Fans are fed up in Tampa Bay. For the third time in a row, and the sixth time in seven outings, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were on the losing end of yet another game. The Bucs, who were once 6-2, atop the NFC South and with a MVP-caliber player in Baker Mayfield, are now struggling mightily. The Bucs are 1-6 over their last seven, have fallen to 7-8 on the season, are sitting outside of the NFC playoffs, and the team just continues to struggle on both sides of the ball.
Magnifying the pain, four of the losses were by a touchdown or less, further putting the spotlight on the Buccaneers' coaching staff, who seem to be getting out-coached in close games.
All of these struggles have manifested with fans online calling for Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles to be ousted from his position as the team's head coach. Bowles, 62, landed in Tampa Bay after Bruce Arians retired from coaching, allowing the former head coach of the New York Jets to find another shot at glory.
Across eight full seasons as a head coach, however, Bowles has only three winning seasons to his name and has a career record of 60-73. Things looked to be turning around for him in Tampa Bay, with him winning three straight NFC South titles, but as his teams constantly hover, or fall under the.500 mark, many believed his success was more due to a bad NFC South than to him being a strong coach.
While he does have the support of key players, like Mayfield, the calls for his ousting have been getting louder and louder. X has been flooded with fans who are vocal about Bowles being fired. Some posted memes, others posted AI videos, and a few just made salient points.
Considering how much worse the offense has looked over the last seven games, you can understand the frustration that fans have. While the team has struggled with injuries to key players all year, they found success without names like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin earlier in the year. You'd think their returns would only raise the profile of the once-feared offense.
It hasn't. Fans are noticing that. The team can't keep pace with better offenses in the league anymore, and the question is now starting to be 'why'. Bowles and his coaching staff aren't making enough changes to get wins and satisfy fans.
It's becoming clear that the situation in Tampa Bay has to change and has to change sooner rather than later.