Bucs legend and Hall of Famer Ronde Barber is a big fan of head coach Todd Bowles. Barber, who played cornerback for 15 years of his career in Tampa Bay before spending a final season at free safety, works for the Bucs as a preseason TV analyst on WFLA News Channel 8, and also breaks down film for Buccaneers.com.

But Barber has never been one to sugarcoat his answers. The straight-shooting Bucs Ring of Honor member was put on the spot during a recent appearance on the Pewter Report Podcast, where he was asked if he thought Bowles was on the hot seat entering 2023.

In his first season as the Bucs head coach, Bowles’ team finished with an 8-9 losing record, but won the NFC South and made the postseason for a third straight season. Yet, Tampa Bay lost its home playoff game to Dallas, 31-14.

Ronde Barber Is Rooting For Todd Bowles To Be Successful

So, how does Ronde Barber view Todd Bowles heading into his second season as the captain of the Bucs’ ship?

Former Bucs CB Ronde Barber – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“I would love to see Todd Bowles win and prove all of this irrelevant,” Barber said on the Pewter Report Podcast. “That’s the best way I can look at it because I know how Todd would answer this question. He would say, ‘I have no control over that.’ I mean, I’ll ask him that question preseason broadcast [and he’ll say] ‘Hey, I have no control over that, Ronde. All I can do is go out and do my job and get these guys ready to play and win.’ And he’s 100% correct.

“Now that being said, I think he needs to win. Yeah, I think he’s in a tough situation with new quarterback and a brand-new offensive coordinator, who is going to change the scheme with a bunch of new players on that side of the ball. Or at least guys playing in different positions.”

Part of the stipulation in Bowles replacing Bruce Arians was that he had to keep the coaching staff intact. Bowles and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich didn’t see eye-to-eye for most of the season and Leftwich was fired after the playoff loss to the Cowboys.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Bowles and general manager Jason Licht interviewed 10 offensive coordinator candidates before settling on Seattle quarterbacks coach Dave Canales, who comes with no play-calling experience at the NFL or college level. It’s a big risk for Bowles given his situation, and the fact that the head coach strictly focuses on the defensive side of the ball where he calls plays.

“It is what it is – but that’s part of your responsibility as a head coach,” Barber said. “Jon Gruden was the exact same way when he was coaching with Monte [Kiffin]. We were autonomous [on defense]. Monte could do whatever he wanted on his side of the ball, and it works – it works for the right people.

“And it needs to work for Todd, because, yeah, obviously, he’s a great defensive coordinator and he’s a great mind. But I think he has a guy now in Dave that is more suited to the way that he wants to play football. This is not Bruce Arians’ Super Bowl team. I know that had the holdover last year with Byron Leftwich, but you know 73% passing [plays] per game? That’s not the way Todd wants to play football.”

Todd Bowles Will Sink Or Swim Based On The Dave Canales Hire

Bowles always fields a very good defense, so he will likely sink or swim this year in Tampa Bay depending on how Canales performs. The Bucs’ scoring fell from averaging 30 points per game in 2020 and 2021 to just 18 points per game last year.

Bucs OC Dave Canales – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Not only does Bowles want to see more points more often, he also wants to play more complementary football where the offense runs the ball more to help rest his defense.

“Dave Canales’ offenses have always – or at least last year – relied on two tight end sets,” Barber said. “Eleven personnel when you have to spread them out. But two or three tight ends being available to the offense – and run the ball. Mid- to wide-zone. It makes it quarterback-friendly for either Baker [Mayfield] or [Kyle] Trask to get out of the pocket and create plays on their own.

“I keep calling that the gamer – this offense seems to be set up for Baker. I will say the way it feels is because Baker plays his best when he’s on the move, and you know, being able to work out of the pocket. And I think the offense, the way that it is shaping up with the run game, seems to be shaping up it will be [what Bowles wants].”

Ronde Barber Says Todd Bowles Needs To Win In 2023

Former Bucs great Ronde Barber – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

At the end of his appearance on the Pewter Report Podcast, Barber reiterated that Bowles needs to produce a winning record in 2023 to increase his job security for 2024.

“So to get back to your question, Todd needs to win because it’s this year, and his expectations are going to be for this team to win because of what we said this entire show. They still have a lot of talent.

“Are they young at a lot of places? Do they have a lot of new faces? Yes, but this is a team that has enough talent to win, and I don’t see any reason why they don’t compete in the NFC South and try to make another playoff run. Even though everybody outside of the building says they’re not capable.”

Watch Ronde Barber On The Pewter Report Podcast

Click on the video below to watch Ronde Barber talk about his Hall of Fame career, the glory days, and the current Bucs team led by Todd Bowles.