Todd Bowles Projected To Be On the Hot Seat Ahead Of Second Season with the Buccaneers

Prior to Todd Bowles stepping up as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he was the defensive coordinator under previous coach Bruce Arians.

Arians won Super Bowl LV against the Kansas City Chiefs after superstar Tom Brady arrived in town. However, his follow-up season fell short of expectations and another championship, leading Arians to move to the front office. Then came Bowles, who went 8-9 in his first season as the Bucs head coach.

Fortunately for Bowles, the NFC South was an incredibly poor division, and their losing record was good enough to win the division. With a Wild Card loss, the end of Brady’s Bucs tenure and career both came at the same time. This time, he retired for real.

CBS Sports writer Cody Benjamin thinks Bowles could be on the hot seat this upcoming season. Looking ahead, Bowles is now dealing with a quarterback room of Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask. Neither might be the long-term option for the franchise which could potentially invest in the position during the 2024 NFL Draft.

Bowles is a defensive-oriented head coach, and he does that well. He’s going to have the defense looking good this season, but his priority should be taking this offense to its highest potential.

With the offense likely to change come 2024, the Bucs will have to decide if Bowles and his conservative style is what they want when they’ve got a fresh face under center. He’s also not coaching a quarterback that is talented as Brady was.

Because the Bucs' defense will be solid, they’ll be able to win a decent amount of games and their weak division could even see the team in contention for postseason play. Ultimately that won’t matter if Bowles and new offensive coordinator Dave Canales don't put points on the board.

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