Where Does Todd Bowles Rank Among Other Head Coaches?

Pro Football Network’s Dallas Robinson has Todd Bowles ranked as the No. 21 head coach. Here’s what Robinson had to say about him.

“The post-Tom Brady Buccaneers were an afterthought heading into 2023. Todd Bowles hired Dave Canales to fix Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield-led offense and kept the club’s defense above water despite several critical injuries. Heading into Year 3 of a five-year contract, Bowles seems nearly entrenched for the Bucs.”

Bowles ranked ahead of Atlanta’s Raheem Morris (No. 23) and New Orleans’ Dennis Allen (No. 28), who was the lowest-ranked coach on the list. Carolina’s Dave Canales is a first-year head coach and no first-year head coach was ranked.

NBC Sports’ Patrick Daughtery has moved Bowles up from No. 23 in his head coaching rankings a year ago to No. 18 this year.

“How hard has Todd Bowles’ NFL luck been? The man got a losing season out of Tom Brady. Of course, when you are as conservative as Bowles, “bad luck” tends to follow. That’s why it was so surprising to see Bowles allow wiz kid OC Dave Canales to let it rip with Baker Mayfield in 2023. The result was Bowles’ first-ever division title with a winning record and one of the most genuinely surprising NFL campaigns in ages.

“Now comes the hard part. Canales is gone and running it back with outlier quarterback campaigns has a way of failing instantly. It’s going to take another strong effort on Bowles’ side of the ball after the Bucs permitted the seventh fewest points in 2023. A laconic leader, Bowles won’t need to say much if he takes care of defensive business and lets new Sean McVay-disciple, OC Liam Coen, operate with a similar degree of autonomy to Canales.”

While Bowles gained some ground with PFN, CBS Sports wants to see more from him and the Bucs in 2024.

Todd Bowles Needs Another Big Season

In CBS Sports’ coaching rankings – which encompasses the entire staff, not just the head coach – Bowles and Tampa Bay were put into a particular category that was a bit questionable considering the team’s strong finish last year. CBS Sports’ Jordan Dejani had Bowles and the Tampa Bay staff in the “2024 To Be A Defining Season” category with the tag line: “What happens this upcoming season will directly lead to how we view these staffs.”

“Bowles went 8-9 in 2022 and 9-8 in 2023. With Mayfield and Mike Evans, Tampa Bay won the NFC South, and even upset the Eagles in Super Wild Card Weekend. The Bucs lost to the Lions in the divisional round, and in that game, Bowles didn’t even use his final timeout late in the fourth quarter of that loss in what was a baffling decision.”

“The Bucs won the division and a playoff game in 2023, but is Bowles the long-term answer? Maybe we have more clarity after this upcoming season. Coen is an interesting hire at offensive coordinator, as he’s worked with McVay in a number of different roles, and helped Will Levis put together a dominant season at Kentucky.”

Dejani naturally had Atlanta’s Raheem Morris and and Carolina’s Dave Canales in the “New With Plenty To Prove” category. New Orleans’ Dennis Allen and Chicago’s Matt Eberflus were the only ones in the final category, which was “Last Chance Before Changes,” noting that “both of these head coaches were on hot seat in 2023, but kept their jobs.”