Bucs Nation
Welcome to the good, the bad, and the brilliant. In this series, we will break down what a good, bad, and brilliant outing would look like for different facets of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ organization. The Tampa Bay Bucs will be heading into the 2025 season as winners of the NFC South for the fourth consecutive year. For their head coach, Todd Bowles, what would constitute a good season? Conversely, what might leave fans shaking their heads? Does Bowles have brilliance tucked up his sleeve and what would that look like if he did? Would a record fifth year of divisional dominance mark the campaign as a success or is something greater needed? Introducing the good, the bad, and the brilliant: Featuring Todd Bowles.
The Buccaneers’ fanbase has been relatively mixed on Todd Bowles, as a head coach. The organization has left little doubt that they’ve enjoyed Bowles’ production as their head man and that they envision a future with him at the controls. Bowles was inked to a three-year contract extension in January, keeping him with the team through the 2028 season. While questions have flurried about concerning some of the in-game decisions he has put on his resumé as well as the Buccaneers’ diminished defensive capabilities in recent seasons, those hiccups have come along with an array of successes.
Bowles has never coached the Buccaneers anywhere short of an NFC South title. His three consecutive division-winning seasons are three quarters of the most in team history. If Bowles and his Buccaneers are able to complete the task once again, the Tampa Bay would be the only team in division history to ever accomplish the feat. While the Bucs have been far from a glamour NFL franchise, the accomplishments of Todd Bowles put him right near the top of the list for the club’s best. History aside, what would a good season look like for the Bucs’ head coach?
For Tampa Bay a good season must represent a step forward from a year ago— Running in place is certainly not progress. In 2024, the Buccaneers won the division, but lost in round one of the playoffs. This came after putting together a better showing in 2023. A good season demonstrates progress and progress would mean the Buccaneers not only find themselves back in the postseason but spend some time there as well. In theory, Tampa would not need to win the NFC South in order to accomplish this although that would be the team’s easiest path. If the Buccaneers earn a spot in the playoffs and give fans a nice little playoff run to puff their chest out about, Todd Bowles will have had a good season.
For coaches, success almost always comes down to wins and loses. The Buccaneers have had steady growth in the win column each of the past three seasons— 8 in 2022, 9 in 2023, 10 in 2024. If Tampa takes a step backward...
