Gerald McCoy calls out 'spoiled' Buccaneers fans who want Todd Bowles fired

It's been a bumpy season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but it is far from over. Back-to-back wins out of the bye week, combined with a losing streak by the Atlanta Falcons, have thrust the Bucs back into the thick of the playoff race.

Tampa Bay's season looked cooked just a few weeks ago, as the team sat at 4-6 after a brutal four-game losing streak that claimed Chris Godwin to a season-ending injury. Now the Bucs are on the cusp of getting back into first place and allowing themselves to control their path to a fourth straight NFC South title.

Sunday's win over the Carolina Panthers was hardly one to brag about, though. Tampa Bay snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, needing a lucky fumble in overtime to avoid what would have been a disastrous—and potentially season-killing—loss. The way things went has only turned the volume up on fans calling for head coach Todd Bowles to be fired, but it's noise that former player Gerald McCoy is sick of hearing.

Gerald McCoy calls out 'spoiled' Buccaneers fans complaining about Todd Bowles

McCoy was a guest on WDAE's Pat & Aaron Show and laid into Bucs fans who are calling for Todd Bowles. Not only that, he went as far as to call fans complaining about how things are going this year 'spoiled' and attempted to humble folks by reminding everyone how bad things used to be compared to now.

"The [Bucs fans] who are complaining about Coach Bowles or this team or whatever is going on, they're spoiled, and let me tell you why they're spoiled," McCoy said. "When I was playing those games, we were Carolina. We'd be in a game with a team we weren't supposed to be; we would play well and just find a way to lose. It has to feel great for Lavonte and Mike and Will and people who went through that to be on the other side of it."

It's never a good idea to call fans out, but McCoy has a point. Things have certainly been rocky for the Bucs this season but it wasn't that long ago the team was in one of the darkest stretches of franchise history.

Then again, at what point do we stop using the second Dark Age as a crutch when the last four years have very clearly raised standards in Tampa Bay?

It's not untrue that things were bleak, but expectations are much higher for the Bucs specifically because things have been so much better over the last half-decade. Even the last season of Jameis Winston seemed to be a sign that the ship was turning around, and the Brady Years changed things forever.

An ugly win is still a win, though, and McCoy's point further emphasizes the discourse about Bowles and his future. There's a radicalized element of the fanbase that will accept no other outcome than Bowles being fired and every single mistake made is another nail in his coffin, a level of negativity that seems to be what McCoy is driving at with his comments.

Gone are the days of Bucs fans settling for less, though. Bowles is being unfairly judged for things that are a result of missing talent -- i.e., a lack of pass-rush depth that screws everything up --, but he's still making bizarre decisions that cost the team in games.

What we can't lose sight of is the fact that the Bucs are winning games and remain competitive. If McCoy's point is a tad reductive, it's worth pointing out that the Bucs have failed to win the division only once this decade and have a chance to keep that streak alive, which is incredible considering where they've been.

Until the team truly fails and falls short of its goals, there's no sense in getting too worked up and sacrificing the enjoyment of the moment.

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