Coaching legend reacts to Buccaneers' surprising Todd Bowles move

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made one of the more surprising NFL-related moves of June when they signed head coach Todd Bowles to a contract extension that reportedly runs through the 2028 season. 

Hall of Famer and coaching legend Bill Parcells was serving as the general manager of the New York Jets when that franchise hired Bowles as its defensive backs/secondary coach back in 2000. Parcells recently spoke with Ira Kaufman of the JoeBucsFan website about the Buccaneers putting rumors about Bowles' future to bed for the foreseeable future. 

"I have a very high regard for Todd," Parcells explained. "I know him very well personally. We’re both from close-by areas of New Jersey, and I’ve known him since he was playing for Washington. This guy’s smart. He knows what he’s doing, and he’s doing it. They’ve won like, what, three division titles in a row down there since he took over? And I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon. He’s done a good job, and he’s a good man. He really is."

Bowles accumulated a lackluster record of 24-40 when he was head coach of the Jets from 2015–18. He then served as Tampa Bay's defensive coordinator from 2019 until Bruce Arians stepped down as Buccaneers head coach in March 2022.

"You always learn from your first time around," Parcells said about Bowles' first stint as an NFL head coach. "Sometimes it doesn’t end as well as you’d like, other times it does. I can’t emphasize this enough — Todd’s very smart. It’s clear that he’s getting the job done in Tampa." 

As Parcells alluded to, Tampa Bay won the NFC South division title in each of the past three seasons under Bowles. That said, his overall regular-season record of 27-24 and his 1-3 postseason mark with the Bucs had some wondering if he was on the hot seat heading into the upcoming campaign. Barring a shocking development, one would think there's no chance Tampa Bay would show Bowles the door just one season into his extension. 

Some Buccaneers fans may not like that Bowles doesn't possess a big public personality as do coaches such as Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs and Nick Sirianni of the Philadelphia Eagles. Nevertheless, Parcells seems to believe Bowles is the right man to guide the club in its pursuit of glory after the combination of Arians and quarterback Tom Brady led Tampa Bay to a Super Bowl title in February 2021.