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Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh checks a replay during the second quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Could the Buccaneers land John Harbaugh?

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Buccaneers on SI
By River Wells | Last updated Jan 7, 2026 2:59 PM ET

Right now, it's looking like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to hang on to head coach Todd Bowles. Bowles, 35-33 in his four years of coaching the Bucs and coming off of his second 8-9 season, has faced scrutiny for his team's massive collapse in 2025 — that being said, it looks like he'll be retained through next year.

While it's looking extremely likely, nothing is for certain. Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Bowles is very likely to be retained after meeting with ownership on Tuesday and then doing individual meetings with his staff on Wednesday. That would seem to indicate that Bowles' job is safe, but that was also before the Baltimore Ravens fired head coach John Harbaugh.

Harbaugh, the longtime head man in Baltimore, has won a Super Bowl ring and finishes his tenure with a .542 record, going 180-113 with a playoff record of 13-11. Harbaugh, a respected NFL coach with plenty of connections through his coaching tree, has immediately become a hot name during the coaching cycle. There was also a report when he got fired that multiple teams had called Harbaugh's camp to gauge his interest — including teams that had a head coach already.

John Harbaugh has interest from most teams with head coaching vacancies, but notably, I’m told calls are also coming in from a few teams that currently have a head coach in place.

Lots of discussions going down tonight.

Harbaugh will be at the top of many teams’ wishlists.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) January 7, 2026

So, was one of those teams the Buccaneers? And if so, could they really land Harbaugh?

Do the Buccaneers have the chance to hire John Harbaugh?

Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Probably not. There are a few things at play here, but the biggest one, as of Wednesday afternoon, is that they haven't fired Todd Bowles yet.

The Bucs have still retained Bowles as of writing and likely will for the 2026 season, so they can't interview any candidates in a formal setting. It's very possible that the Bucs have reached out to Harbaugh's camp, but even then, that's the only way you could really talk to him without bringing in for a formal interview.

Other teams that have fired their head coach have already kick-started this process, and it won't be long before teams like the Giants and Falcons are interviewing him. So first, the Bucs would have to fire Todd Bowles, and then, they'd have to convince Harbaugh that coming to Tampa Bay would be a better job than those like New York or Atlanta. The Bucs have more cap space than both of those teams, but their roster is older and they are missing a slew of players on defense that any incoming head coach would want to have.

Simply put, the Bucs are already behind the eight ball if they do want to fire Bowles, and even if they did, there are other jobs with younger squads and more talent across both sides of the football. All those signs would point to Harbaugh choosing somewhere else to coach, as he's likely already mulling over.