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With mandatory minicamp starting for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team is preparing for the 2026 season after a relatively disappointing year. As the Buccaneers look ahead to Week 1 of the upcoming season, head coach Todd Bowles sends a clear message to the team.
When speaking with Sports Day Tampa Bay, Bowles would speak about the expectations of the team heading into the 2026 season and spoke about executing mindsets, “instead of getting a lead and just taking plays off.”
“If we can prepare and we can execute, and we don’t look at the names on people’s helmets, and we can play the same every week and learn how to finish off games and close games out — instead of getting a lead and just taking plays off, or not having a lead and having to come back late,” Bowles said, via NBC Sports.
When reading that, some may feel that Bowles is outing Tampa Bay from last season, but the head coach speaks more about the context of everything.
“You just want to play four quarters, and you want to go out there,” Bowles said. “And I think we have those types of alpha dogs on our team right now that will make this team to elevate to that. When they start coaching themselves and don’t need too much coaching on the sideline, that’s when you know you’ve arrived.”
At any rate, Bowles looks to implement his goals into the Buccaneers this offseason, as the team looks to improve after finishing with an 8-9 record, putting them second in the NFC South, as they were eliminated from the playoffs. Tampa Bay starts the 2026 season in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Sept. 13.
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