Will Todd Bowles give up play calling for Buccaneers' defense?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are making plenty of changes after a disastrous season. Head coach Todd Bowles is staying on with the team despite a collapse from 6-2 to 8-9 in 2025, missing the playoffs entirely for the first time since 2019. If not Bowles, a mess like that needed some sort of big change, and it's happened with a number of his assistants.

Bowles fired offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, quarterbacks coach Thad Lewis, defensive line coach Charlie Strong, cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross and special teams coach Thomas McGaughey. Additionally, safeties coach Nick Rapone and offensive consultant Tom Moore retired, leaving seven coaching vacancies on staff.

Another change that has been discussed, however, is whether or not Bowles could get a defensive coordinator to call plays for him. Bowles' defenses have caught a lot of heat over the years for poor play, and Bowles has been in charge of multiple units that have finished in the bottom half of the league in most metrics. Some fans and pundits have said that they'd be more comfortable with Bowles' return if he gave up defensive playcalling.

It's an interesting thought, but is it something Bowles is going to do?

Buccaneers' Todd Bowles will not give up 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

It doesn't seem like it. Per Fox Sports' Greg Auman, Bowles will not hire a defensive coordinator, which means that he won't have someone else calling plays in 2025.

While seven assistants from the 2025 Bucs staff are gone, Todd Bowles will have the choice to continue calling the defense in 2026 and is not expected to have a defensive coordinator on his new staff.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) January 8, 2026

Any trepidation on that front is well-warranted. Bowles' passing defense was 27th in the league in EPA/play from Week 10 onward, allowing 0.280 EPA/play in the passing game, Bowles' defenses have struggled with similar problems during his tenure as head coach, with lackluster pass rushes and backbreaking defensive miscommunications all too common.

That being said, Bowles will know his defensive scheme better than anyone, and during his last press conference of the season after being eliminated by the Carolina Panthers, he seemed to insinuate that he needed to evolve his scheme and change some things for 2026.

"Schematically, I know I need to make some changes depending on the players that we have coming back," Bowles said. "Coaching-wise, we need to make some changes as a whole as far as what we’re doing on the field and how we’re teaching guys certain things. Certain guys are probably good at certain things that we need to expose more of their good side as opposed to things that they’re struggling with.”

Bowles could start simplifying his defenses, changing the way some positions fit in his scheme or innovating it with new concepts entirely. There's no way to know until 2026, but either way, Bowles has to nail it this upcoming season — otherwise, he may be out of a job.

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