Insider offers explanation for why Bucs retained Todd Bowles

It's been weeks since Tampa Bay Buccaneers ownership decided to retain head coach Todd Bowles, and some Tampa Bay fans still don't understand why that decision was made after the club missed out on the playoffs. 

For his latest mailbag, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated was asked why Bowles wasn't shown the door. 

Buccaneers impressed the team didn't fall apart after Tom Brady retired in February 2023

"I’d say it’s based on Bowles' ability to maintain a level of success through the transition from Tom Brady to Baker Mayfield at quarterback and to develop the young players on a roster that had grown older as the team went all-in to pursue championships with Brady," Breer wrote. "That isn’t to say he’s perfect, of course. But he did win the NFC South in each of his first three years, and hired offensive coordinators Dave Canales and Liam Coen, who became really good head coaches elsewhere right away."

Bowles' Buccaneers survived in-season swoons during the 2023 and 2024 campaigns, and Tampa Bay then entered its 2025 bye at 6-2. However, the Buccaneers subsequently lost seven of eight games. That stretch made their Week 18 win over the Carolina Panthers meaningless as it pertained to Tampa Bay's pursuit of a playoff berth. 

Todd Bowles feeling "urgency to win" after collapse?

Offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, quarterbacks coach Thad Lewis, special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey, cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross, defensive line coach Charlie Strong, senior offensive assistant Tom Moore and safeties coach Nick Rapone are among the members of Bowles' staff no longer with the Buccaneers. 

NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported on Thursday that the Buccaneers are set to hire Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson as their new OC. Rapoport added that Mayfield made "a significant push for Robinson's hiring." Mayfield had Robinson as a passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach during the signal-caller's cup-of-coffee stint with the Los Angeles Rams late in the 2022 season. 

"So this year, they didn’t win the division, and they didn’t get the coordinator hire right. It’s not crazy to give Bowles a mulligan on that one," Breer added. "But it wasn’t done without creating some sense of urgency to win, as evidenced by all the changes already made on Bowles' staff."

If Bowles' Bucs don't win enough to return to the playoffs next season, he may find himself out of a job before the halfway point of January 2026 arrives.