The No. 2 enemy for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next season is going to be the Carolina Panthers, who won the NFC South last season, and the No. 3 enemy is going to be the Atlanta Falcons, who wil be a lot more dangerous with a competent head coach in Kevin Stefanski over a well known charlatan to Bucs fans, Raheem Morris.
But the No. 1 enemy for Tampa Bay will be themselves. They truly beat themselves last season and have nobody to blame but their own incompetence for blowing the division and the playoffs entirely. Todd Bowles can throw Josh Grizzard under the bus and spin any narrative he wants about the Bucs injuries, but every single fan in the stadium knows that he has not been remotely good enough as a head coach and has ruined a lot of the character that made the Bucs so great during the Tom Brady era.
The Glazers may still be big backers of Bowles, but the Bucs fans are not - and neither are the most astute members of the media. Legendary sports writer Bill Simmons recently gave his take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2026, and his commentary on Todd Bowles was not pretty, though it is nothing unfamiliar to the Bucs faithful.
Todd Bowles does not inspire confidence
Simmons said of the former Arizona Cardinals and New York Jets coach on The Mina Kimes Show, via Joe Bucs Fan, “I would have him circled in the first-coach-fired rankings, because I thought he should have been fired after the season."
While Simmons was not high on Baker Mayfield either, calling him a middle tier quarterback, he still predicted that the Buccaneers will win the NFC South, which both speaks volumes to the talent at some of the other positions on the roster, like wide receiver and offensive line, but also the lack of quality in the division as a whole.
Once again, the Buccaneers are staring down a scenario in which the playoffs and the division crown should be a slam dunk by virtue of the lack of competition. But will Todd Bowles merely let them down in the end? Bill Simmons does not seem to think so, but he isn't exactly projecting a lot of confidence in the head coach of the Bucs. Perhaps if the Bucs pulled the trigger on an upgrade, fans would be more inclined to have optimism this summer.
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