Why Todd Bowles, Buccaneers had to shake up coaching staff

TAMPA, Fla. -- The changes Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles is making to his staff are extensive, with five coaches terminated -- offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey, quarterbacks coach Thaddeus Lewis, cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross and defensive line coach Charlie Strong -- and two more retiring in senior offensive assistant Tom Moore and safeties coach Nick Rapone.

A source told ESPN that these were not moves mandated by ownership after an 8-9 season that saw them miss out on the playoffs for the first time since 2019. Instead, the source said that Bowles made these moves on his own.

Four of those coaches -- Lewis, Ross, Moore and Rapone -- were members of the Bucs' 2020 Super Bowl winning staff under Bruce Arians, for whom Bowles took over in 2022. Bowles' relationships with Ross and Rapone stretch back over 40 years to when Bowles was a player at Temple and they were members of Arians' staff.

Bowles signed an extension through the 2028 season in June after leading the franchise to three straight division titles from 2022 to 2024, and he nearly pulled off a fourth -- with the Bucs falling short because of a tiebreaker. But the reality is after a 6-2 start, things fell apart, where they lost seven out of their last nine games.

One of the more perplexing aspects to the Bucs' stunning collapse in 2025 was that they continued to lose despite, on paper, being the healthiest they'd been all season (at least with skill positions) in their final four games with the returns of running back Bucky Irving (10 games played), and wide receivers Mike Evans (eight games) and Jalen McMillan (four games). Yet the Bucs failed to have a 1,000-yard receiver for the first time since 2011, even with rookie Emeka Egbuka (938 yards) well positioned to reach that milestone.

"It's unfortunate we didn't come away with more wins to make the playoffs," Bowles said. "It doesn't matter who was back and who wasn't back, we just didn't play well enough to win those games. ... As we unravel everything in the next couple of days and couple of weeks, we'll see."

Bowles also said he wasn't sure why quarterback Baker Mayfield was less effective down the stretch. Before their Week 9 bye, he had thrown 13 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He threw 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions after.

Mayfield did battle injuries to both shoulders and had issues in his right bicep and knee -- on top of a hand issue in training camp. Bowles said he did not believe injuries played a role in Mayfield's regression, and that he doesn't believe any of Mayfield's injuries will result in offseason surgery.

"I wish I had an opinion on that," Bowles said of the interceptions. "I didn't like it, No. 1, I didn't like it. We threw a bunch of fourth-quarter interceptions, and whether that was scheme or whether that was players, we've got to be better there. Those are part of the things that shot us in the foot -- there were many things, but that was part of it, too."

Season-ending injuries to starting guards Cody Mauch and Ben Bredeson also hurt them when Grizzard called interior runs for Irving, who was unable to replicate the success from his rookie season. Irving had missed seven games with shoulder and foot injuries and went from averaging 5.4 yards per attempt last season to 3.4.

"I think he was more impacted by his own health, initially, with the ankle and the shoulder," Bowles said of Irving. "He missed a couple of weeks there, then, coming back, there were a bunch of injured guys [on the offensive line]. He fought, and he played hard, he just didn't have the breakaway runs he had last year."

Defensively, there were problems too, and it's unclear if Bowles will still be calling those plays next season. It was on the table for discussion with ownership. He has not had a designated defensive coordinator during his time as head coach in Tampa. It was Bowles whose defense limited Patrick Mahomes to just nine points in Super Bowl LV. Often head coaches resist relinquishing these duties for fear of losing job security.

The Bucs' 37 sacks were the lowest during Bowles' tenure with the Bucs as both a coordinator and a head coach, while their 46 touchdowns surrendered on defense were the most. Opponent red zone efficiency had also climbed to 69.8%, which had been an area of strength for the Bucs. A source close to the situation and familiar with Bowles' thinking believes outside linebacker and inside linebacker are priorities, as Yaya Diaby led the team with 7 sacks while Haason Reddick disappointed as a free agent with just 2.5.

The Bucs also had breakdowns in the secondary, which was seen most often when players were shuffled because of injuries. On one particular play against the Carolina Panthers, veteran cornerback Jamel Dean inexplicably gave up outside leverage rather than attempting to funnel Miami Dolphins wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. inside towards his help in the Bucs' Cover-2 defense. There were other instances of flat-out coverage busts.

And on special teams, the Bucs sought to potentially make a move in-season with McGaughey in Year 2, but the team ultimately decided to stick with him believing they did not have a replacement on the roster. So late in the season, with the division on the line, Bowles said they opted to kick touchbacks and automatically have their opponents start at the 35-yard line because their coverage units performed so poorly.