Former Buccaneers Head Coach Predicts 2026 Win Total

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had held dominion over the NFC South for four years straight heading into 2025, and after a 6-2 start, it looked like they were going to cruise to another division title. That all fell apart, though, when Tampa Bay won just two of its remaining games to finish 8-9 and miss the playoffs entirely.

The Bucs have put all that behind them, though, and after a slew of free agency signings and lauded draft picks, they're attempting to get back to their winning ways. There's plenty of buzz around the team as training camp looms, but there's still plenty of work to do and plenty of games to be played before the Bucs' form will start to reveal itself.

Plenty of people, though, are banking on that form to be much improved from last year. And one of those people is Tampa Bay's former Super Bowl-winning coach, Bruce Arians.

Bruce Arians Predicts Big Year For Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first half in a NFC Wild Card | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

Arians recently made an appearance on the PewterReport podcast, and during that appearance, he was asked how many wins he thought the Bucs would have this season. He didn't give an exact estimate, but it was one that Buccaneers fans will like to hear.

"I'm saying over 10 [wins], if we stay healthy," Arians said.

If the Bucs were to win more than 10 games, they'd almost certainly win the division and make the playoffs (providing another NFC South team doesn't make a huge jump). That being said, the Buccaneers haven't done that in a while — the last time Tampa Bay won more than 10 games was in 2021, when Arians was the coach and the Bucs won 13. Tampa Bay did win 10 games in 2024, but they were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round by the Washington Commanders.

Arians' health qualifier is an important one, too. He spoke about how important it is that the team's best players remain healthy, with a particular emphasis on how injuries affect the offense line.

"Offensive line injuries are hard, man," Arians said. "Everybody's into analytics. 'Hey, you should go for it!' You ain't got anybody to block that guy."

The Bucs certainly had a lot of those last year, with the team's full starting five not playing a snap together. They'll hope that changes this year, and even if it doesn't, the Bucs addressed offensive line depth by drafting guard Billy Schrauth out of Notre Dame in the fifth round.

Tampa Bay begins training camp on July 28, and they'll continue preparation for this upcoming season in hopes of making Arians' prediction come true.

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