Rachaad White suggests Bucs’ Todd Bowles make one big change for 2026 season

It is very unlikely that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to bring back running back Rachaad White. White seems to want a second chance to get more carries elsewhere and the Bucs would likely not want to pay the fee to get him back, but he still has some opinons on what has been going on in Tampa Bay.

White recently appeared on the Loose Cannons Podcast, and he went in-depth during the interview on a number of topics, including fan support in Tampa Bay and his relationship with Bucky Irving. There was one more thing he talked about on the podcast that involved head coach Todd Bowles.

Rachaad White thinks Todd Bowles should give up defensive playcalling

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles walks around the field during warmups prior to a game against the Miami Dolphins | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

White was asked about Bowles' tenure in Tampa Bay, and he mentioned that in his opinion, Bowles should probably give up playcalling and focus on being a CEO-style head coach.

"I do feel like coach Bowles done wrong with it, but I do think it would be easier on him... I do think somebody else should call defense, and he should just be a head coach," White said. "I do feel like he'd probably be better off by doing that so he can really focus just on the head coaching and the head coach job... I do think it would make his life easier. That's just me speaking."

White said that with a defensive staff around him calling plays, Bowles can evenly focus on all sides of the team instead of neglecting one side or the other. This has been a common sentiment among Buccaneers fans and pundits, as Bowles' defense hasn't lived up to standard since he became the head coach of the Buccaneers in 2022.

Despite that, though, Bowles' status as a defensive mind remains renowned in the league, and there is a good possibility that his unit simply doesn't have the talent to perform to standard. An ailing pass rush, a rocky secondary and a struggling linebacker unit contributed to a lot of poor defensive play, and as Bowles has confirmed he'll call plays in 2026, he seems to think that those things are an issue more than his playcalling is.

Time will tell whether or not White is right about Bowles, but if the defensive unit struggles to start 2026, big changes in that area will have to be made.

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