INTRO: Tampa Bay’s defense has been atrocious, especially over the last four weeks as the team has gone 1-3 after a promising 3-1 start. Quarterbacks Kirk Cousins (four) and Lamar Jackson (five) have combined to throw nine touchdowns and no interceptions against Todd Bowles’ leaky pass defense in back-to-back weeks that have resulted in back-to-back losses for the Bucs. It’s not just Bowles and the players, it’s the assistant coaches that deserve some much-warranted criticism.

If the Bucs defense can’t get fixed over the second half of the season – starting with a challenging game versus Patrick Mahomes and the undefeated Chiefs in Kansas City on Monday night – an overhaul will be needed on that side of the ball in 2025. And that could ultimately cost Bowles his job as the head coach, too.

FAB 1. Why Is The Bucs Defense So Bad? The Veteran Players Are Screwing Up

The Bucs are 4-4 near the midway point of the season and the defense has been the culprit in several of the losses.

It’s not just the defense.

It’s Todd Bowles’ defense, really.

And therein lies the problem.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles and ILB Lavonte David – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

If Bowles’ defense is the team’s weakness, and it certainly is right now as the unit is surrendering 26.6 points per game – and he’s the head coach – what happens after this season? Assuming, of course, that the defense might not get fixed and that it winds up causing the Bucs to miss the playoffs.

Under that circumstance, how is Bowles allowed to remain as the head coach when it’s his performance as a defensive play-caller that got him the job in the first place?

Why would I make this assumption when the Bucs are 4-4 with nine games left in the season? Because that’s what the Glazers and general manager Jason Licht have to be thinking too as they evaluate this season so far.

It’s one thing to start 3-1 then slide to 4-7 and then furiously try to rally to get a winning record down the stretch in 2023. It’s another thing to have to do it again a year later.

The Bucs started off 3-1 again this season, but are staring 4-6 in the face unless they can somehow fix their defensive problems in a hurry with games against Andy Reid and the Chiefs and Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers looming before the bye week. The Bucs were able to win five of their last six games last year.

Unless they can beat Kansas City or San Francisco – or both – Tampa Bay will have to have a similar finish as last year. Yet Bowles’ defense was playing much better a year ago than it is this season and that’s why I’m not as optimistic.

The Bucs’ last two wins have come against an Eagles team that was without its top two weapons in wide receivers A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith and a Saints team that was missing half its offensive line, its starting quarterback and top wide receiver in Chris Olave, who was knocked out of the game with a concussion on New Orleans’ first series.

Unfortunately, it’s the team’s veteran players who are screwing up on defense, which makes it even worse. That’s my first hard truth about Bowles’ defense.

One play it’s Antoine Winfield Jr. with a coverage bust, and another play it’s Jordan Whitehead. It’s K.J. Britt not getting to a landmark fast enough on a coverage drop, or Lavonte David missing a tackle and allowing yards after the catch. According to Pro Football Focus, David has allowed more passing yards – 357 yards – than any other Bucs defender in coverage this year.

It’s not necessarily rookie players. We saw Bowles actually bench cornerback Tyrek Funderburk at halftime of the Falcons game in favor of Josh Hayes in the second half. The guess here is that Hayes starts at cornerback against Kansas City.

Bucs SS Jordan Whitehead – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

It’s experienced players who have played in Bowles’ scheme for years now who are the culprit for allowing some of these touchdowns on defense. Guys that Bowles has won a Super Bowl ring with.

On Thursday, I asked Bowles how frustrating that is to see the veterans make costly mistakes with blown coverages that lead to touchdowns.

“It’s frustrating at times,” Bowles said. “It’s human error and we’ve got to settle down. They understand their mistakes. As soon as we correct beating ourselves, we’ll beat other teams.”

Some of this is on the players. Some of this is on his assistant coaches – and not just Bowles. And he knows that, too.

“Just keep working,” Bowles said. “Keep your head down, making sure they can do the things they can do, cross your T’s and dot your I’s. Make sure they’re coming around and understand everything and make sure they’re in position. They’ve got to make plays. It’s a constant process of coaching it better and playing it better.”

