No Jeff Fisher.
Bucs coach Todd Bowles has a .515 winning percentage through four seasons as head coach. So it stands to reason some think he’s an average coach.
Patrick Daugherty of Rotoworld decided to rank all NFL coaches. And, as you may have guessed, given Bowles’ record, Daugherty thinks Bowles is an average coach, ranking him at No. 16 among the 32 NFL coaches, right smack in the middle.
Daugherty seems to think Bowles isn’t as bad as some believe but sure has room to improve.
16. Todd Bowles, Bucs
Career Record: 61-74 (.452)
With The Bucs Since: 2022
Last Year’s Ranking: 15
Has Todd Bowles’ Bucs tenure gone better or worse than expected? It’s certainly never been worse than it was down the stretch in 2025, where an apocalyptic 1-7 post-bye stretch rendered the Bucs’ Week 18 victory over the Panthers irrelevant, coughing up one of the easier-to-claim division titles in recent memory. It would be easy to say it was emblematic of Bowles’ time by the bay, but until last season he had primarily been backing into good outcomes. His first year featured an 8-9 division title with the greatest player in league history before he pulled off similar feats each of the next two campaigns with the greatest walk-on in league history. Bowles’ somewhat-sustained offensive success has belied a conservative and stodgy reputation. It’s been necessary since he hasn’t quite lived up to expectations on the defensive side of the ball. That was especially true in 2025. On the whole, Bowles has been running pure in the 8-10 win zone. Good for him, but that’s an unsustainable approach whether you’re Jeff Fisher or Mike Tomlin, and Bowles seems much more like the former. Absent a big 2026 step forward, there will probably be big changes on the Bucs’ sideline.
You know, Bowles is sort of like the opposite version of Jeff Fisher. Fisher had one good season as a head coach and came so, so close to winning a Super Bowl. Take that season away and Fisher’s teams were very Bowles-like as far as making the playoffs and eating an “L.”
Why did Joe refer to Bowles as the opposite of Fisher? Well, Fisher was a defensive-minded head coach and his defenses were usually solid. His offenses were atrocious, just like you’d expect from a defensive guy around the turn of the century; you know, play good defense, run the ball and keep the game close.
Bowles, though, for being a defensive guy, has had sorry defenses of late and “this Joe” maintains Bowles’ defense quit on him last year.
Instead, it has been the Bucs offense under Bowles — when the offense has been allowed to throw — which has carried Bowles’ teams.