When the Bucs square off with the Steelers on Sunday afternoon at Acrisure Stadium, it’s also a matchup of head coaches Todd Bowles and Mike Tomlin. Both of these coaches represent a small community of black head coaches across the NFL.

Bowles is on his second head coaching stint after previously coaching with the Jets. He’s had a lot of success as a defensive coordinator, helping the Bucs win Super Bowl LV with a terrific defensive performance. Tomlin has been the Steelers head coach since 2007, with a record of 155-88-2 while also wining Super Bowl XLIII.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The league has four black head coaches among the 32 teams in 2022: Bowles, Tomlin, Texans head coach Lovie Smith and Steve Wilks, who took over as interim head coach of the Panthers after Matt Rhule was let go this week.

On Wednesday, Bowles commented on his relationship with Tomlin, but downplayed the fact that this will be a seemingly rare matchup between two of the league’s only black head coaches.

“I have a very good relationship with Tomlin,” Bowles said. “We don’t look at what color we are when we go coach against each other. We just know each other, I have a lot of very good white friends that coach in this league as well. I don’t think it’s a big deal as far as us coaching against each other, I think it’s normal. [Panthers Head Coach Steve] Wilks has got an opportunity to do a good job, hopefully he does, and we coach ball. We don’t look at color.”

Bowles Gives Outlook On Coaching Matchup

Implemented in 2002, the Rooney Rule requires every team to interview ethnically diverse and minority candidates for senior operations front office jobs and head coaching positions. Its goal and objective was to provide more opportunity for minority coaches and executives.

In 2021, the NFL extended the rule to require at least two interviews to minorities. And yet, still there are only four black head coaches throughout the league. When Bowles was asked again about the topic, he almost preferred that everyone didn’t have a microscope on black coaches, and rather looked at it as just two coaches trying to win a ball game on Sunday.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“When you say you see ‘you guys’ and ‘look like them or grow up like them,’ it means we’re oddballs to begin with,” Bowles said. “I think the minute you guys stop making a big deal about it, everybody else will as well.”

In 15 seasons prior to his one, Tomlin’s team has never had a season with under a .500 winning percentage. It’s made him one of the most successful and popular coaches you can find in today’s league. That may come to a close this season as the Steelers are 1-4 and have games coming up against the Bucs, Dolphins and Eagles.

But the accomplishment of that streak as it stands is highly respected by Bowles.

“It’s unbelievable,” Bowles said. “I don’t know who else has done that, but he’s done an outstanding job since he’s been there as a coach and being a model citizen. [He’s] one of the coaches I have a lot of respect for in this league [and] truly look up to in that aspect.”