“Jason, our philosophy is quite simple: Win consistently and a coach will get an extension.”
Pretty cool factoid dropped by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo yesterday when news broke that Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht and Bucs coach Todd Bowles got contract extensions.
It seems Bowles became the first head coach since Chucky to get a contract extension. Chucky last worked for the Bucs in 2008 (that’s the same year JoeBucsFan.com was born).
That’s 17 years. That’s not a good sign. It’s been nearly two decades, almost 20 years, since Chucky got that extension. So let’s see why that is.
Here are the coaches that succeeded Chucky and preceded Bowles. Chucky, of course, has the most wins in franchise history. And, yeah, he guided the Bucs to their very first Super Bowl win.
Raheem Morris: Given how the 2010 Bucs shocked everyone and were a robbery (Kellen Winslow offensive pass interference) away from the playoffs, it sure appeared Team Glazer was ahead of the pack in promoting Morris to head coach in 2009. The 2011 season was a complete disaster. After beating the slimy Saints 26-20 at home to raise their record to 4-2, the Bucs jetted off to London and were never the same, losing 10 straight to end the season. The locker room became a nest of incorrigibles. Morris was bounced.
Greg Schiano: The former Bucs commander had a promising start with impressive road wins over the Vikings on a Thursday night and later an overtime win at the Stinking Panthers for a 6-4 record. This would be the high-water mark of Schiano’s Bucs résumé. Schiano went 5-17 the rest of his time in Tampa, including an 0-8 start to the 2013 season, which prompted Team Glazer to make maybe the worst move in their stewardship of the pirate ship. Along the way, several good players were run off, including Michael Bennett, LeGarrette Blount and Aqib Talib. All three went on to be key contributors for Super Bowl-winning teams. They allegedly weren’t “Buccaneer Men” and that sure didn’t help Schiano.
Lousy Lovie Smith: This man crippled the franchise. To be fair, he selected Jason Licht to be the Bucs’ new general manager after Team Glazer had a housecleaning. It quickly became apparent that after Lovie brought in Licht, that would be his lone smart move. The Bucs thought they hired Father Dungy II. Instead, they hired perhaps the worst coach in franchise history. Brimming with arrogance yet bereft of substance, Lovie made asnine player evaluation mistake after asinine player evaluation mistake. Lasting through his second season is still a feat. Supposedly a defensive wizard, he was nothing of the sort. His defenses were a (bad) joke. The man should have been shown the door when he allegedly stated Darrelle Revis couldn’t play for him. Trust Joe, a franchise can find a competent coach a helluva lot easier than it can find a Hall of Fame corner. And it didn’t really get any better after that braindead stunt. (A defensive coach claiming Revis couldn’t play for him is a monument to the stupidity of mankind.)
Dirk Koetter: A good man, a good offensive coach, but loyal to a fault. Koetter’s tenure with the Bucs was fully undermined by his good friend and defensive coordinator Mike Smith (another really good man). After nearly making the playoffs with a 9-7 record (thanks, Hey Jude!), the Bucs collapsed largely because Mike Smith had zero answers with his defense — but he made up for it by not having many sacks. Matadors stopped charging bulls better than the Bucs played defense. The highlight may have been when Mike Smith figured cornerback Ryan Smith was just the guy to stop Julio Jones one afternoon in Atlanta. Jones alone finished the day with 253 receiving yards! Had Koetter changed defensive coordinators after the 2017 season, who knows what may have happened? He didn’t and it cost Koetter his lone NFL head coaching gig.
Bruce Arians: The best coach in Bucs history? Probably. It took a little more than one year for Arians to bury The Lost Decade, flipping the Bucs from one of the league’s sorriest doormats which rarely won home games, to Super Bowl champs. A remarkable turnaround by any standard. Arians got a big raise after the Super Bowl win but only lasted three seasons. He abruptly stepped down in the spring of 2022 under what is still a shroud of mystery (though his health may have been a factor). Arians didn’t stick as a coach long enough to get an extension, though he surely would have received one had he stayed.
So you wanna know why no coach after Chucky received an extension from Team Glazer until yesterday when Bowles got one? The answer is in the five paragraphs highlighted above.
Coaching matters. Always has. Always will.
Todd Bowles becomes the first #Buccaneers head coach to receive a contract extension since Jon Gruden in 2008. His 27 wins through three seasons as HC trails only Bruce Arians (31) in team history. (Arians received a raise but not an extension after Super Bowl LV.) pic.twitter.com/1CxeqNTCTJ
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) June 26, 2025