Buccaneers legend defends Todd Bowles despite lackluster record

Tampa Bay Buccaneers legend and Hall of Famer Ronde Barber came to the defense of Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles despite the fact that Bowles holds an overall record of 18-19 (playoffs included) with the club.

"There is a fire that burns in him that is relatable to the players," Barber said about Bowles during an appearance on Tampa Bay sports radio station WDAE, per the JoeBucsFan website. "So, regardless of what the outside world thinks, the players fight for him and that’s all you care about. In fact, I mean I think he goes out of his way to protect some players more so than some other coaches. You won’t see him calling guys out. That’s not his deal. I think that ultimately leads his team to, you know, do the extra things...Go the extra mile, if you will, and play for him." 

Buccaneers senior advisor Bruce Arians, who stepped down as head coach in March 2022 before the club promoted Bowles from the role of defensive coordinator, admitted last week he feared when the team went from 3-1 to 4-7 this past fall that the entire coaching staff could be shown the door. Arians also told Buccaneers insider Ira Kaufman of JoeBucsFan during that conversation that "there was some stuff going on in the locker room that Todd controlled really well" during the season. 

The nature of such issues remains unknown to outsiders, but Bowles deserves at least some credit for how his club won five of six games to claim the division title. 

"Look, this is a results-oriented league," Barber added about Bowles during his comments. "You win, you get to the playoffs, you deserve your opportunities. And that’s coming from all of us, top-down, not having the high expectations this year. Right? You can’t say that you thought we’d be in the playoffs in the offseason. But the reality is we are, and there’s some merit to that from all parties involved. We got to give him his due. He’s been in the playoffs two years in a row." 

The Buccaneers seemingly ensured Bowles would keep his job through the winter when they crushed the Philadelphia Eagles 32-9 in the wild-card round of the playoffs. While Tampa Bay lost to the Detroit Lions 31-23 on Jan. 21, there's been no sign since that Sunday that team ownership wants to replace Bowles with a proven coach such as Bill Belichick even though Belichick seemingly will remain available until 2025. 

Bowles may once again find himself coaching for his job by Christmas 2024, but he's earned the right to run it back with the Bucs later this year.