Todd Bowles has a well-known supporter in town.
Former Bucs guard Ian Beckles (1990-1996) has never shied away from running a guy out of Tampa if he thinks he is keeping the team down. Beckles has had several punching bags through his long media career: Gerald McCoy, Barrett Ruud and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, among others.
But when it comes to head coach Todd Bowles, Beckles doesn’t put Bowles on a naughty list like so many fans do. He sees Bowles as a proven and respected commodity, though he doesn’t give him the “great” label.
Beckles is considered somewhat of a sage when it comes to Bucs history, which is why he had a role in Raise The Flags: 50 Years Of Buccaneers Football, the stunning 10-part Amazon documentary.
“Todd Bowles, nobody in the history of defensive coordinators could have made that defense great last year. How?” Beckles told The Jay Recher Podcast. “How? We didn’t do anything great. We didn’t have one great [defensive] player last year. So, name me a great defense that doesn’t have one great, dominant player. So it’s not rocket science.
“Listen, I’m not here defending Todd Bowles, I just think he can coach. And I think that the Glazers and [Jason] Licht think he can coach as well, clearly.”
Bowles was retained for a fifth season as Bucs head coach because Team Glazer trusts him and likes doing business with him, per Beckles, and because Team Glazer believes he’ll do a strong job with the right people/players in front of him. Beckles is in that camp, too.
“I really don’t know why people are ready to run this guy out of town, to be honest with you,” Beckles said.
While Beckles seems in disbelief, Joe gets why so many fans are down on Bowles. It’s very much about underachievement last season and in the 2024 playoffs, and not believing Bowles’ eight-year head coaching résumé is good enough to return the Bucs to the Super Bowl.