.
Good DC. Awful head coach. Leftwich has to go or Bowles.
Bowles reminds me of Dungy.
Get rid of BA too.
December 30th, 2022 at 4:57 pm
I agree with DR’S Door number three take. The headscratcher is Tom has the same
players on the field as the previous 55 minutes. He suddenly trusts them enough to hang in the pocket and connect with some pretty good passes. Personally, I think 16 passes to RB’s in addition to their carries is not a winning formula. Its a team game and for whatever reason all our weapons need to utilized.
I also think the shoulder may be contributing to some of the early
incompletions and for reasons unknown Tom is able to put some plays together
at the end of game on occasion.
December 30th, 2022 at 5:32 pm
bob, the screens and passes to RB’s is what a conservative O looks like if you can’t run. It blows me away that so many of you do NOT realize how important a running game is. The Bucs is invisible until they go PA & motion drawing movement in the D. We all watch the games is there anyone on this site that doesn’t know what two of each series of plays are? If we do, how easy is that for a professional DC? Name any team in the playoff hunt or top team that doesn’t have a running game? If you can’t then shut up because you have no idea what you’re talking about.
December 30th, 2022 at 5:34 pm
bob, by the way DR is the biggest Bowles groupie on this site, in his mind he can do no wrong, hence his Defense Rules name.
December 30th, 2022 at 7:18 pm
They (or he..Bowles) apparently learned nothing from the success in the first half of the Cincy game and the failure in the second half because it didn’t carry over to Arizona.
We need to hope the Panthers are all hungover from New Year’s Eve and play like it. In other words, play like the Bucs have all season and there’s a chance.
December 30th, 2022 at 8:23 pm
NEFAN
C,mon man you don’t see the similarity between always defending Brady and DR defending Bowles. He usually backs up his with stats to prove his point. Everybody has opinions but you seem to think yours are the only ones of value.
We all love Brady for what he has done for the franchise. There are not enough
intermediate passes early in the game to be competitive and score touchdowns.
When you can’t get a yard in three attempts, then running backs should stay in
more to protect Brady and use the rest of the team’s weapons to move the chains. On rare occasions Lenny has stayed in I remember he delivered one crushing block. or chipped on his way to a pattern. I actually think White has picked up more blitzes. If WR’s and TE’s are blocking then so too should the RB’s. The You may remember Clinton Portis who was a pretty good running back and an equally good blocker when needed. I for one would like to
see more of that from Lenny.
December 30th, 2022 at 11:03 pm
This team doesn’t want Bowles here no more than the rest of us. That’s been pretty obvious in their lackluster play. So if they win or lose, they don’t really care. Sure some players have shown glimmers of hope this season, though rarely. But chances are is that those glimmers are just auditions for another team for next year or bargaining for a new deal with the Bucs. This team only plays just hard enough to get noticed on an individual basis and they play to avoid injury. They know they have to “bank” as much dough as quickly as possible in the NFL before a bad “career ending” injury or before the rest of the NFL sees their financial strategy in their play on the field. Follow the money in any scenario in life and you’ll have your answer.
December 30th, 2022 at 11:11 pm
Also, did you see the look of disgust on Julio’s face during Bowels’ post game locker room speech last week? Or the look of “so what who cares” on Julio’s face when the game winning field goal went through the uprights? He’s getting Antonio Browns year end “give up” mentality.
December 30th, 2022 at 11:27 pm
Wouldn’t it be great if Bowles and Leftwich announced they believe in this team so much they would resign if Bucs didn’t score 30+ this weekend. That would make watching the game a lot more fun.
December 31st, 2022 at 12:33 am
Someone needs to take Toad’s Bowels and Boron’s Leftwurst out for a long boat ride for New Year’s Eve and get lost in the Gulf until Tuesday.
December 31st, 2022 at 3:24 pm
Lay off the Sean Payton for HC BS on here. That insults every genuine Bucs fan who still wanders on to this site. DR, you’re hitting the nail on the head about Methusaleh 0 being a BIG reason for our crummy record. He’ll be gone next season, and I can’t wait! He’s too old and he’s so blinded by ego, the yahoo can’t see what a charmed life he’s lived. Let’s see how Bowles stacks up as a HC with Brady gone. Bucs will beat Panthers tomorrow. But, they won’t go far in the playoffs.