Tampa Bay Buccaneers legend and Corridor of Famer Ronde Barber got here to the protection of Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles although Bowles holds an total report of 18-19 (playoffs included) with the membership.
“There’s a hearth that burns in him that’s relatable to the gamers,” Barber mentioned about Bowles throughout an look on Tampa Bay sports activities radio station WDAE, per the JoeBucsFan web site. “So, no matter what the surface world thinks, the gamers struggle for him and that’s all you care about. In actual fact, I imply I feel he goes out of his strategy to defend some gamers extra so than another coaches. You received’t see him calling guys out. That’s not his deal. I feel that finally leads his staff to, you recognize, do the additional issues…Go the additional mile, if you’ll, and play for him.”
Buccaneers senior advisor Bruce Arians, who stepped down as head coach in March 2022 earlier than the membership promoted Bowles from the position of defensive coordinator, admitted final week he feared when the staff went from 3-1 to 4-7 this previous fall that your entire teaching workers may very well be proven the door. Arians additionally advised Buccaneers insider Ira Kaufman of JoeBucsFan throughout that dialog that “there was some stuff happening within the locker room that Todd managed very well” in the course of the season.
The character of such points stays unknown to outsiders, however Bowles deserves not less than some credit score for the way his membership received 5 of six video games to say the division title.
“Look, it is a results-oriented league,” Barber added about Bowles throughout his feedback. “You win, you get to the playoffs, you deserve your alternatives. And that’s coming from all of us, top-down, not having the excessive expectations this 12 months. Proper? You possibly can’t say that you simply thought we’d be within the playoffs within the offseason. However the actuality is we’re, and there’s some advantage to that from all events concerned. We obtained to offer him his due. He’s been within the playoffs two years in a row.”
The Buccaneers seemingly ensured Bowles would preserve his job via the winter once they crushed the Philadelphia Eagles 32-9 within the wild-card spherical of the playoffs. Whereas Tampa Bay misplaced to the Detroit Lions 31-23 on Jan. 21, there’s been no signal since that Sunday that staff possession needs to interchange Bowles with a confirmed coach equivalent to Invoice Belichick despite the fact that Belichick seemingly will stay out there till 2025.
Bowles could as soon as once more discover himself teaching for his job by Christmas 2024, however he is earned the best to run it again with the Bucs later this 12 months.
