“Attitude reflects leadership.”
Wood Harris as Julius Campbell in Remember the Titans
I have this friend who shall remain nameless.
Let’s just say he’s in my fantasy football league, which narrows it down to only nine other people, half of whom you know for they’ve either contributed to this site or have been mentioned in passing.
This one has not, until now.
He’s not the biggest Todd Bowles fan. In fact, whenever the Bucs lose a ballgame, he’s quick to blame the coach. In victory, however, his texts remain silent, which is unfortunate for I’m one to give credit where credit is due. My friend, not so much.
But here I write in defense of the man he can’t stand: Todd Bowles.
A quick look at Bowles’ head coaching record doesn’t raise eyebrows, unless you’re doing so in a negative manner. After Sunday’s impressive win in New Orleans, Bowles remains 47-60 professionally over his career.
47-60 isn’t a resume that jumps to the top of “Hire Me” pile although to be fair, Bowles did coach the Jets and very few have had success there. Further blemishing his bio, Bowles has only two seasons over .500, his first with the Jets in 2015 (10-6) and his most recent with the Bucs, when he went 9-8. Bowles ranks 24th in winning percentage among active coaches, behind two guys on the hot seat, Miami’s Mike McDaniel and Jacksonville’s Doug Pederson. Bowles is not flashy. He’s not quippy. He’s not a soundbite that grabs ratings and he sure as hell isn’t going to lead SportsCenter. Yet I’m not sure how many coaches I’d take in his place right now and I’m quite certain there’s a bunch of players in that Buccaneers locker room who feel the same way.
Bowles was thrust into the Buccaneers head coaching position once Bruce Arians’ health started to wane. Physically unable to handle the coaching strain, Arians stepped down. Ownership decided that Bowles, the veteran defensive coordinator on Arians’ Super Bowl winning team, was the natural successor.
The move came with public scrutiny. Most were familiar with Bowles’ record as a head coach, those sub-par years with the Jets looming large. Many outside the organization questioned whether he, a soft-spoken, defensive-minded coach, could fill the role left vacant by an offensive-minded chatterbox.
But anyone who watched what Bowles did with the defense on that championship team and saw just how hard those men played for him, knew he was the right man for the job. I heard it firsthand at the celebration parade, how his defensive core comprised of veterans from Jason Pierre-Paul, Ndamukong Suh and Lavonte David to newbies like Devin White, Vita Vea and Antoine Winfield spoke about him. Glowingly is no exaggeration. When they use the expression run through a brick wall for a guy, Bowles is the man they speak about.
Do you know how many active NFL head coaches have Super Bowl rings? The answer is seven. That’s not many. For every coach that wins, it seems there are far more that lose. In a results-oriented league where every owner is hoping to uncover the new hotness, quite often it’s steady veteran leadership that sustains. It wasn’t long ago, before he found Patrick Mahomes, that we questioned Andy Reid’s legacy. Now we willingly rank him amongst the greats.
Coaching is as much about x’s and o’s as it is about managing the professional athlete. Aaron Rodgers was recently seen refusing to embrace his coach after a go-ahead touchdown. That coach was fired weeks later. In a recent loss, Raiders’ linebacker Maxx Crosby was seen shoving an assistant coach out of frustration. That happens when you lose. Tempers flare. Bowles isn’t perfect. But his players have his back and they’re getting better. That’s the sign of a good coach. Improvement, not regression. Inspiration, not secession.
This year’s Buccaneers aren’t lighting it up in any statistical categories. Traditionally stout defending the run, they’re not as good as they’ve been in the past. They can also be sketchy against the pass. But when this team puts it all together, they are tough to beat. They execute well and that is no accident. That is by design.
Outcast Baker Mayfield is playing the best football of his career. He’s second in the league in touchdown passes and third in the league in completion percentage. This is a guy that multiple teams, one with a Super Bowl winning coach, had given up on yet somehow, Baker found a comfort zone under Bowles. For that, Bowles deserves some credit.
I’m not sitting here telling you that Todd Bowles is the greatest coach in the league. He wouldn’t tell you that himself. What I am saying is that stability within an NFL franchise is critical to sustained success. Look no further than half the teams in the league that are constantly rumored to be dismissing their head coach after a string of uninspiring losses.
If you get rid of a coach, you better have a better option in mind, one that sets a tone and establishes a culture his players believe in. That’s no easy task. Bowles has done that. If we’re going to bash him when they fail, we need to commend him when they succeed.
Kudos, Coach! You got my vote.
Mark Schlereth has always said Todd Bowles was “the smartest football guy he ever knew.”
Discuss amongst yourselves.
I had not heard that story, sir.
Thank you for sharing.
Raheem Morris is smarter than Todd Bowles. I don’t know how Todd Bowles would be the smartest guy ever associated with Buccaneers, since he had no part in selecting and drafting all of the correct players in 2017, ‘18, ‘19.
Not so sure I agree with that assessment, Greg.
In fact, I’m quite certain I do not. I don’t think even Rah would agree with it.
The Bucs gave Morris a shot, his first head coaching gig. It was a good stab back when teams were trying to find the hot new coach.
He wasn’t ready. He had one winning season sandwiched in between a three-win and a four-win season. It was humbling.
Atlanta’s given him a second lease on life but pound for pound, despite their earlier season match-up, I’ll take this Bucs team over the Falcons any day.
I’d take their coach too. We’ll see what happens next week at the rematch.