Jenna LaineApr 2, 2026, 11:00 AM
Close
Open Extended Reactions
Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Joel Glazer, general manager Jason Licht and coach Todd Bowles spoke to reporters at the annual NFL owners meetings in Phoenix this week, and notably, it was the first time Glazer, or any member of ownership spoke publicly since the Bucs' disappointing finish to the season.
The franchise lost seven of its final nine games, finishing with an 8-9 record to miss out on the playoffs for the first time since the 2019 season.
Glazer defended the decision to retain Bowles, who had gone 35-33 in four years as head coach. Glazer was encouraged by the Bucs' 6-2 start last season -- which included a road victory over the eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks -- but cited the impact of injuries to star players.
What to know for the NFL offseason
• Free agent class ranks | Signing grades
• Kiper's new mock | Best draft prospects
• Coach hirings | Draft order | See more
"Every team has injuries, but there were significant injuries last year at significant positions," Glazer said via Pewter Report. "You saw what this team could do. But every story has sub-stories, and it's hard. It's hard when you start a season and you think, 'This is what your team is going to be' and then you get to the season and you're missing a lot of pieces constantly throughout the season."
To Glazer's point, three of the Bucs' top four wide receivers -- Jalen McMillan, Chris Godwin Jr. and Mike Evans -- missed a combined 30 starts, while offensive linemen Tristan Wirfs, Ben Bredeson, Cody Mauch and Luke Goedeke missed a combined 32. Running back Bucky Irving was out seven games, and starting tight end Cade Otton missed one. On defense, starters Calijah Kancey, Logan Hall, Haason Reddick, SirVocea Dennis, Jamel Dean, Zyon McCollum and Tykee Smith missed a combined 30 contests.
"There were a lot of close games down the stretch that didn't go our way," Glazer said. "But we're trying to build a championship team. You can try and throw a dart every year -- or you can try and build a Super Bowl-winning team. We feel like we had a great team, and we're constantly building, building, building -- adding to the foundations that we have."
In the past, this ownership group had a reputation for being impatient, firing Lovie Smith (20-28) after two seasons, the same with Greg Schiano (11-21) and then parting ways with Raheem Morris after three seasons (34-42). They also fired Super Bowl-winning head coach Jon Gruden one year removed from a playoff berth in 2008, and Tony Dungy after a 10-6 record in 2021 (54-42).
In Bowles' case, his teams clinched three straight NFC South titles and two of them came without Tom Brady and fewer resources because of dead money. But his critics point to a division where being around .500 is good enough to win it, and the Bucs did just that -- escaping in three straight years marked by in-season collapses.
Still, Glazer said there is no threshold Bowles needs to meet to keep his job in 2026.
"The National Football League, every year, every coach you see the turnover," Glazer said. "It's a tough job, a lot of expectations. But no [there is no stated win total that Bowles has to reach]. ... After we won the Super Bowl, everyone expected the floor to fall out for this franchise. It's hard to win the Super Bowl and turn it around real quick and win it again. You got the salary cap and everything you're dealing with. There's so much involved -- injuries -- that come into play."
Todd Bowles is 35-33 in four seasons as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire
To try and rectify this, Bowles made changes to his staff. He switched his strength and conditioning members, parting ways with the head of strength and conditioning since 2019, Anthony Piroli. Bowles also fired offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey, quarterbacks coach Thad Lewis, cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross and defensive line coach Charlie Strong -- with senior offensive assistant Tom Moore and safeties coach Nick Rapone retiring.
"I think Todd has done a really good job in a lot of areas that we feel like he's the right man to steady the ship," Licht said via Pewter Report. "I'm confident in some of the things that we're looking at and improvements we're trying to make."
One key signing for Bowles was Alex Anzalone, who will play Lavonte David's weakside linebacker position and wear the green helmet sticker. At the time of Anzalone's signing, his role had not been defined -- as David had not yet announced his retirement. Despite making moves at the position, it will be hard to replace one of the pillars of the franchise in David, but adding to the linebacker room later this month in the draft could be on the table -- especially if Bowles convinces the front office to take a player he likes.
"I feel like there's some guys in this draft that can really play," Bowles said. "There's quite a few of them -- at least 10 or 12 of them for sure. And the trait we look for the most is probably instinctiveness. You look for instincts right there and how they read and how they scrape and how they go. And I think there's a bunch of those in that draft."
Licht said he's "excited" in what Tampa Bay is doing this offseason, but it's up to Bowles and the team to prove that being back in 2027 is something that ownership will want to sign off on again.