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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have underwhelmed based on preseason expectations, but there are no indications that the team will fire head coach Todd Bowles heading into 2023. There is added interest in Bowles’ future given Tom Brady’s free agent status, but ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported that the head coach does not appear to be “on shaky ground.” The NFL insider indicated Bowles could opt to make coordinator changes heading into next season.
“I do not get the sense that the two other disappointing coaches in the NFC South, Tampa Bay’s Todd Bowles and New Orleans’ Dennis Allen, are on shaky ground, but it wouldn’t surprise me if both of them (assuming they’re kept) made the kinds of coaching staff changes they didn’t make when they ascended to their posts last offseason,” Graziano wrote on December 14, 2022. “The Tampa situation is especially interesting because of all the unknowns around Tom Brady.
“If he decides he wants to stay in Tampa (and they decide they want to keep him), he could have some input in what happens with the offensive coaching staff. If he retires or decides to play elsewhere, the decisions about how to build the offense could be much different, depending on whom the Bucs get to play quarterback.”
Brady: ‘I Really Appreciate What Todd Is Doing’
Heading into Week 15, Brady offered some unprompted praise of Bowles and his decision to allow the players to take responsibility to “fix it” amid the team’s inconsistent season. Brady has remained mostly quiet about the Bucs coaching situation this season.
“No one’s feeling sorry for us, no one outside the locker room can do much about it,” Brady explained during a December 15 press conference. “We’ve got to come together, and we’ve got to do it ourself. I think I really appreciate what Todd [Bowles] is doing. He’s putting it on us to fix it, and that’s what our responsibility is to do.
“…He’s just really allowed the leaders, the players to say, ‘You guys got to go out there and do it. We’re going to coach you up but you players got to go get it done.’ So, that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Brady Is Predicted to Retire or Play Elsewhere by Insider
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Bowles signed a five-year contract when he was promoted to head coach last offseason. This makes it a bit challenging for the Bucs to move on from Bowles, even if ownership was inclined to make a change.
Brady’s comments about Bowles comes amid plenty of buzz about his own future with the Buccaneers. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer predicted that Brady’s most likely options are for the quarterback to either retire or sign elsewhere as a free agent this offseason. The Athletic’s Mike Jones reported that most insiders believe Brady “will likely retire.”
“Regardless of the outcome of Tampa Bay’s quest for another Lombardi Trophy, Brady’s future figures to rank among the most intriguing storylines of the offseason,” Jones wrote on December 16. “Most NFL insiders believe he will likely retire, but because Brady has not announced his intentions, they do acknowledge that anything remains possible.”
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