The Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday didn’t just lose to the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday. They collapsed.
After blowing a 17-point first-half lead to the Bengals in an embarrassing fashion, the Buccaneers are now two games under .500. It’s bad. But is it bad enough for Todd Bowles to be included among the NFL coaches on the hot seat?
Should Todd Bowles Be Among NFL Coaches on the Hot Seat?
First, an important caveat at the top: We don’t expect Bowles (who now has a 32-55 career record) to be one and done in Tampa. There are far likelier candidates to be fired in the next three weeks.
But we’ve already written thousands of words about them. What hasn’t been explored as much: How a roster designed to compete for a Super Bowl has become one of the ugliest, least consistent teams in football.
The Bucs have lost eight of their last 12 — and yet, because the NFC South is so ridiculously inept, they’re still likely to make the playoffs.
But assuming they get there, the Bucs will be heavy underdogs against whoever they face (almost certainly to be the Dallas Cowboys).
MORE: NFL Power Rankings Week 16
Either way, big changes are on the way. The Bucs are an estimated $40 million over the cap next year and have a number of significant free agents. That last begins with Tom Brady, who should probably retire, considering how he’s playing in his 23rd NFL season.
Brady, who turned the ball over four times in a span of 11 plays in the second half Sunday, is at or near career lows in yards per attempt (6.2), yards per completion (9.4), and passer rating (88.9)
“The two fumbles were my fault — it was uncharacteristic,” Brady said. “One of the interceptions was just a terrible throw, and the other one, I got hit, the guy was laying on the ground, and the ball landed in his arms.”
In other words, things went haywire for Bowles Sunday — and some of it was self-inflicted. The Bucs were up two touchdowns and in firm control of the game when Bowles dialed up a fake punt on the first drive of the second half — at their own 26-yard line.
That was mistake No. 1. Mistake No. 2 was that Gio Bernard — for whom the play was designed — “missed the ball,” as Bowles put it, and the play was doomed before it even got started.
“We’re pissed off,” Bowles said after the game. “We can’t have, you know — it’s the same old song it’s Bucs vs. Bucs. You know, we play a good first half, and the second half, we come out, and we shoot ourselves in the foot, either by turnovers or penalties or field position on special teams. It’s a tale of two halves, and the half we played in the second half was Bucs vs. Bucs.”
OK, so we’ve now established that the Bucs stink and won’t be back next year in their current form. So what does that mean for Bowles?
As a reminder, Bowles coaching this year was never the plan of ownership. It was Bruce Arians’ will, and he made it happen by retiring so late in the cycle. He wanted to do everything he could to set everything up for Bowles to succeed.
What does it say about Arians’ successor that this year has been a major failure?
Again, we don’t expect the Bucs to fire their coach after just one season for a host of reasons — not the least of which being the job, given the roster and cap situation, will be unappealing to top candidates.
We’re just saying that if the Glazer family does make a move, it would be understandable.
More NFL Hot Seat Updates
Dennis Allen, New Orleans Saints (5-9)
The Saints will enter Week 16 with a playoff pulse, which is more than can be reasonably expected for a team four games under .500. On Sunday, New Orleans won for just the second time since October.
Matt Eberflus, Chicago Bears (3-11)
If you’re looking for a dark horse candidate to be one and done, Matt Eberflus deserves consideration. While it would be a bit unfair to fire him this soon — they got rid of two of their very few good players at the trade deadline — the Bears are on a seven-game losing streak, the second-longest by an NFL team this season.
Nathaniel Hackett, Denver Broncos (4-10)
No matter how bad things got in Denver this year, this was never going to be the worst season in Broncos history. But after Sunday’s 24-15 win over the Arizona Cardinals, Nathaniel Hackett guaranteed this won’t be one of the five worst seasons in franchise history. Yay?
Kliff Kingsbury, Arizona Cardinals (4-10)
The bottom appears to have fallen out in Phoenix. Kliff Kingsbury lost his 10th game of the season and his general manager in the same week. While Steve Keim’s officially on a leave of absence, the odds of him returning to the team in his current role are beyond remote.
Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers (5-8)
The Packers’ very faint playoff hopes will become basically nonexistent unless they beat the Rams on Monday night. If they’re put out of their misery, the focus turns to what’s next for Matt LaFleur and Aaron Rodgers.
Lovie Smith, Houston Texans (1-12-1)
Credit Houston for continuing to fight. For the second straight week, the Texans put a scare into a Super Bowl contender, losing to the Cowboys and Chiefs by a combined eight points. But when moral victories are the highlight of the season, it’s time to change coaches.
Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns (6-8)
The Browns kept their season alive with a Week 14 W, but it’s telling that they have just one win this year against a team that’s neither bad nor in crisis. The good news for Stefanski — they play another one of those teams in Week 16 (the Saints).