Licht, Bowles Get Real about Buccaneers' 2025 Collapse

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers weren't good enough anywhere in 2025.

They weren't good enough on special teams, which is why head coach Todd Bowles fired special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey.

They weren't good enough on offense (tied for 16th in scoring), which is why Bowles fired offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard.

Although Bowles wouldn't fire, well, himself as defensive coordinator, it's hard to argue that Tampa's defense (20th in scoring) was good enough.

Tampa addressed its special teams struggles by hiring Danny Smith, who had been with Bucs coaching great Mike Tomlin for 13 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Being solid on special teams is important, but the assistant Bucs fans will be paying most attention to is Zac Robinson, who Bowles hired after two seasons as the OC for the Atlanta Falcons.

But how did we get to the point where Tampa needed a new OC?

When talking with reporters at the NFL combine Tuesday afternoon, general manager Jason Licht made it clear that he doesn't want injuries to be looked at as an excuse.

But it's hard not to acknowledge that Mike Evans (nine games missed), Chris Godwin (eight games missed) and Bucky Irving (seven games missed) being out of action for extended periods didn't have an impact.

"The continuity that we had envisioned and hoped for wasn't there," Licht said. "So I would say that we're looking forward to getting back to that.

Licht also pointed out that the Bucs had to use nine offensive line combinations due to various injuries.

"We have an offensive line who we think is very, very good," Licht said. "It's one of our strongest rooms in the building, if not the strongest, and I think that was the key. Having that offensive line healthy and back."

The injury bug also had an impact on Emeka Egbuka.

Ideally, the Bucs would use Egbuka as a slot receiver. But because of the injuries to Godwin and Evans, Egbuka only played 266 of his 887 snaps in the slot.

"As intelligent as he is," Licht said, "it's really hard on a rookie, especially when the proverbial rookie wall hits. He had a long season at Ohio State and a short offseason."

The "rookie wall" was evident in the Bucs' disastrous four-game losing streak near the end of the season, in which Tampa couldn't manage a win despite all four of their opponents having a losing record. Egbuka, who torced both eventual Super Bowl participants for more than 100 yards respectively, had 15, 64, 40 and 20 in those four losses.

The good news for Egbuka is that Robinson's scheme -- influenced by Los Angeles Rams coach and Robinson's former boss Sean McVay --  caters to receivers who can run after the catch (think Cooper Kupp and Puca Nacua).

Egbuka was second among NFL rookies in yards after catch (to Tet McMillan of the Carolina Panthers), who ended up beating Tampa for the NFC South title on a tiebreaker.

Had the Bucs won one of those four games, they would have won the NFC South. Had they won the NFC South, who knows if the Bucs would have kept Josh Grizzard on as offensive coordinator?

Bowles, in an interview with JoeBucsFan, explained why he made the move. 

"I just didn’t think we progressed offensively the way I thought we were going to progress," he said. "Josh has some good schemes and he’s a good coach, I think -- and I think his time is coming. But I thought we needed a change there, and as a head coach, it’s my job to do it."

Bowles said he feels Grizzard is "about maybe two or three years from putting it all together,” and judging by Tampa's actions, the Bucs don't feel that's the time they have.

If Tampa were to commit to a rebuild, it would make sense to keep a coordinator on for more than a year and see if he can learn.

But firing Grizzard shows two things: The Bucs are committed to going after a Super Bowl in 2026, and the offense in 2025 wasn't good enough.

Bowles made it clear when he fired Grizzard that he didn't see injuries as an excuse, and doubled down on that in the same interview. 

But we have to win with backups because they’re on the team for a reason; injuries are not an excuse.

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