Todd Bowles has been a great coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — he’s never failed to win the NFC south while in charge.
But a new report from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio wonders if the Bucs may have a huge head coach swing coming.
Florio writes that the Buccaneers may have a path to moving on from Bowles after the 2025 season to hire Bill Belichick.
Belichick is currently North Carolina’s head college football coach. The 73-year old won six Super Bowls as the Patriots head coach and two more as a Giants assistant.
MORE: Is Colin Kaepernick really making a comeback?
This will only be Belichick’s first fall in Chapel Hill, but if he hopes to ever come back to the NFL and chase the all-time wins record, he’d have to make that move sooner rather than later.
“Although Todd Bowles has won the NFC South in each of his three seasons as Tampa Bay’s head coach, the Buccaneers have a unique history, to say the least, when it comes to the coaching position,” Florio writes. “In 2009, they abruptly dumped Jon Gruden for Raheem Morris. Three years later, they hired Greg Schiano. They surprisingly fired Lovie Smith in 2016, apparently in order to avoid losing offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter to another team. And some still believe that Tom Brady’s unretirement in 2022 (after his path to Miami was blocked) was conditioned on Bruce Arians being nudged into retirement.”
MORE: Saquon Barkley reveals stunning retirement plans
The great irony would be that the Bucs got a Super Bowl championship out of Belichick’s former running mate, QB Tom Brady.
Belichick wouldn’t have quite the same impact, but could very well make moves that lead to lots of wins anyway.
Florio doesn’t expect anything to happen now. He just implies to keep a close eye on how this fall plays out for both the Buccaneers and Tar Heels.
”Much of it depends on what the Bucs do (or don’t do) in 2025, and what the Tar Heels do (or don’t do) in 2025. Still, with Belichick’s buyout down to $1 million as of last Sunday, let’s not assume no one at the NFL level will want Belichick,” Florio writes. “The Bucs have the talent; if ownership decides that an excellent game-day coach could get them back to the top of the mountain, it’s not as nutty as it may seem.”
We’ll revisit this all in six months to see where things stand.
MORE NFL NEWS:
- One of Philip Rivers' 10 kids is now a 4-star QB recruit
- Bears star makes emphatic statement on retirement
- Eagles sign new WR with 4.35 40 speed
- Chiefs all-time stat leader retires after lengthy NFL career
- Lions cut new player 48 hours after signing him
- Panthers star makes impressive sacrifice