Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles entered the season on the hot seat. Considering the Bucs 0-2 start, the seat is not getting any cooler, and if anything, the talk about an in-season firing has picked up.
While Scott Reynolds of Pewter Report acknowledges this is likely to be the last year that Bowles has as the Bucs head coach, he does not expect a firing to come during the season. Reynolds notes that things have gotten bad in Tampa Bay before, but the Bucs have waited until the season ended to make a move.
“Don’t expect the Glazers to fire Bowles at any point this season unless they want to break precedent,” noted Reynolds. “Raheem Morris lost 10 straight games after a 4-12 start in 2011 and didn’t get fired until after the season. It was the same thing with Greg Schiano, who started the 2013 season 0-8 and didn’t get fired until after the team finished the year 4-12.”
The Bucs could finish the year poorly. Still, the team has seen 10 straight and eight straight losses from different coaches, and they still waited until the end of the season. While it has been over a decade since those coaches were fired and things might change, the precedent has been set by the owners.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Expected to Fire Todd Bowles At End of Season
Still, Reynolds made it clear that the team would have to turn things around in a significant way to keep his job.
“The Glazers have fired every head coach that has had back-to-back losing seasons since they took over as owners in 1995, and one would have to think that trend would continue with Bowles, who is unpopular with fans, if he can’t turn this season around by January,” wrote Reynolds.
At 0-2, the Bucs would have to finish the year 9-6 for the Bucs to even consider Bowles keeping his job. Considering Tampa Bay is currently in a 2-8 stretch dating back to last year, it is hard to see things changing quickly.
Bowles will always be remembered as a great coach in Bucs history. He was the defensive coordinator of the Bucs defense that won their most recent Super Bowl in 2020.
He worked under Bruce Arians for one season after the Super Bowl before the Bucs promoted Bowles. The team went 8-9 in his first season as head coach, but still made the playoffs.
Bowles is Not Winning Enough With Buccaneers
Still, they went 9-8 and 10-7 over the next two years. Despite that, the team went 1-2 in the playoffs. They are 1-3 overall in playoff games with Bowles leading the way.
After starting the 2025 season with a 6-3 record, the team sputtered to the end with a 2-6 finish. So, the Bucs put Bowles on the hot seat but kept him for what is looking like a lame duck season.
On offense, they are hoping their coordinator change can bring out the best of the group. On defense, half of the unit is players who were not on the roster or not in the mix last season. The team has too many moving pieces for a coach who needs to win soon. This will likely cost Bowles his job.
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