Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport X account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to SR each week via X using the hashtag #PRMailbag. Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: If Bucs get embarrassed on Thursday Night Football in Dallas, do you see an offensive coordinator or a head coach change? Or will it be status quo?

ANSWER: History suggests that the Glazers will maintain the status quo – even with a 0-5 record with a loss to the Cowboys on Thursday Night Football. Ownership absolutely loves Todd Bowles and they want to give him every chance to succeed and turn this ship around. But Bowles is now 2-11 in the team’s last 13 games following Sunday’s 17-14 loss to the Packers and Tampa Bay just can’t win close games.

Bowles is now 15-24 in one-score games in Tampa Bay – games that are decided by a touchdown (eight points) or less. Over the past two years – the 2025 season and the first four games in 2026 – Bowles is 6-10 in such games. It’s just not working out and it will only be a matter of time before he’s fired. Bowles fired offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard in the offseason, and his replacement, Zac Robinson, is actually worse.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles and ILBs coach Mike Caldwell – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But what’s worse? The Glazers admitting their mistake in keeping Bowles sooner rather than later and firing him now? Or letting Bowles and the fan base suffer through a double-digit losing season before he’s fired?

If Bowles were to get fired in-season, which the Glazers have never done before, that would at least appease the fan base, which can’t stand Bowles. And that would signal to the fans that a new regime will be coming in 2027. In the fans’ minds, at least help will be on the way in the offseason.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that many more wins will follow in 2026 even after Bowles is canned. This is a bad coaching staff with no apparent quality in-house option for an interim head coach. I’ve seen the Glazers allow Raheem Morris to free-fall to 10 straight losses after a 4-2 start in 2011 before firing him after the season. I’ve also seen them watch Greg Schiano start 0-8 and wait until after he finished the 2013 season 4-12 to fire him.

There are a lot of empty seats at Raymond James Stadium already, and the last two games have seen the Vikings fans equal the number of Bucs fans in Week 3 and Packers fans outnumber Bucs fans on Sunday. I expect more of the same in two weeks when the Steelers and their fans come to town.

But fans of the Falcons, Saints and Panthers don’t travel in large numbers, and there are not going to be many Chargers or Rams fans in town later in the year. The Glazers may be looking at a half-empty Ray-Jay in the months of November and December, which could prompt a coaching change before the end of the season.

QUESTION: If they’re not going to fire Todd Bowles then what are the odds Zac Robinson gets the ax in a desperation move?

ANSWER: Well, Todd Bowles waited until after the season to fire offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard and some assistants. And he had every reason to fire awful special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey last year in-season but didn’t. That’s just not Bowles’ style and I would be surprised if he fired offensive coordinator Zac Robinson during the season.

Bucs OC Zac Robinson and HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Tampa Bay’s offense has not only regressed from last year, it’s actually regressed on a weekly basis this year since Robinson took over. The Bucs offense has scored 20 points in Week 1 at Cincinnati, 19 points in Week 2 versus Cleveland, 16 points the next week against Minnesota and just 14 points on Sunday versus the Packers. So Bowles would be warranted in changing direction at offensive coordinator. Sometimes drastic times call for drastic measures.

However, there are two problems in doing so. First, it’s an absolute indictment on Bowles himself, as he handpicked the last two coordinators, and firing both would only highlight his failure in that area. Second, who would take over as the play-caller?

Senior offensive assistant and pass game specialist Ken Zampese has the most experience as a play-caller, as he was Cincinnati’s offensive coordinator from 2016-17 before Marvin Lewis fired him. Bowles could also give pass game coordinator T.J. Yates or quarterbacks coach Chandler Whitmer a shot, but neither has any play-calling experience.

QUESTION: I know the Bucs don’t make coaching changes midseason, and let’s say this hold true. Any ideas on who you think the frontrunner would be to become the new head coach?

ANSWER: It is way too early to tell in which direction the Glazers would move in if they move on from Todd Bowles either during the season or after the 2026 campaign. One thing is certain, there will not be an outside coach coming in to serve as an interim head coach if Bowles were fired before the end of the season. So any fantasy that Buccaneers fans have of Jon Gruden or Sean McDermott coming in midseason and taking over would never happen.

Those coaches would want nothing to do with the current assistants on this team. It’s impossible to make any meaningful wholesale or playbook changes this late into the season. Why would someone like Gruden, McDermott or Mike Tomlin want to hop aboard a sinking ship and preside over some inevitable losses at the end of the season? That just doesn’t make sense.

I think there are two directions the Glazers will consider after Bowles is fired. The first is going with a veteran head coach with a proven track record, although that hasn’t always worked out well in Tampa Bay. See Sam Wyche and Lovie Smith – two retreads who failed miserably with the Bucs from 1992-95 and 2014-15, respectively.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles and former Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Former Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin, who got his NFL start with the Bucs under Tony Dungy, and former Buffalo coach Sean McDermott are two names that immediately come to mind. I don’t think the Glazers will go down the road again with Jon Gruden, considering that he didn’t have too much success with the Raiders in his second go-around in silver and black. The Glazers and Gruden just mended fences last year and I don’t think either wants to risk ruining that by partnering up again – although the Bucs could use Gruden’s juice and intensity.

The other avenue is pursuing a young, offensive-minded head coach, hoping to find the next Sean McVay, Kyle Shanhan or Liam Coen. While Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski and Ravens offensive coordinator Declan Doyle are hot, young offensive hot shots, only Doyle has any actual play-calling experience at the NFL level. He’s only called plays for four games so far, but Baltimore ranks sixth in scoring, averaging 29 points per game.

