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Despite a brutal loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 15, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers may make the playoffs this season, but that has not stopped fans and pundits from wondering what the future could hold for head coach Todd Bowles.
Insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated recently broke down where the league stands following Week 15’s contests and assessed whether or not Bowles would be on the hot seat at the conclusion of this season.
“Let’s start with Bowles, who has, on balance, done a really nice job winning division titles in each of his three years since taking over for Bruce Arians after the 2021 season. He’s been competitive in the playoffs and signed an extension in June, which keeps him under contract through the three seasons after this one,” Breer wrote.
“On the flip side, we’ve been here before. There were rumblings in NFL circles about Bowles’s job security last year, when the team was 4–6, before it recovered to finish 10–7. Ditto for the year before, when the team was 4–7, before it dug out of that hole to get to 9–8.”
“Right now, Tampa is 7–7. On its face, given the goodwill Bowles should have built up after three-plus years, that’s not a fireable offense. But the Buccaneers have lost five of six, and two of their final three games are against the Panthers, with whom they’re tied atop the NFC South. So a failure to win a fourth consecutive division title could lead to some reassessment on where things are. I don’t think, right now, Bowles will be fired. But we’ll see how the next three weeks go.”
The Panthers are currently tied with the Buccaneers in the NFC South. The two teams will face each other in Week 16 and Week 18. It is possible that the outcome could determine who advances to the playoffs, which could also impact how ownership and the front office view Bowles’ long-term viability.
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