Let's not stand on ceremony here: despite it being a talking point during frustrating times last season, there is no reason to get rid of Todd Bowles.
Even if the Buccaneers wanted to, it'd make no sense – Tampa Bay has won three straight NFC South titles under Bowles, and given how the NFC South looks heading into 2025, four straight is extremely not out of the question. He's been an integral part of the way the Bucs have been able to (mostly) rebound seamlessly from the Tom Brady era, and if winning multiple division titles doesn't earn you at least a little job security, what's the point?
But that is, unfortunately, just not the way the NFL works. Nor is it the way the offseason news cycle tends to treat coaches on the fringes of the hot seat conversation this time of year.
Sometimes, you can do everything right, put together a good roster with great chemistry, absolutely dominate your division for the better part of a half-decade, and still get your job stolen by Bill Belichick. At least, that's the rumor that Pro Football Network's Mike Florio seems to be obsessing over. Earlier this month, Florio wrote at length about how the Bucs could be a logical landing spot for Belichick if things at UNC don't improve soon.
The Bill Belichick-Buccaneers rumors simply won't go away
Here's what Florio wrote earlier in June about the possibility of the Bucs moving on from Bowles:
" Last year, Belichick consigliere Michael Lombardi was spreading a false rumor that Bowles may retire after the season. (Bowles quickly shut that down.) Which sparked speculation that Belichick was eyeballing the Buccaneers. So why would Lombardi be trying to speak a vacancy into existence? Maybe because that’s one of the jobs Belichick would want. Even with all of the craziness that has happened of late, the Bucs can’t be ruled out as a potential destination for Belichick. Again, they hired Greg Schiano."
On top of that, he recently brought it back up again while on the Pardon My Take podcast. It's the totally baseless rumor that simply won't die.
“Allow me to weave my fan fiction. Belichick’s consigliere Mike Lombardi, who is basically his unofficial mouthpiece, has been very quiet since all of the [Belichick’s girlfriend] Jordan Hudson stuff hit the fan," Florio said. "Lombardi wouldn’t shut up until this Hudson stuff happens, and now you can’t find him anywhere. But he was putting out this idea that Todd Bowles would retire, possibly after the 2024 season.”
He went on to detail the same stuff he did about how "crazy" the Buccaneers have been with head coaching decisions -- like firing Lovie Smith for Dirk Koetter and promoting Raheem Morris out of nowhere -- before arriving at his Belichick point.
“So I feel like Belichick has been eyeballing the Bucs,” Florio continued. “Maybe Lombardi was trying to speak it into existence that there’d be a vacancy there, because that’s one of the teams where they’ve got the talent Belichick needs.
I'm not even going to get into the whole Brady-Belichick parallels here, because it's simply too insufferable to think about right now. Who's looking at Belichick's life right now and wishing he was doing this in Tampa Bay? Does anyone want Bucs press conferences abruptly shut down for unclear reasons that definitely, totally, absolutely don't have to do with his personal life?
The Bucs already picked a side in the Brady-Belichick divorce, and that worked out just fine. They don't need to try their luck again.