Coaching it better and playing it better.

And that leads me to my next point in Fab 2 – but check out this video from Josh Queipo that illustrates my point.

FAB 2. Todd Bowles’ Defensive Assistants Are Not Holding Up Their End Of The Bargain

Can we be frank for a minute? Todd Bowles’ defensive assistants are not doing a good job this year. That’s my second hard truth to deliver today about Tampa Bay’s defense.

Coaching matters in football at all levels, including the NFL. Good coaching can help players reach their full potential. Bad coaching can prevent those players from reaching their full potential and allow players’ performance to slip.

Bucs OLBs coach George Edwards and HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

It’s fair to say that the Bucs defensive coaches haven’t done a good job this year because ultimately, they are responsible for their players’ production on the field. And it’s been bad at all levels – defensive line, outside linebackers, inside linebackers, safeties and cornerbacks – at different times this season.

Heading into the Week 9 game at Kansas City on Monday Night Football, Todd Bowles’ defense ranks 28th in scoring defense (26.6 points allowed per game), 30th in total defense (387.0 yards allowed per game), 29th in passing defense (255.4 yards allowed per game), 20th in run defense (131.6 yards allowed per game). Tampa Bay has allowed an average of 33 points per game in the last three weeks. That is unacceptable given the talent on this defense and it’s impossible to win games surrendering that many points.

As Bowles has accurately said, it’s not just the players’ fault. The coaches have to coach better, too.

This week I did an exercise where I listed the Top 5 assistant coaches in Tampa Bay in order – including the coordinators – in terms of on-field production and performance this year. And do you know what I came up with?

Probably the same list you would come up with.

1. Offensive coordinator Liam Coen
2. Offensive line coaches Kevin Carberry and Brian Picucci
3. Running backs coach Skip Peete
4. Wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon
5. Quarterbacks coach Thad Lewis

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

All five are on the offensive side of the ball, and four out of the five are new to the staff.

Coen’s offense was averaging 30 points per game before Mike Evans and Chris Godwin got injured, and still put up 24 points in the first game of their absence versus the Falcons. His high football I.Q., his adaptability and his creativity are on display every week.

Carberry and Picucci have finally, finally, finally gotten this offensive line to consistently pave holes in the running game. Tampa Bay’s offense is scoring as many points as the Tom Brady-led offense in 2020 and 2021 – and doing so without Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen and Pro Bowl guard Ali Marpet, who have since retired.

Peete has turned Sean Tucker into a real player in his second year, elevated Rachaad White’s game, and has helped Bucky Irving have quite a successful rookie season.

McClendon was helping put Godwin on the path toward a career year in a contract year, Evans was on pace to shatter his own single-season touchdown record, and McClendon’s successful track record in college has me optimistic that at least a couple of the team’s young receivers will rapidly develop with more opportunities as the season progresses.

Bucs QBs coach Thad Lewis and QBs Kyle Trask, Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Lewis, who was one of the few offensive holdovers from Bruce Arians’ staff, has Baker Mayfield on pace to break Brady’s single-season touchdown record of 43 TDs. Kyle Trask is also coming off his best preseason yet in Tampa Bay.

Football is a young man’s game. It always has been and always will be. Sometimes the game passes older coaches by. Sometimes older coach doesn’t relate as well to younger players. I’m not saying that is the case in Tampa Bay this year, but I can’t say it’s not the case, either. It’s worth mentioning this premise.

While Peete is the oldest position coach on offense at 61, Lewis is 36, Coen is 38, McClendon is 40 and Carberry is 41. Tight ends coach Justin Peelle is 45. It’s mostly a very young staff on offense.

On defense, it’s a much older staff in Tampa Bay. Inside linebacker coach Larry Foote is the youngest at age 44, while defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers is 55, outside linebackers coach George Edwards is 57, Bowles turns 61 on November 18, cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross is 62 and safeties coach Nick Rapone is 68.

