Sitting at 1-4, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles remains firmly on the hot seat. With the Minnesota Vikings defense dominating under Brian Flores once again, he has emerged as a likely candidate for the Bucs to call if they do move on from Bowles, according to Justin Carter of FanSided.
Carter notes that Flores brings a similar background to Bowles, but being a better coordinator might make him a better head coach in Tampa Bay.
“The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the right team for Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores,” wrote Carter. “The team just gave quarterback Baker Mayfield a big contract that they can’t realistically get out of until 2029, and Mayfield is definitely in the “he is what he is” phase of his career, so development isn’t really the issue. Building a defense that’s good enough to hold up on that side of the ball to make up for Mayfield’s sometimes erratic performances is the way forward in Tampa. (And just to ward off this counterargument: yes, Todd Bowles fits this mold and has been struggling, but I’d counter by saying that I think Flores is a far better football mind than Bowles at this point.)”
Flores was the Miami Dolphins head coach from 2019 through 2021.
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The big question with Flores is going to be the same question with Bowles. That is whether he can hire the right offensive coordinator.
When Bowles had Dave Canales and Liam Coen, the Bucs were contending, and there was not as much talk about firing the coach. When he hired Josh Grizzard, the team fell apart, and the hot seat got hotter. Right now, Zac Robinson is off to a slow start for the Bucs. Bowles has the defense playing well, but they sit at 1-4 because of the offense.
Flores hired two different coordinators with the Dolphins. He started with Chad O’Shea, then gave Chan Gailey a chance. Neither has had their name pop up as a legitimate coordinator since then. Flores is a great defensive mind, but still has to prove to NFL owners that he can pick the right offensive coaches.
Bucs Have Options if they fire Bowles
The coaching cycle is already shaping up to be a hot one. It would make sense for Tampa Bay to explore a lot of options. They have already been tied to Mike Tomlin, who got his first big break under Tony Dungy and then Jon Gruden. Sean McDermott is another former NFL head coach who could be interested in the job.
As far as coordinators, the Jaguars and Rams have offensive and defensive minds who have been emerging as potential coaching candidates. Then, there are offensive minds Declan Doyle of the Baltimore Ravens and Klay Kubiak of the San Francisco 49ers.
The Bucs are going to have more options than just Flores. However, Flores is going to be a hot name as one of the best coordinators in the NFL.
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