A wild card could be Georgia head coach Kirby Smart if he wants to try out a new challenge. Smart has already won back-to-back national championships with the Bulldogs and is known for his intense, motivational style, his rugged NFL-caliber defenses and picking good offensive coordinators.

QUESTION:  Fans overwhelming blamed Baker Mayfield for the 0-3 record. Against the Packers the team looked exactly as they did in the first three weeks. The head coach is uninspiring. The offensive coordinator is overwhelmed. The O-line is underperforming. The defense can’t put together four quarters. Is the overall problem a lack of quality coaching or a lack of quality talent?

ANSWER: As I mentioned before, Todd Bowles is 15-24 in one-score games as the Bucs head coach, including a 6-10 record this year. The fact that the Bucs have played in so many close games tells me it’s more about coaching, X’s and O’s and in-game strategy and game management than it is about a lack of talent. I do think the Bucs’ biggest problem is that they’re poorly coached. Not just from Bowles and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, either.

I think most of the assistant coaches on this team are average at best. For example, since defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers left two years ago, Calijah Kancey has had four tackles in last seven games and zero sacks. On Sunday, Kancey had zero tackles and zero pressures. The former first-round pick was a complete non-factor, and there’s no way he’s worth $14.75 million next year.

Bucs DTs Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Is Kancey suddenly a bad player? He had 7.5 sacks back in 2024 when he didn’t even play a full season. Or has he just being poorly coached by Charlie Strong and Marcus West over the last two years?

We’ve seen so much regression on the offensive line and the defensive line that I have to think that it’s poor coaching. What Robinson is doing with all of the screen passes and swing passes in this horizontal attack without any vertical element is just dumb and ineffective. Offenses have seemed to figure out Bowles’ scheme, which appears to be dated. His blitzes rarely get home and have much effect on opposing quarterbacks.

Colorado State head coach Jim Mora Jr. made some great points about coaching in his post-game press conference this weekend. I think the Bucs assistants don’t teach the fundamentals enough with enough repetition and attention to details.

This Tampa Bay team is stale and needs new, modern schemes and new leadership. Perhaps most importantly, this team needs some energy and intensity from a new coaching staff. The Bucs look lifeless on the field and on the sidelines far too often.

QUESTION: The NFL trade deadline is coming in a few weeks. Let’s talk about a rebuild. Which player should the Bucs sell? Antoine Winfield Jr.? Yaya Diaby? Chris Godwin Jr.? Someone else?

ANSWER: You mean a fire sale? For the first time, Bucs general manager Jason Licht might be a seller rather than a buyer at the NFL trade deadline, which is Tuesday, November 10. Not that Licht has been much of a buyer anyway. Tampa Bay usually stands pat and doesn’t make any moves at the trade deadline. I don’t expect him to voluntary want to part ways with the players he had a hand in acquiring via the draft or free agency as that might be an indictment of some failed acquisitions.

Yet he may get a directive from the Glazers, who may not want to pay big money for underperforming players, and that’s understandable. The Glazers are already paying $10 million per year to tight end Cade Otton, which is ridiculous because he’s average at best. Actually, Pro Football Focus ranked Otton as the 29th-best tight end out of 32 league-wide at the start of the season. And the team has not gotten much return on huge investments in Baker Mayfield and Vita Vea, either.

Bucs WR Chris Godwin and GM Jason Licht, photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Wide receiver Chris Godwin Jr. is slated to make $20.5 million next year at age 31 with no guaranteed money. The Bucs should call Jacksonville (Liam Coen) and Las Vegas (John Spytek, Tom Brady) to see if there is any interest. Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. turns 28 next year and is scheduled to make $18.1 million with no guaranteed money. Winfield has been nothing more than ordinary since his All-Pro season in 2023.

Tampa Bay could also try to trade outside linebacker Yaya Diaby instead of possibly re-signing him in free agency. He hasn’t been worth it as he’s having his worst season during his contract year. If Diaby signs elsewhere for a sizeable amount the Bucs could get a compensatory pick in 2028, but trading him before November 10 could result in a draft pick for 2027. Tampa Bay could also consider trading defensive tackle Calijah Kancey rather than having to pay him $14.75 million next year in his fifth-year option, but Kancey’s stock is way down right now.

QUESTION: Why weren’t you more critical of this team in preseason?

ANSWER: This is a good question and a fair one. It’s important to note a couple of things. I predicted a 10-6 record for the Bucs this year. Nothing too crazy, and that’s based on the fact that Tampa Bay – despite a plethora of injuries – the team was two wins away from hitting 10 victories again in 2025 for a second straight year. If the Bucs held on against the Falcons and didn’t blow a 14-point lead with 10 minutes left, and they didn’t let Quinn Ewers beat them in Miami, a banged up Tampa Bay team wins the division again at 10-7.

So with a healthier team with some new blood on defense and a supposedly better and more experienced play-caller on offense, projecting 10 wins didn’t seem like much of a stretch, especially in the downtrodden NFC South. And given the fact that the Bucs are 0-4 because they have lost by six points, four points, seven points and three points means they are not too far off from actually being a decent team.

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

Todd Bowles and his staff just can’t press the right buttons when it comes to player execution and can’t come through with the right play calls to scheme stops on defense or score points on offense. These close losses might help make the Bucs job more attractive when it comes to finding the next head coach. It might signal that a quick-fix turnaround could be done in Tampa Bay with the right staff and some smart X’s and O’s.

I did warn fans about Zac Robinson’s offense, saying that there were too many screen passes from what we’ve seen in training camp. However, we saw more deep shots in practice in August than we’ve seen in games.

I didn’t think the offensive line would be this bad. I thought that Tampa Bay’s defensive line would be dominant as a result. I got fooled. As it turns out, neither the O-line nor the pass rush up front is great, which is a shame.