Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles says he's earned the right to return in 2026

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Todd Bowles isn’t worried about his job security after an epic collapse by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Everything unraveled after a 6-2 start and the Buccaneers (8-9) failed to win their fifth straight NFC South title when Atlanta beat New Orleans on Sunday to give Carolina a three-way tiebreaker advantage.

Bowles had led Tampa Bay to the playoffs in each of his first three seasons after replacing Bruce Arians in 2022. He has three years remaining on his contract and he’s operating as if he’ll return for a fifth season.

“I’ve earned the chance,” Bowles said about coming back. “I’ve won three straight division titles, so that says a lot as far as I’m concerned. I don’t really have a message for fans other than true fans are true fans and we’re going to try to do our best to go out there and win for them. They’re going to feel how they feel, but that’s not a coach’s problem. The coach’s problem is to make the team better and that’s all I’m looking forward to.”

Bowles will meet with the Glazer family on Wednesday for a typical end-of-season conversation with the ownership group.

The Glazers once fired Super Bowl champion coach Jon Gruden with a few years left on his contract and also fired Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy after three straight playoff appearances, including an NFC championship game.

But there’s no indication Bowles’ job is in jeopardy and that could be due to the realization he simply didn’t have enough talent on the roster.

Bowles wouldn’t put the blame on roster construction.

“I feel like we had enough talent to win,” he said. “The mistakes we made weren’t talent-driven, they were more mistake-driven.”

So are the players or coaches responsible for the mistakes?

“It starts with me,” he said. “I’ll take it all. I’m the head coach. It starts with me. I have to take all of that and I have to get that fixed. That’s what my job description is and that’s what I should do. It starts with me, it goes down to the coaches, then it goes down to the players.”

Bowles, who was the defensive coordinator under Arians when Tom Brady led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title five years ago, is 36-36, including 1-3 in the playoffs.

An offense that was plagued by injuries for most of the first three-fourths of the season dropped from No. 3 overall in yards in 2024 under Liam Coen to 21st in Josh Grizzard’s first season as the offensive coordinator. They were top five in rushing, passing and scoring last season when Baker Mayfield had his best season.

This season, the Bucs finished 21st in rushing, 20th in passing and 18th in scoring. Mayfield was bothered by injuries throughout the second half.

On defense, the Buccaneers were 19th in yards. It’s the third straight season they’ve finished 18th or worse.

The Buccaneers simply don’t have a dominant pass rusher or enough playmakers. They signed two-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Haason Reddick to a one-year, $14 million prove-it deal and he got 2 1/2 sacks in 13 games.

“It’s disappointing we didn’t get in,” Bowles said. “First time in five years, so you kind of get used to it a little bit. But, we did it to ourselves. We’ve got to take a deep evaluation, starting with myself. Once I do that, I’ll evaluate the coaches and players and we’ll go accordingly.”

Six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans and veteran linebacker Lavonte David are two of the franchise’s greatest players and both will be free agents if they choose to keep playing. Evans is still a top receiver and David is a valuable leader on the field.

Neither was ready to make a decision about their future.

“I’ll pray about it, talk to my family about it, just do what I gotta do,” David said about retirement. “I’m always praying about whatever God’s will is for me to let it be done. Whenever that opportunity comes or when that time comes, you know I’ll be able to be straightforward and shoot straight and let you know, but right now I have no idea.”

Evans said missing several weeks with injuries was a “blessing in disguise.”

“I missed the game more than I thought I would. I still got love for the game,” he said. “Who knows what it’ll do for me in the future.”

Cornerback Jamel Dean, tight end Cade Otton, running back Rachaad White, defensive lineman Logan Hall and Reddick also will be key free agents. Defensive lineman Greg Gaines, wideout Sterling Shepard, tight end Ko Kieft, offensive linemen Charlie Heck and Dan Feeney and cornerback Kindle Vildor are among other players who will be unrestricted free agents.

Bowles has to figure out which changes he’s going to make on the coaching staff and whether he’s going to relinquish some of the defensive duties. The offense was inconsistent, the defense struggled and special teams were mostly poor.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles walks away after an NFL football season-ending news conference Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles speaks to the media during an NFL football season-ending news conference Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles speaks to the media during an NFL football season-ending news conference Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alabama on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to allow it to use a congressional map favoring Republicans in this year's elections, despite a lower court's ruling that the redistricting plan intentionally discriminates against Black people.

The state's Republican leadership filed an emergency appeal with the justices a day after a three-judge court refused to let the state use a map it adopted three years ago that has a majority Black population in just one of its seven congressional districts.

The judges instead required Alabama to continue using a court-ordered map that was put in place for the 2024 elections that includes two districts where Black residents comprise a majority or close to it.

Attorney General Steve Marshall told the court that the state did not intentionally discriminate against Black residents and should be allowed to hold elections this year under a map chosen by lawmakers, not judges.

The appeal is the latest development in the fallout from last month's Supreme Court ruling that struck down a Black-majority district in Louisiana and weakened the federal Voting Rights Act. That ruling has led Republicans in several Southern states, including Alabama, to take steps to reshape voting districts with large minority populations that have elected Democrats.

The redistricting frenzy is part of a broader push by President Donald Trump to try to hold on to Republicans’ slim House majority in the November elections.

The Alabama cases stretches back several years. The three-judge panel in 2023 ruled that a map drawn by Republican state lawmakers intentionally diluted the voting power of Black citizens. The court said the state, which is about 27% Black, should have two districts where Black voters are the majority or close to it. The court-selected map was used in 2024.

After the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in the Louisiana case, Alabama officials moved to implement the 2023 state-drawn map. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority agreed to lift the injunction that had blocked the map’s use and sent the case back to the three-judge panel for reconsideration in light of the Louisiana ruling.

In the meantime, voters cast ballots in Alabama’s May 19 primaries, and Republican Gov. Kay Ivey set new special primaries for Aug. 11 in four congressional districts affected by the map switch.

Upon further review, the judicial panel said it was standing behind its initial finding that there was “undisputed evidence” of intentional racial discrimination, a holding that was independent of and unaffected by the Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act.

It said the special congressional primaries should instead proceed under the previous court-approved districts.

The use of the court-ordered map led to the 2024 election of U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, a Black Democrat. State Republicans are seeking to use a map that would give the GOP an opportunity to reclaim the south Alabama seat.

The state is asking for Supreme Court action by Monday as it makes preparations for the special vote in August.

This story has been corrected to show the Alabama primaries were May 19, not May 11.

Associated Press writer Kim Chandler contributed to this report from Montgomery, Ala.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.

FILE - Shomari Figures, who is running for Alabama's 2nd Congressional District, speaks during the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

A statue titled the "Authority of Law" sits in front of the Supreme Court on Friday, May 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

The Supreme Court is seen in Washington, Monday, May 18, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)