The calls for the Bucs to fire head coach Todd Bowles — previously at a deafening level — are only going to grow louder.

It won’t happen this week, as the Bucs turn right around to play on Thursday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys. But following that game, one where the Bucs are currently 9.5-point underdogs, Tampa Bay will have a mini-bye to seriously consider jettisoning its head coach, who is now 3-12 over his past 15 games.

I won’t blame anyone who feels this is the best course of action. But it does beg the question: Who are you giving the reins to? This coaching staff lacks a former head coach who can stop the bleeding and bring some type of respectability to the operation. There is no coordinator who one might squint and say, “Well, maybe this guy could bring a different perspective, approach to details, focus etc.”

Take a look at the options.

OC Zac Robinson

Robinson’s tenure in Atlanta wasn’t exactly successful. There were some positives. The run game was top five over his two years there. He also found a way to get the most out of Drake London. His scheme helped keep his quarterbacks clean beyond what the offensive line’s talent might do on their own. None of that is happening in Tampa Bay.

Bucs OC Zac Robinson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs are a middle-of-the-pack running team. They are one spot out of dead last in EPA/dropback. When stripping out defensive and special teams scores, the Bucs are 27th in scoring offense as of this writing.

This is not the resume of someone you turn the team over. This is how the Bucs offense has performed with Robinson focusing on the offense. Can you imagine what it will look like if Robinson has to take over the entire operation? I shudder to think about it.

Robinson was a questionable hire as an offensive coordinator. I just can’t see how elevating him to head coach creates anything other than a worse product on the field.

Defensive Assistants George Edwards and Larry Foote

Edwards and Foote alternate Thursday media availability as co-coordinators on the defensive side, with Edwards operating as the pass game coordinator and Foote as the run game coordinator. Edwards may be the most likely coach to assume operational duties for the team. He has previous experience as a defensive coordinator (Minnesota Vikings 2014-2019), but has never run a building, even in a temporary capacity.

Foote has even less experience in elevated roles, having bounced between outside and inside linebackers coach since moving into a coaching role in 2015. All of his coaching experience is under the direct tutelage of one Todd Bowles. To think he would implement anything substantially different to create a spark is a stretch at best.

Bucs pass game coordinator George Edwards and head coach Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Maybe the best path forward is Edwards, who has the most executive-style experience as the interim head coach, with Foote as the interim defensive coordinator. Having Foote oversee and call the defense as a whole while Edwards oversees the operation helps improve the details across the entire team.

But all of these changes, with no real obvious answers, even on an interim basis, are to what end?

The Bucs’ Best Path Forward Won’t Be A Popular One

Barring a completely unheard of, and near-impossible turnaround, Bowles is a lame-duck. The team is biding its time until the 2027 offseason to hard reset the organization under a new coaching staff. It can be argued at this point that moving on from Bowles may be against the best interests of the 2027 version of the team.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Many of the players on this roster have been successful in the past. Liam Coen showed what this group can do with the right coaching. The Jaguars were 4-13 the year before he arrived. There are plenty examples of talented rosters underperforming to embarrassing levels under the wrong leadership, only to turn things fully around with the right coaching.

Amazingly, for all of the poor play. All of the offensive woes. All of the defensive inability to hold late in games. The Bucs have not lost a single game by more than one score this year.

The right coach isn’t with the organization currently. And even a small upgrade isn’t observable. Riding Bowles to a top-three pick in the 2027 NFL Draft may be the best path forward for a season that already looks lost. Giving the next head coach that type of capital may be the easiest way to bounce back from worst-to-first in a single offseason.