On Monday, RotoWire released its Coach Pressure Index. Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles came in at a ranking that might surprise some Tampa Bay fans.
Todd Bowles Checks in Surprisingly Low in 2026 Coach Pressure Index
Bowles came in ranked with the seventh-hottest seat in the NFL. His 66 points put him in the “scorching” tier.
It’s no secret that Bowles is headed into a make-or-break 2026 season. Last season, the Bucs finished with an 8-9 record, missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2019 season and snapping their four-season NFC South title streak.
The biggest cause for outrage was how the Buccaneers reached 8-9. Last season, Tampa Bay jumped out to a blistering 5-1 start behind four game-winning drives engineered by Baker Mayfield in the final minute of games.
However, the Bucs stalled down the stretch, losing seven of their final nine games, including a four-game losing streak in December.
The frustration boiled over with Tampa Bay’s players. Wide receiver Mike Evans left the field after Tampa Bay’s loss to Atlanta in December distraught. Video caught a sideline altercation between offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs and running back Bucky Irving that same month. Multiple reports and former Bucs hinted at turmoil inside the Tampa Bay locker room.
TRENDING: Mike Evans was visibly upset after last night’s loss to the Falcons. He was repeating “IT’S 3RD AND 28!” on his way to the locker room 😬
The Buccaneers are now 7-7 and are currently OUT of the playoffs pic.twitter.com/cgAgVBmL5C
— betr (@betr) December 12, 2025
This disastrous finish to the season led to 12 changes on the Bucs’ staff, including the firings of offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard and special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey.
The massive overhaul of the staff signals that Bowles doesn’t have much leeway left. Another unsuccessful season and his tenure in Tampa Bay could be over.
That’s why Bowles coming in seventh in the rankings is so surprising.
RotoWire Says Multiple Coaches Are on a Hotter Seat Than Bowles
In many hot-seat rankings from different outlets, Bowles has been listed as one of the three coaches under the most pressure in the league.
However, RotoWire ranked Bowles seventh, with Aaron Glenn, Shane Steichen, Mike McCarthy, Jesse Minter, Nick Sirianni and Zac Taylor ahead of him.
By most accounts, Glenn is the coach most likely to be fired this season. In his first year with the Jets last season, he went 3-14. After the season, Glenn fired offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. New York became the first team since interceptions began being tracked in 1933 to go an entire season without recording one.
Steichen is also not much of a surprise. He is 25-26 as Colts head coach and hasn’t made the playoffs in any of his three seasons at the helm. Last season, the Colts stormed out to an 8-2 start before losing their final seven games, missing the playoffs and becoming the first team in NFL history to be six games over .500 at any point in the season and finish with a losing record.
The next coaches are where eyebrows could be raised. McCarthy and Minter are both rated as having scorching-hot seats before even coaching a game with the Steelers and Ravens, respectively.
McCarthy will be coaching his hometown team for the first time, but he brings 18 years of NFL head coaching experience to Pittsburgh. He has a 174-112 record and won Super Bowl XLV as head coach of the Packers. However, his 1-3 postseason record during his most recent coaching stint in Dallas has skepticism high for his tenure with the Steelers.
Minter couldn’t be more different. This is his first chance to be an NFL head coach after two seasons as the Chargers’ defensive coordinator. Minter’s place on this list is due to the expectations that come with the job. John Harbaugh went 182-119 as head coach of the Ravens and won Super Bowl XLVII following the 2012 season. Along with his predecessor’s high bar, Minter will be inheriting a talented roster highlighted by quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Nick Sirianni and Zac Taylor are both coaches who have reached high levels with their current teams. Sirianni is 65-30 as head coach of the Eagles and led them to a Super Bowl LIX title following the 2024 season. Taylor is 57-65-1 in seven seasons as Bengals head coach and led Cincinnati to the AFC championship following the 2021 season. However, both coaches have grown stale with portions of their fan bases and could be one frustrating season away from losing the support of their respective franchises.
However, Bowles’ achievements as a head coach are outshined by some of the coaches who are ranked as having hotter seats entering this season.
Does this mean Bowles is waking up with a safer job today than he had yesterday? No. But it is an interesting ranking for Bowles and his peers with training camp around the corner.
Main Image: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
