Though the nail-biting string of four straight losses buried the Bucs, the team’s travails began in November when Tampa started a skid of seven losses over its final nine games.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield’s play dipped significantly. Though he didn’t miss a game, he was playing with an injured shoulder. Mike Evans, who is now with the San Francisco 49ers, played in just eight games. Running back Bucky Irving, wide receiver Jalen McMillan, offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs and line mates Luke Goedeke and Cody Mauch, along with defensive lineman Calijah Kancey and cornerback Jamel Dean were among the long list of Bucs who missed significant time.
Add all that up with six losses decided by six points or less and one could surmise Bowles hardly holds sole blame for the Buc’s frustrating season. Still, since he took over for the retiring Bruce Arians before the 2022 season, Bowles has had just two winning seasons in four years and only reached double-digit victories and earned a playoff win once.
“I’d say as a franchise, everybody’s goal is to win the Super Bowl every year,” Glazer said. “That’s your hope, but only one team does win the Super Bowl every year. In any given season you’ve got to look at the season, look at how things went, look at where the franchise is at, look at the totality of the situation as year in and year out. That’s how you evaluate things. Last season started out great – didn’t end so well. Obviously, we were disappointed, obviously our fans were disappointed, but there’s a little more to it.
“Every team has injuries, but there were significant injuries last year at significant positions. There were a lot of close games down the stretch that didn’t go our way. 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.”
Provided the Buccaneers are a healthier lot than they were a season ago, they’re still very much likely to be viewed as favorites in the NFC South again.
It was a stunning division loss in Week 15 to the Atlanta Falcons that led to the usually stoic Bowles’ frustrations boiling over postgame.
The veteran coach joked about the memorable news conference earlier this week on Good Morning Football.
“Sometimes you get pissed and it’s gotta come out,” he said. “It has to come out. It came out more calmer in the press than it did in the locker room. But g–d— it, I care.”
The fight and the desire to win aren’t in question with Bowles and his Bucs.
However, one has to believe a second season in a row short of playoff success could put Glazer in the position to make another difficult decision regarding Bowles’ future. For now, though, Bowles has the sturdy support of Buccaneers ownership.
“If you look at our roster, if you look at our team, I think we are great in a lot of spots. But like a lot of teams, you have to add,” Glazer said. “So obviously, ultimately the head coach is the one who this falls at his feet, but I know Todd’s very respected in the locker room and nobody wants to win more than Todd.”
