Todd Bowles had the chance to defend himself this week after many have called for his job. Bowles spoke with the media on Monday for his end of season press conference, where some things were answered and others weren’t.

Many have called for the Bucs to let go of Bowles after an 8-9 finish. The Glazer family, who’ll make that decision, has not met with Bowles yet, so it’s tough to say if Bowles’ job is safe or not.

Todd Bowles Explains Why He Should Stay As Bucs Head Coach

Todd Bowles was given an opportunity to express to fans that don’t think he should be back as to why he should be the coach next season.

“All I can do is coach and be myself,” Bowles said. “I’ve earned the chance – I’ve won three straight division titles, so that says a lot as far as I’m concerned. I don’t really have a message for fans other than true fans are true fans and we’re going to try to do our best to go out there and win for them. They’re going to feel how they feel, but that’s not a coach’s problem. The coach’s problem is to make the team better and that’s all I’m looking forward to.

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

“I understand their frustrations, I understand our own frustrations, as well. It’s well-warranted and it’s well-warranted within the building, as well.”

Todd Bowles’ Reasoning Doesn’t Hold Up

It’s tough to get behind Todd Bowles’ main point being that he’s won three division championships. Without any context on a resumé, yes, winning three division titles is a great accomplishment. But we have to look closer.

In his first year as head coach in 2023, the Bucs won the NFC South under Bowles with an 8-9 record. Should they be proud of that?

The next season Tampa Bay went 9-8 and won the division. It’s an improvement, but once again, it was just taking advantage of playing in the worst division in football.

While last season’s 10-7 record and division title was the best and most respectable season by Tampa Bay under Bowles, it would not have qualified them for the postseason in any other division besides the NFC South. That record wouldn’t have even been good enough for a Wild Card playoff berth.

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

Then this season an 8-9 record only put the Bucs in playoff contention because of they company they share in the division. Simply put, anywhere else and Bowles has no playoff appearances and probably still wouldn’t be employed by Tampa Bay.

Staff Changes Coming?

Todd Bowles already has the ire of Bucs fans. But his responses on Monday likely irked them even more. It didn’t help to say that he “doesn’t have a message” to fans after missing the postseason and that their feelings are “not a coach’s problem.”

But what might frustrate fans even more is Bowles’ non-commitment to making coaching changes to a staff that badly needs some.

“It’s an ongoing process. It’s going to be the same – we haven’t really evaluated anything else,” Bowles said if he’s considering coaching changes. “Once I’ve started with myself, then I’ll get down to coaches, then to players. I’ll make those decisions in the coming weeks whether we need to do anything.”

He was also asked about making coaching decisions in season versus when the season is over.

“You’ve always got to go through the evaluation process,” Bowles said. “You don’t want to make a rash decision, you don’t want to make a gut-wrenching decision and a quick decision. You want to have a calm head and you want to see what’s best for the team and then you go from there.”

Bucs HC Todd Bowles and ST coordinator Thomas McGaughey – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

A big point of contention this season was why Bowles didn’t fire special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey despite several miscues in different areas in that unit.

“Who would you like to get?” Bowles said. “It’s an evaluation process. Sometimes it’s the players, sometimes it’s the coach. You got to available both as you go through the season. You make that evaluation process and that’s the thing we’re doing right now.”

A simple fix would’ve been putting assistant special teams coach Keith Tandy in for McGaughey and sending a message to the team with his dismissal.

Ultimately, Bowles understands that everything falls on him for the step back by the team in this season. He’s taking ownership of it.

“It starts with me,” Bowles said. “I’ll take it all. I’m the head coach. It starts with me. I have to take all of that and I have to get that fixed. That’s what my job description is and that’s what I should do. It starts with me, it goes down to the coaches, then it goes down to the players.”