Todd Bowles will return as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2026.
It's not a statement any Bucs fan was looking forward to hearing, even if the loudest and most unified protest couldn't sway decision-makers. Threats to cancel season tickets and calls for boycotts next season either didn't reach the Glazers or they simply didn't care, because Bowles is being brought back for at least one more season.
On the one hand it's unbelievably frustrating to watch the team decide to run things back with Bowles. The historic collapse this past season notwithstanding, the Bucs haven't exactly been convincing contenders during Bowles' tenure; three straight division titles come with some massive asterisks.
It's not exactly a popular opinion — especially now — but there are a few realities where this all turns out well for everyone in the end. Bowles has clearly earned some respect in the building and is being given a chance to dig himself out of the hole he's fallen into.
To do that will require change, something it appears Bowles is open to since he wasn't fired or forced out for refusing. We don't know what those changes are, but it's pretty clear what needs to be done to start turning things around.
Biggest changes Todd Bowles must make to justify keeping his job
Bring in new voices on the defensive coaching staff
Loyalty is a big thing with the Bucs, something that is evident in Bowles coming back despite the way things ended. It's also something that the team believes in to a fault, which is why shaking up Bowles' coaching staff on defense needs to happen.
Bowles is surrounded by guys who have been with him for awhile, which might be a reason for why things have gotten stale. There's no innovation, and nobody around to challenge him or force him to think differently. Adding some new voices adds new perspective, and evolves the approach on defense -- something that might prevent Bowles from falling into the traps he's prone to with his play calling.
It also bring new ideas, which is something the defense badly needs. Don't let any social media hotheads play the revisionist history game of erasing Bowles' massive importance to the Bucs winning a Super Bowl back in 2020. He was the architect of a menacing defense that embarrassed Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, but that was also a half-decade ago.
For all the credit Bowles deserves for crafting that defense, he needs to wear the failure of not growing it beyond that. He's a brilliant defensive mind, but he's stuck in his ways and behind the times, something some new blood can help change.
Admit defeat on Josh Grizzard and find the next rising star
Much like Bowles, there were things to like about Josh Grizzard but not nearly enough to give him another shot at running the offense. It's not really his fault, as the Bucs were bound to run out of luck when it came to passing the baton from one offensive coordinator to the next and expect them to turn into another Dave Canales or Liam Coen.
That's the thing, though. Bowles and the Bucs have demonstrated they can identify rising talent and get ahead of the curve. Even the greatest movie franchises have entities that don't live up to the others, and Grizzard is very much Attack of the Clones.
Running it back with Bowles can't mean bringing Grizzard back, which goes against the longstanding loyalty the Bucs pride themselves on but can't stand in the way of progress. This is still an offense that has young weapons like Emeka Egbuka, Bucky Irving, Jalen McMillan, and Tez Johnson, in addition to vets like Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. Don't let the Bowles rage-bait blinders fool you, the Bucs are a very attractive landing spot for an offensive coordinator who wants to launch himself into a head coaching role.
If anything, the bar has been lowered, so the next guy is in an even better position to shine since he'll be directly compared to what happened last year with the goal still being where Canales and Coen ended up. Bowles and the Bucs know how to find those candidates, and need to run that back this offseason rather than what we saw last year.
Find edge rush help
One of the excuses Bowles can make is that he doesn't have the right parts to power his defensive schemes the way he wants to. Say what you will about whether that holds up, but the lack of a pass rush has sunk the Bucs' defense in more ways than one over the last two seasons.
Not getting hands on the quarterback has magnified issues elsewhere, specifically in the secondary. The Bucs now have a growing void at linebacker that needs to be filled, and another season without a pass rush will doom everything.
The last time the Bucs had an elite pass rush they won the Super Bowl, but it's been a steady and uninterrupted downward trajectory ever since. Calijah Kancey is arguably the only reliable pass rusher the Bucs have but he's been injured more than he's played since being drafted.
Whether it's trading for someone like Maxx Crosby, opening the checkbook for a top edge rusher in free agency, using premium draft capital -- or a combination of all three -- the Bucs need to invest in finding help here.
Todd Bowles needs to give up defensive playcalling
It's never easy telling someone the game has passed them by, but there's a way to go gracefully and then there's how most NFL coaches go out. Bowles is dangerously close to forever tying his Super Bowl winning legacy with the unmitigated flame out we saw this past season.
Those two things shouldn't be linked, but right now it's impossible for fans to divorce them. One trap folks in all walks of life fall into is thinking that if they don't get all of the credit, they won't get any, something we consistently see in a spot oozing with as much bravado, ego, and testosterone as football.
If Bowles gives up play calling and hires a defensive coordinator, it goes toward that first point of injecting the staff with new ideas. Bowles has been criticized for not being a CEO coach, but he's never really done that in his career, so there's reason to believe he can make it work if he gives it a chance.
Bowles helped hire Canales and Coen, he's brought on assistants who have gotten jobs elsewhere in the league, he knows how to hire smart people. If he leans into that, allows people to do their jobs and thrive in their roles while overseeing rather than participating it could go a long way in smoothing things over.
If he takes a backseat to play calling, but assembles a staff that helps win a Super Bowl, the only people who will still knock him are the ones who were going to do it regardless. The best coaches in the league delegate, and it's a crippling weakness that Bowles needs to use this opportunity to turn into a strength.