Football is a game of adapt-or-die, and usually younger coaches are better at adapting and innovating than older ones. And here’s the problem facing Tampa Bay in 2025 and beyond that I’m sure the Glazers and general manager Jason Licht have to be considering as they evaluate Bowles’ third season as head coach on a weekly basis.

If the defense continues to be mistake-prone and underachieve, will Bowles make the necessary changes at the end of the season and fire some of the coaches that have underwhelmed?

I don’t think so, and that’s a problem.

Former Bucs ILB Devin White and head coach Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Bowles is loyal to a fault. We’ve seen that with his stubbornness in not benching Devin White when he deserved to be benched earlier than at the end of last season. And we’re seeing it again this year with his refusal to platoon anyone else with K.J. Britt despite how horrendous Britt is in coverage.

Bowles is loyal to his defensive assistants. The only ones he’s fired are the ones he didn’t hire – assistant defensive line coach Lori Locust (2019-22) and outside linebackers coach Bob Sanders (2022) after the 2022 season, both of whom were hired by Bruce Arians.

Bowles won’t part ways with Ross, who played with him at Temple back in the 1980s. Nor will he part ways with Rapone, who was Bowles’ position coach at Temple. Rodgers is Bowles’ best friend, and they’ve coached together for 17 years in the NFL – longer than anyone else on the staff.

He also has a lot of respect for Foote, whom he moved from outside linebackers coach to the more valuable role of inside linebackers coach in 2022. And Bowles is a big fan of Edwards, too.

Bowles is not giving up play-calling duties, nor should he. I trust him more than I do anyone else on the staff to call plays.

Bowles likes his defensive assistants more than I do. I think Tampa Bay’s defensive coaching staff could use an overhaul in 2025 unless there are some dramatic improvements defensively. And that’s my third hard truth about Bowles’ defense.

Bucs CBs coach Kevin Ross – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

If Bowles were to get fired or retire at the end of this year, I would think that Ross and Rapone would probably retire, too. I don’t see anyone hiring them given their age. Other defensive coaches on his staff might have a hard time finding work elsewhere. Maybe I’m wrong.

Bowles isn’t wrong when he says, “we need to play it better, we need to coach it better,” which is something he’s said a few times over the past couple of years.

On Thursday, he said something similar.

“You probably can single everybody out from a coaching standpoint and player standpoint on defense to do some things better,” Bowles said.

If the Bucs defense, which has given up nine passing touchdowns in the last two games and only come up with one takeaway, doesn’t start living up to its potential and stop being a liability, there will be a new defensive staff in Tampa Bay next year.

And a new head coach as well – because that’s Bowles’ side of the ball.

FAB 3. Is It Poor Drafting Or Poor Player Development In Tampa Bay – Or Both?

The Bucs couldn’t run the ball worth a damn over the past three years and haven’t averaged 100 yards per game since 2020 when the team ranked 25th in rushing yards. The last two years under run game coordinator Harold Goodwin, Tampa Bay ranked dead last in rushing.

The Bucs didn’t shed any tears when Goodwin and offensive line coach Joe Gilbert left for Carolina to follow Dave Canales. Goodwin and Gilbert were not good at coaching run blocking or coming up with a good run scheme.

Bucs OL coach Kevin Carberry – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Panthers averaged 104 yards rushing per game before Goodwin and Gilbert arrived, and do you know what Carolina is averaging this season? That’s right – 104 yards per game. No improvement.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay has gone from averaging 88.7 yards per game to averaging 131 yards per game, which ranks eighth in the NFL with new offensive line coaches Kevin Carberry and Brian Picucci. And the Bucs are doing it with a rookie center in Graham Barton and a new left guard in Ben Bredeson, who is only slightly better than the combo of Matt Feiler and Aaron Stinnie last year.

Goodwin and Gilbert had way more talent to work with a few years ago with three Pro Bowl linemen in Ryan Jensen, Ali Marpet and Tristan Wirfs.

It’s a testament to the coaching job that Carberry and Picucci have done already with this group of offensive linemen, which features Wirfs, a rookie center, a journeyman guard, a second-year guard in Cody Mauch, and Luke Goedeke, who is entering his second year at right tackle.

