While it didn’t grab many headlines, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers deciding to bring back head coach Todd Bowles for another season produced its own fair share of groans and eye rolls among a fan base that’s grown tired of watching the Buccaneers seemingly get worse every year under his leadership.
It was a strange move in a lot of ways — mainly that it was Bowles who confirmed the news to The Tampa Bay Times and not the Glazer family or general manager Jason Licht.
Bowles also did the thing NFL head coaches do when they’re on the hot seat by firing offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard — a convenient scapegoat — after the Buccaneers went 8-9 overall and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
Tampa Bay wasn’t a bad team for all of 202. They were just bad when it really mattered, and Bowles can’t fire the defensive coordinator because that’s also his job.
For lack of having any better options, the Buccaneers seem like they’ve decided to bring Bowles back. Now, though, there’s a chance at a better future, but only if the Buccaneers are willing to be bold. If they can do that, they could change their collective fortunes.
That move? Make a trade for Super Bowl-winning head coach Mike Tomlin, who resigned after 19 seasons following an AFC Wild Card Round loss to the Houston Texans.
NFL History Shows Trading for HC Pays Off Big
There are 3 notable examples of this we can point to where teams traded for a head coach and it worked out.
In January 2000, the New York Jets promoted defensive coordinator Bill Belichick to head coach. One day later, he resigned to become head coach of the New England Patriots, who had to give the Jets their 2000 first round pick. Belichick led the Patriots to 6 Super Bowl wins in 24 seasons and played in 3 more Super Bowls.
In 2002, the Buccaneers traded their 2002 and 2003 first round picks, 2002 second round pick and 2004 second round pick along with $8 million in cash to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for head coach Jon Gruden, who won the Super Bowl in his first season in Tampa Bay.
In January 2023, the Denver Broncos traded their 2023 first round pick and 2024 second round pick to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for head coach Sean Payton and a 2024 third round pick.
In 2024, Payton and the Broncos ended an 8-year playoff drought. In 2025, the Broncos went 14-3 in the regular season and earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC Playoffs.
One Important Clue Could Bring Tomlin to Bucs
In 19 seasons with the Steelers, Tomlin never had a losing record, made the playoffs 13 times and won 8 AFC North titles. He won a Super Bowl following his second season and made it to another Super Bowl, following the 2010 season, where he lost to the Green Bay Packers and current Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
There is one clue the Buccaneers might seize on in terms of Tomlin’s future and what might lead him to Tampa Bay.
Here’s a hint: It’s the same thing that brings almost everyone to Florida.
“League sources also have told me, ‘Mike Tomlin has told people that he would prefer to coach in a warm-weather environment, if it fits,’ ” NFL insider Josina Anderson wrote on her official X account on January 13.
Bucs Urged to Reverse Course, Pull Off Blockbuster Head Coach Trade