Identifying Tampa Bay Buccaneers Coaching Candidates to Replace Todd Bowles

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers sat atop the NFC South in early November with a 6-2 record entering the bye. At that point, the club seemed destined for its second consecutive season as division champions with double-digit wins. Now, the franchise is in free fall with head coach Todd Bowles blaming the players for the latest loss.

Coming off the Thursday Night Football loss at home to the Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay has dropped from 6-2 to 7-7 and put the Carolina Panthers in the driver’s seat to win the NFC South. Meanwhile, the head coach blamed the “inexcusable” loss on the players all at a time when the sentiment about him in the locker room seems to be souring.

With that in mind, let’s examine some Buccaneers coaching candidates who could replace Bowles.

Jesse Minter, Los Angeles Chargers Defensive Coordinator

If Todd Bowles is fired, Tampa Bay would probably have the second-best coaching vacancy available behind the New York Giants. In a year where the pool of head-coaching candidates doesn’t seem as strong as recent offseasons, the Buccaneers could focus on the top guy. That is Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, who has done phenomenal work in Los Angeles over the last two years.

Prior to his arrival, the Chargers defense placed 24th in Defensive EPA per Play (0.019) and 23rd in Success Rate (44.3 percent) while allowing the seventh-highest yards-per-play average (5.5) and the ninth-most points per drive (2.01) in 2023. In the two seasons since Minter took over as defensive coordinator, Los Angeles ranks fifth in EPA per Play (-0.061) and sixth in Success Rate (41.9 percent). This season, the Chargers rank eighth in yards per play allowed (5.0) and 10th in points per drive (1.93).

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Minter, who turns 43 in May, has been under the tutelage of Jim and John Harbaugh from 2017-2025, outside of a one-year stint as the Vanderbilt Commodores defensive coordinator (2021). He brings one of the best defensive minds in football with an ability to maximize the talent he has, and he’s well-regarded around the league personally.

Klint Kubiak, Seattle Seahawks Offensive Coordinator

The NFL coaching carousel in 2026 might be a painful reminder for the Buccaneers organization of why it should have either promoted Dave Canales or Liam Coen to head coach and moved on from Bowles. To that point, the pool of head-coaching candidates this offseason doesn’t offer much on the offensive side of the ball.

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Among the likeliest options, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is arguably the best option. Entering Week 15, the Seahawks offense ranks 12th in red-zone touchdown rate (60 percent), eighth in points per drive (2.43), fifth in yards per play (6.0), and third in scoring rate (47.5 percent). He’s gotten nearly as much out of Sam Darnold as Minnesota did, too.

Kubiak, who turns 39 in February, has revitalized Seattle’s offense and is one of the key reasons why the club has emerged as a Super Bowl contender this season. Tampa Bay could also prove appealing to him because he would inherit an offense with Baker Mayfield, Bucky Irving, Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin, and Mike Evans with a good offensive line. Plus, a winnable NFC South would mean better job security for a first-time head coach.

Chris Shula, Los Angeles Rams Defensive Coordinator

When evaluating Buccaneers coaching candidates, one question is whether or not the front office will want a defensive-minded head coach again. Some organizations like to switch it up, but that might be a bit harder to pull off in this cycle given the quantity of defensive coordinators who are head-coaching candidates versus the number of offensive coordinators.

One name that needs to be highlighted is Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula. When Raheem Morris departed for Atlanta, Shula inherited a defense that just saw all-time great Aaron Donald retire. Rightfully, there were many skeptical of just what level of success Shula would have with this Rams defense.

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Through 13 games this season, Los Angeles ranks eighth in third-down defense (36.2% conversion rate), seventh in yards-per-play allowed (4.9), third in scoring rate (31.8%) and second in red-zone defense (42.5% touchdown rate). He’s also overseen the development of one of the league’s best front sevens. Plus, the 39-year-old has been learning from Sean McVay since 2017, and he could bring one of the Rams’ top assistants to serve as his offensive coordinator and play-caller in Tampa Bay.

Robert Saleh, San Francisco 49ers Defensive Coordinator

There really aren’t many statistics from this season that could be used to make the case for why Robert Saleh would be a good fit to become the next Buccaneers head coach. That’s because this season in his return as the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator, his group has lost all of its top starters on the front seven to season-ending injuries.

Yet, San Francisco is still going to win double-digit games this season with its defense allowing just 20.1 PPG with a 5-2 record over the last seven weeks entering Week 15. Saleh is an excellent leader and, unlike with the New York Jets, he would have a quarterback capable of complementing his defense in Tampa Bay. Some fans might see this as hiring another “failed Jets coach,” but Saleh is a better leader with a far greater track record as a defensive play-caller than Bowles.