Tampa Bay has already had five games with 100 yards rushing or more out of the first eight games of the year. Those 100-yard rushing games were really hard to come by last year.

That’s a prime example of what better coaching can achieve.

Over the last four years, general manager Jason Licht and the Bucs front office have invested the following premium draft picks to help Todd Bowles’ defense:

Round 1, 2021 – OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
Round 1, 2023 – DT Calijah Kancey
Round 2, 2022 – DT Logan Hall
Round 2, 2024 – OLB Chris Braswell
Round 3, 2023 – OLB Yaya Diaby
Round 3, 2024 – NCB Tykee Smith

Bucs assistant GMs John Spytek and Mike Greenberg, personnel director Rob McCartney and GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Some of those guys are real players and some are just meh. All but one has been drafted with Bowles being the head coach.

But are the Bucs’ good draft picks on their way to becoming great players and reaching their full potential? Can the meh players actually be better than they are if they had better coaching?

Is coaching holding these guys’ development back? Or are the defensive assistants actually squeezing everything out of these draft picks – some of which may just be average at best?

I don’t know the answer. But I’ve seen Carberry and Piccuci and offensive coordinator Liam Coen step in and make massive improvements with the offensive line in just a short period of time.

We’ve been waiting to see Tryon-Shoyinka live up to his athletic potential, but he’s had three outside linebackers coaches and I’m not sure he ever will. Kancey has one sack this year since returning from a calf injury and I haven’t seen him become the disruptive force I expected him to become in his second year in Tampa Bay.

Hall has made some strides as a pass rusher this year and already has a career-high three sacks. Is he just a decent rotational player or could better coaching unleash more from Hall and Kancey?

Braswell has been slow to develop at outside linebacker, just like Diaby a year ago. While Diaby has accumulated more pressures this season, he disappeared in the playoffs last year and has just two sacks through the first eight games in 2024. Could better coaching take their games to the next level?

Bucs NCB coach Rashad Johnson and CB Josh Hayes – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Smith has had a standout rookie season so far and that’s a testament to Rashad Johnson, the team’s nickelback coach. The 38-year old Johnson flies under the radar a bit and isn’t as well known, but is well thought of at One Buccaneer Place.

It’s one thing for the Bucs’ defensive assistants to have a hand in some of the pass rushes and blitzes that don’t get home, as well as the coverage busts. But aside from game plan installation, the other main job of an assistant coach is player development and getting guys to level up.

Is that happening enough with the Bucs defenders on the roster?

Why does it seem like safety Jordan Whitehead has regressed this year? What’s taking practice squad inside linebacker Vi Jones so long to get ready to platoon with K.J. Britt on passing downs? Why isn’t edge rusher Jose Ramirez active on game days?

These are the questions that have to be going through the minds of Bucs ownership and the front office as they are witness to the ongoing collapse of Tampa Bay’s defense this year.

FAB 4. Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby Is Playing With A Chip On His Shoulder – Literally

If you’ve been frustrated with the lack of sacks from Bucs outside linebacker Yaya Diaby, take a seat and wait your turn.

No one is more frustrated than Diaby, who has been receiving a healthy dose of chips from running backs and tight ends on a regular basis because he’s Tampa Bay’s best pass rusher.

“They’re doing it more,” Diaby said. “It’s the running back, the tight end – all of them – it’s just a scheme that I feel like they just trying to do anything to slow us down.”

Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby – Photo by: Cliff Welch P/R

That’s not an excuse, that’s a reason why Diaby has just two sacks through the first eight games, according to Bucs head coach Todd Bowles.

“I think our edge guys have to be better at getting chipped and still understanding how to pressure the quarterback other than letting the chips knock them off their game a little bit and getting a little frustrated trying to force things,” Bowles said. “We have to do a better job of gaining it, we have to better job of learning when to get off the chip blocks.”

Don’t get me started on outside linebackers coach George Edwards, who I don’t think is doing a good job.

