Recent Todd Bowles comments a bad look for fourth-year Buccaneers HC

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles raised eyebrows after issuing a challenge to his team. It might not have the effect he intended.

Per NFL.com's Kevin Patra, Bowles, the Bucs head coach since 2022, lamented his team's midseason lulls and postseason losses during his three seasons at the helm, telling reporters at the NFL's Annual League Meeting, "We've got to have a killer instinct."

"It's more accountability," Bowles said before declining to take accountability.

"It's not a coach thing -- they can hear me talk every day," Bowles added.

Bowles is 27-24 in three seasons as the team's head coach, guiding Tampa Bay to three consecutive NFC South titles. However, that isn't the flex it might seem to be, considering the NFC South is the worst division in football.

While Bowles deserves credit for keeping the Bucs relevant after quarterback Tom Brady retired following the 2022 season, he has yet to elevate the franchise back into a title contender.

Tampa has been one-and-done in the postseason in two of Bowles' three seasons, and he infamously conceded defeat during the 2023-24 divisional round against the Lions despite the Bucs' slim chance of pulling off a late miracle.

Bowles' squads have also experienced ugly stretches the past three years. Last season, the Bucs went 2-6 from Weeks 3-10, one year after going 2-7 from Weeks 3-12. In 2022, Bowles' first season as head coach, they had a 4-8 12-game stretch from Weeks 3-15.

His claim about the team's lack of a killer instinct is accurate, but it raises more concerns about Bowles than Tampa Bay.

Teams take on the identity of their head coach. If the Bucs still haven't developed a killer instinct with Bowles heading into Year 4, they likely never will.