Buccaneers Fire 7 Coaches To Protect The One Who Ran NFL’s Dead-Last Defense

For five straight years, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made the playoffs, a streak the franchise had never put together in its entire history. Four straight NFC South division titles. A quarterback in Baker Mayfield playing the best football of his career. A fan base that had stopped bracing for disappointment and started expecting to win. Then it all came apart in eight weeks. A 6-2 team that looked like a contender in November finished 8-9 and missed the postseason entirely — knocked out of a division they had owned for four straight years by a Carolina Panthers team that took it on a tiebreaker. When the dust settled and the roster was picked over, the man most responsible for the collapse still had his job. Seven other coaches did not

The First Half Looked Exactly Like the Last Four Years

Tampa Bay opened 2025 strong, built to a 6-2 record, and sat in first place in the NFC South with the offense moving and the defense holding. Worth keeping in mind: those four straight division titles came at records of 13-4, 8-9, 9-8, and 10-7, a division that handed out crowns to teams just scraping above .500. Contenders and paper champions can look identical through eight weeks. The second half of the season is where the difference shows.

Then Josh Allen Went to Work in Orchard Park

Week 11, the Buccaneers traveled to Buffalo, and Josh Allen did not come to play a football game. He accounted for six total touchdowns, three through the air and three on the ground, as the Bills won 44-32. Todd Bowles calls every defensive play himself, without a coordinator, by design – that has been his structure since he took the job. What Allen did that afternoon didn’t just hand Tampa a loss. It handed a diagnosis to a defense that had been hiding problems for weeks, and the man responsible for fixing it answers only to himself.

Seven Days Later, the Rams Made It Personal

The Buccaneers flew to Los Angeles for Week 12, already at 6-4 and having dropped two since their strong start, and Sean McVay’s Rams, 8-2 and the best team in the NFC, were ready. It was 31-7 at halftime. Baker Mayfield hurt his left shoulder midway through the first half, came back for another drive, reaggravated it on the final play of the half, and was ruled out, seen on the sideline in a sling. Final score: 34-7 — a result that pushed the Rams to 9-2 and left the Buccaneers with their third straight loss. For a 30-year-old quarterback committed to a franchise in a championship window, getting knocked out of a national broadcast in a sling while his team loses by 27 is not just a bad night. It is a question about the organization he is playing for.

Two Wins in the Last Nine Games

From Week 12 through the end of the season, the Buccaneers went 2-7. The NFC South, where Tampa had won with an 8-9 record as recently as 2022, came down to tiebreakers again, only this time the Buccaneers were on the wrong side of them. By the final Sunday, Tampa’s fate wasn’t in their own hands. Atlanta beat New Orleans, Carolina took the division, and the Buccaneers’ five-year playoff streak ended at 8-9. The same record that won them a division title three years earlier now sent them home for the first time since 2019.

Bowles Walked to the Podium and Said He’d Earned It

The day after the season ended, Todd Bowles held his year-end press conference and made his case without flinching. “All I can do is coach and be myself,” he told reporters. “I’ve earned the chance. I won three straight division titles. So that says a lot, as far as I’m concerned.” Then, in the same press conference, “It starts and ends with me”. Bowles’ three titles cover his own tenure — 2022, 2023, and 2024 — the franchise’s run of four straight started a year earlier under Bruce Arians in 2021. He accepted full accountability for the collapse and argued that his past made him too valuable to fire, back-to-back, as if the two statements weren’t pulling in opposite directions.

Seven Coaches Gone — The One Who Called the Plays Stayed

In early January, the departures came fast. Five coaches fired: offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey, quarterbacks coach Thad Lewis, defensive line coach Charlie Strong, and cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross. Two more retired — senior offensive assistant Tom Moore and safeties coach Nick Rapone. Seven total departures from a staff that watched a team collapse from first place to out of the playoffs entirely. The defense that surrendered six touchdowns to Josh Allen on one afternoon and 34 points to the Rams a week later — a pass defense that ranked among the worst in the league — stayed exactly as it was. Same head coach. Same play-caller. No defensive coordinator hired.

Ownership Spoke — And Used a Different Argument Than Bowles Did

Three months later, Co-Chairman Joel Glazer faced the cameras at the NFL Annual Meeting in Phoenix. Bowles had cited his division titles. Glazer didn’t mention them. He pointed to injuries, key receivers and offensive linemen missing a combined 62-plus starts, and to close losses down the stretch. “We’re trying to build a championship team,” Glazer said, adding there is no specific win number Bowles must reach in 2026 to keep his job. Bowles made his case on past performance. Ownership kept him on a forward-looking philosophy. Neither argument addressed the pass defense that Bowles designs, calls, and refuses to delegate, the unit that gave up six touchdowns to Josh Allen and 34 points to the Rams in back-to-back weeks.

In the Same Offseason, McVay Got an A+

While Tampa was restructuring its staff and explaining itself to the media, the NFL Players Association released its annual player survey. Sean McVay, the coach whose 8-2 Rams had just beaten the Buccaneers 34-7 and moved to 9-2, received the highest grade given out: A+. Rams players cited his communication, preparation, and the collaborative culture he’d built in the locker room. McVay has posted a losing record just once in nine seasons as head coach. The 34-7 scoreboard from Week 12 wasn’t a fluke. It was a snapshot of what a precisely run organization looks like, standing next to one that isn’t.

Now Tampa Has to Prove the Decision Was Right

Bowles enters 2026 in his fifth offensive coordinator in five seasons, Zac Robinson, hired from Atlanta, tasked with rebuilding an offense around a quarterback coming off a shoulder injury. Mayfield reportedly vouched for Robinson based on a previous connection, which says something about how much a franchise quarterback needs to trust the people around him when the organization above him keeps reshuffling. The defense remains Bowles’ sole responsibility, with no coordinator between him and the struggles of 2025. Joel Glazer says they’re building. Bowles says he earned it. The Buccaneers fired seven coaches, kept the one who called the plays on a pass defense that broke down when it mattered most, and called it a plan. The 2026 season will answer whether that was wisdom or just protection.

Sources
“Despite collapse, Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles says he ‘earned the chance’ to return” — CBS Sports
“Bucs pounded by Rams 34-7, lose Mayfield to shoulder injury” — WUSF Public Media
“Todd Bowles doesn’t want to hire a defensive coordinator, will call plays” — AToZSports
“Bucs Ownership Reveals Why They Kept Todd Bowles” — Pewter Report
“Buccaneers Announce Changes to 2026 Coaching Staff” — Buccaneers.com
“Rams vs. Buccaneers recap: Analysis, highlights from LA’s big win” — The Rams Wire / USA Today