Why Todd Bowles, Buccaneers had to shake up coaching staff

TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles is making extensive changes to his staff, firing five coaches — offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey, quarterbacks coach Thaddeus Lewis, cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross and defensive line coach Charlie Strong — while two others, senior offensive assistant Tom Moore and safeties coach Nick Rapone, are retiring.

A source told ESPN that these were not moves mandated by ownership after the Bucs finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019. Instead, the source said that Bowles made these moves on his own.

Four of those coaches — Lewis, Ross, Moore and Rapone — were members of the Bucs’ 2020 Super Bowl-winning staff under Bruce Arians, for whom Bowles took over in 2022. Bowles’ relationships with Ross and Rapone stretch back over 40 years to when Bowles was a player at Temple and they were members of Arians’ staff.

Bowles signed an extension through the 2028 season in June after leading the franchise to three straight division titles from 2022 to 2024, and he nearly pulled off a fourth — with the Bucs falling short because of a tiebreaker. But after a 6-2 start, things fell apart, as they lost seven out of their last nine games.

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It was perplexing that the Bucs continued to lose during their stunning collapse despite, on paper, being the healthiest they’d been all season (at least with skill positions) in their final four games, with the returns of running back Bucky Irving (10 games played), and wide receivers Mike Evans (eight games) and Jalen McMillan (four games). Yet, the Bucs failed to have a 1,000-yard receiver for the first time since 2011, even with rookie Emeka Egbuka (938 yards) well-positioned to reach that milestone.

“It’s unfortunate we didn’t come away with more wins to make the playoffs,” Bowles said. “It doesn’t matter who was back and who wasn’t back, we just didn’t play well enough to win those games. … As we unravel everything in the next couple of days and couple of weeks, we’ll see.”

Bowles also said he wasn’t sure why quarterback Baker Mayfield was less effective down the stretch. Before their Week 9 bye, he had thrown 13 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He threw 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions after the week off.

Mayfield battled injuries to both shoulders and had issues in his right bicep and knee — on top of a hand issue in training camp. Bowles said he did not believe injuries played a role in Mayfield’s regression, and that he doesn’t think any of Mayfield’s injuries will result in offseason surgery.

“I wish I had an opinion on that,” Bowles said of the interceptions. “I didn’t like it. No. 1, I didn’t like it. We threw a bunch of fourth-quarter interceptions, and whether that was scheme or whether that was players, we’ve got to be better there. Those are part of the things that shot us in the foot — there were many things, but that was part of it, too.”

Season-ending injuries to starting guards Cody Mauch and Ben Bredeson also hurt them when Grizzard called interior runs for Irving, who couldn’t replicate the success from his rookie season. Irving had missed seven games because of shoulder and foot injuries and went from averaging 5.4 yards per attempt last season to 3.4.

“I think he was more impacted by his own health, initially, with the ankle and the shoulder,” Bowles said of Irving. “He missed a couple of weeks there, then, coming back, there were a bunch of injured guys [on the offensive line]. He fought, and he played hard, he just didn’t have the breakaway runs he had last year.”

There were also defensive problems, but Bowles, who calls plays on defense, doesn’t plan to hire a defensive coordinator, according to a league source. He has not had a designated DC during his time as coach in Tampa.

Bowles was the defensive coordinator with the Bucs from 2019 to 2021, and his defense limited Patrick Mahomes to just nine points in Super Bowl LV. Often, head coaches resist relinquishing these duties for fear of losing job security.

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Source: Bowles returning as Bucs’ coach in ’26

Source: Bowles returning as Bucs’ coach in ’26

The Bucs’ 37 sacks were the lowest during Bowles’ tenure with the Bucs as both a coordinator and a head coach, while their 46 touchdowns surrendered were the most in that span. Opponent red zone efficiency had also climbed to 69.8%, which had been an area of strength for the Bucs. A source close to the situation and familiar with Bowles’ thinking believes outside linebacker and inside linebacker are priorities, as Yaya Diaby led the team with seven sacks while Haason Reddick disappointed as a free agent with just 2.5.

The Bucs also had secondary breakdowns, which occurred most often when players were shuffled because of injuries.

And on special teams, the Bucs sought to potentially make a move in-season with McGaughey in Year 2, but the team stuck with him, believing it did not have a replacement on the roster. So, late in the season, with the division on the line, Bowles said they opted to kick touchbacks and automatically have their opponents start at the 35-yard line because their coverage units performed so poorly.

Bowles has shown a knack for identifying coaching talent. Liam Coen and Dave Canales — his offensive coordinators in 2024 and 2023, respectively — were named head coaches after guiding Mayfield to the Pro Bowl. Elevating Grizzard after Coen’s departure was done largely for continuity purposes after bringing in the past two coordinators from outside the organization. In those moves, the trend was toward a young playcaller who was either an indirect or direct disciple of Sean McVay’s offense.

“These decisions are always difficult, but the disappointing end to the season required some changes to our coaching staff in order to ensure we live up to the high standards we have set here,” Bowles said in a statement released by the team Thursday. “These coaches have all put in tremendous amount of work and effort, but unfortunately, the results were not there this past season.

“Our goal is to compete for championships every year, and it is my responsibility to make these tough decisions in order to reach those expectations.”