“Just like this [past] game [against Atlanta], they had the tight end and they had the running back, so it was like eight [blockers] and then they had two people running the routes,” Diaby said. “And sometimes they would keep in their slot in as well and then just have two people running a route.

“Against Atlanta last week, I tried to line up wide and then stem down and attack. I was trying to do different things to not get chipped. You don’t want to line up too wide because then it takes away time to get to the quarterback. It’s a challenge, but it’s also fun when you do get there.”

Diaby has a team-high 81.8 pass rush grade, according to Pro Football Focus, which ranks him as the 13th-best pass rusher in the NFL this year. His 31 QB pressures is the eighth-most in the league, and Diaby’s 24 hurries are the sixth-most.

Although Diaby only has two quarterback captures this year, he is ahead of last year’s pace as his first career sack didn’t come until Week 8 at Buffalo against Josh Allen. That was quite a trophy sack for Diaby, who finished with a team-high 7.5, given how mobile Allen is. Diaby has recorded a couple of other trophy sacks against two other scramblers this year in Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson.

Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby and Ravens QB Lamar Jackson – Photo by: USA Today

“I was excited about that, especially with him being a Louisville alum,” Diaby said about the Cardinal-on-Cardinal crime of sacking Jackson. “I had to get him.”

While Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes isn’t as fast as Hurts or Jackson, he’s just as elusive due to the way he wiggles out of the pocket and looks to extend passing plays behind the line of scrimmage as often as he looks to scramble for yards and a first down.

“Seeing him on film is exciting because when you go against a quarterback like him with his kind of talent he can really tear down your defense,” Diaby said. “The challenge for the D-line is to keep him in the pocket. Because if we keep him in the pocket he’s going to make some bad decisions. He’s going to throw some picks.”

It’s hard to believe that Mahomes actually has thrown more interceptions (nine) than touchdown passes (eight) this season, but that’s the case.

“You just can’t stop [rushing],” Diaby said. “It’s not two seconds with him. It’s six or seven seconds with him holding the ball. We just have to rush.

“When he gets out of the pocket that’s where he makes those plays and he always looks for [Travis] Kelce. That’s yards after the catch. Little stuff like that, but we have a good game plan going in to try to slow him down and have him roll out one way instead of the other.”

That game plan should include attacking Chiefs left tackle Wayna Morris, who has been flagged for holding three times and surrendered three sacks this season, the most of any Kansas City offensive lineman. Morris also has drawn three penalties and allowed four QB hits and 14 hurries, according to Pro Football Focus – both team highs. He has a 54.8 PFF pass blocking grade.

The Chiefs have also played Kingsley Suamataia, their second-round draft pick, at left tackle and he’s been flagged for holding three times and has a 42.3 PFF pass blocking grade this year – the worst among Kansas City offensive linemen.

FAB 5. Get Ready To Be Frustrated By The Officiating – Or Lack Thereof – On MNF

There is a narrative around the league that Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs receive a lot of favorable calls – or no-calls – from certain NFL officiating crews. One of those particular crews is headed up by John Hussey, who has been assigned to the Bucs vs. Chiefs game at Arrowhead on Monday Night Football.

The talk in the Bucs locker room is that head coach Todd Bowles has informed his team that this crew doesn’t call a lot of penalties to begin with, especially on Kansas City. So expect the Chiefs offensive line to get away with a fair bit of holding on Monday Night Football.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: USA Today

Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor has a maddening habit of lining up so far off the line of scrimmage in his pass sets that he’s literally in the backfield by the rulebook, but Hussey and his crew have rarely called illegal formation when they’ve officiated Kansas City games.

And Taylor also has a habit of getting into his pass set a hair early, as he’s been flagged five times this year for false starts. Will Hussey’s crew even call it on Monday night?

It’s one thing to have to beat an undefeated Chiefs team in a raucous environment like Arrowhead in primetime where the Bucs are 0-2 this year. It’s another thing to have to overcome bad officiating and beat the zebras, too.

Watch the video below on YouTube to become acquainted with Hussey’s officiating crew.