Could Buccaneers fire Todd Bowles if they fail to win the division this season?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were given a gift when they were essentially shoved back into first place in the NFC South standings via the Carolina Panthers suffering an upset 20-17 loss at the New Orleans Saints (4-10) that dropped the Panthers to 7-7 on Sunday. 

After the Buccaneers fell to 7-7 via a surprising 29-28 loss to the Atlanta Falcons (5-9) this past Thursday night, Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles insisted he was not worried about possibly being fired in January. For an article published on Monday, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated addressed whether or not Bowles could be coaching for his job over the final three weeks of the regular season. 

"Rumblings" about Todd Bowles' job security aren't new

"There were rumblings in NFL circles about Bowles' job security last year, when the team was 4–6 before it recovered to finish 10–7. Ditto for the year before, when the team was 4–7 before it dug out of that hole to get to 9–8," Breer wrote. "Right now, Tampa is 7–7. On its face, given the goodwill Bowles should have built up after three-plus years, that’s not a fireable offense. But the Buccaneers have lost five of six, and two of their final three games are against the Panthers, with whom they’re tied atop the NFC South."

The Buccaneers play at the Panthers on the afternoon of Dec. 21. As of Monday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had Tampa Bay as a three-point road favorite for that game. 

In Week 18, the Bucs will welcome the Panthers to Raymond James Stadium. 

As for Bowles, he has been a polarizing figure among Buccaneers fans throughout his tenure as head coach. While he has guided the club to three straight division titles, his regular-season record of 34-31 and his postseason mark of 1-3 are rather underwhelming. As Breer referenced, the Buccaneers have now gone through three in-season swoons in three years under Bowles. 

Where are Buccaneers with Todd Bowles "right now?"

The Buccaneers seemingly said plenty about Bowles' short-term future when they signed him to a contract extension that reportedly runs through the 2028 season this past summer. That said, Breer suggested Bowles hasn't been promised anything beyond Week 18. 

"A failure to win a fourth consecutive division title could lead to some reassessment on where things are," Breer added about the Buccaneers. "I don’t think, right now, Bowles will be fired. But we’ll see how the next three weeks go."

If nothing else, it could be interesting to see how Bowles' players respond to such chatter and to essentially being blamed by their coach for the loss to Atlanta on Dec. 11.