Lavonte David comments on Todd Bowles hot seat rumors after Week 12 loss
By Josh Hill
We've reached the point in the season where heads are starting to roll teams underperforming. Two head coaches have already been fired, with Frank Reich losing his job with the Panthers on Monday following Carolina's tenth loss of the season.
An NFC South coach getting fired is hardly surprising, but some Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans are raising their eyebrows that Todd Bowles wasn't the coach receiving the news.
Bowles has been on the hot seat since the end of last season, but a lot of the offseason chatter was nothing more than pundits trying to fill dead air. A 3-1 start cooled Bowles seat and quieted rumors that his job was in jeopardy, but things have changed drastically over the last seven weeks.
Tampa Bay is 1-6 since its bye week and has consistently struggled to avoid mental mistakes and bad decisions. This extend beyond the field and to the sidelines, where it seems criticizing Bowles is a weekly occurance and fans are sick of what they're seeing.
Sunday was another example of that, as the Bucs made dumb mistakes and Bowles made questionable decisions at the end of each half. Plenty of things went wrong -- and have gone wrong -- but the buck stops with the man in charge.
Lavonte David comments on Todd Bowles job status
It's not just fans talking about a potential coaching change. As the Bucs continue to lose and the season keeps slipping away, Bowles seat is heating up unlike we've seen it before and it's something even the players in the locker room are addressing.
After the loss to Indy, Lavonte David was asked about Bowles job security and rumors that his head coach is on the hot seat.
“I don’t worry about that,” David said. “I learned from [Lovie Smith] getting fired a long time ago, that’s something that I can’t control. You know, I’m not worried about Coach Bowles at all. You know, he’s one of the best coaches I ever played for, so we’re definitely going to keep trying to turn this thing around — for the team, not for a coach or one player.”
Obviously David isn't going to say anything out of line, but it's notable that he's commenting on the rumors. He was asked about it, so he's not going to ignore the question, but David has been in Bowles corner since the latter arrived in Tampa Bay and it's clear he's still going to bat for him amid the turmoil.
David's loyalty to his coach hasn't stopped a move being made before, though. He was firmly in Lovie Smith's corner and wasn't shy about letting everyone know how upset he was when the Bucs made a coaching change back in 2015.
As bad as things are, the Bucs are still well within striking distance of the NFC South title. That being said, a playoff trip guarantees nothing in terms of job security. Coaches have been fired even after making the playoffs, as Bowles will need to show he has a firm grip on the wheel in order to quiet rumors that he's on his way out.
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