Jason Licht
Bucs GM Jason Licht.
Joe thinks it is fair to refer to Bucs coach Todd Bowles as one of the more unpopular Bucs coaches this century.
Joe has been doing his weekly in-season “Confidence Poll” since the former Bucs commander Greg Schiano administration. No coach since, not even lousy Lovie Smith, had 92 percent of participants vote “No Confidence” or “Little Confidence” in a Bucs coach.
Except for Bowles this past season.
And if you haven’t guessed since the powers that be at One Buc Palace retained Bowles for the 2026 season, Joe thinks it fair to see the Bucs seem to have a different perspective on Bowles than most fans do.
Appearing on PFT Live with the creator, curator and overall guru of ProFootballTalk.com, the great Mike Florio also seen on both Peacock and NBC Sports Network from the combine last week from the Indiana Convention Center, Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht said the Bucs do have confidence Bowles can get the Bucs back to the playoffs, and maybe do something other than just winning the division.
“We haven’t lost any faith in Todd,” Licht said. “I think he’s the perfect person to get this thing back going.
“I think we had a lot of inconsistencies in a lot of different areas. That we can all own.
“I don’t think it’s just on coaching. I don’t think it’s just on players. I think it’s on a lot of things but I do feel confident in the plan that we have to get things back rolling.”
Licht didn’t say what those plans were but he did say the Bucs are going to focus on the front-seven on defense. And, maybe for the first time publicly, Licht said the team must be able to pressure the quarterback if it expects to win games and make a playoff run.
“We were winning the division, making the playoffs,” Licht said. “But we want to take it a step further. We want to not just make the playoffs. We want to make some noise, and we want to contend.”
Yes, it was refreshing for Joe to hear Licht say they need to rush the passer. Maybe he saw the light and changed Bowles’ mind? Maybe they got the message from Team Glazer.
Now that they have embraced they have a problem, how do the Bucs attack it? Would they really bring in the pride of Warren Sapp High School in Apopka, Trey Hendrickson?
Back at the combine in 2018, Licht and then-Giants general manager Dave Gettleman began working on the embryonic elements of a deal where the Bucs acquired Jason Pierre-Paul for an outright highway robbery of a third-round pick.
That move began a turnaround for the Bucs which ended in JPP slobbering over the Vince Lombardi Trophy three seasons later.
The Bucs and Licht did it once before. They can do it again. Find a friggin’ legitimate edge rusher and let him cook the way he knows how.