Things aren’t looking great for Todd Bowles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lately. They’re delivering a mixed bag of results that leans more toward the losing side of things. The team is sitting at 7-6, tied with the Carolina Panthers for the lead in the NFC South.
Some fans, meanwhile, think it’s time to go back to the winning ways of old.
Fans Urge Buccaneers To Replace HC Todd Bowles With Jon Gruden
The Bucs have been sliding since their Week 7 primetime loss against the Detroit Lions. That loss marked the first of five defeats across seven games for Bowles and company. As a result, questions are surfacing about Tampa’s general direction and Bowles’s ability to take them to the promised land.
Among the proposed solutions to the Bucs’ slump was a change of guard, with many fans calling for Bowles to be fired. For many, such a situation should see former Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden take the wheel.
Popular stat page BakerMuse tweeted a photo of Gruden with quarterback Baker Mayfield, captioning it:
“Bring him home Tampa.”
Another Bucs fan believes Gruden could be the next man in line to take Bowles’s job, given that Gruden isn’t taking any other head coaching positions.
“Gruden,” they posted. “Bet the house on it… It’s why he won’t take any other HC position… He knows Tampa’s is free eats.”
Ian simply tweeted a popular sentiment since the team started its midseason slump.
“Bucs need to fire Bowles and hire Gruden,” he wrote.
Baker Mayfield Was in Contention for MVP at One Point This Season
Mayfield was a strong contender for the MVP award earlier this year. His 5-1 start to the season earned him a lot of praise among fans and experts, as he rivalled the likes of Drake Maye and Dak Prescott for the award.
He started the campaign with three consecutive wins over the Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans, and New York Jets. After a narrow loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Bucs were right back at it, winning two more games against the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers.
Mayfield was firing on all cylinders during that stretch, throwing for 1,539 yards, 12 touchdowns, and only one interception. His yards gained per pass completion peaked at 15.1; however, he’s been unable to reach the 7-yard mark since their loss against Detroit.
The quarterback’s TD-INT ratio also flipped on its head from the Lions game onward. While he managed to throw three touchdown passes on the New England Patriots, his total is only eight, while he’s thrown four picks.
