Leonard Fournette didn’t hold back when he weighed in on Todd Bowles and the direction of the Buccaneers.
Appearing on the latest episode of the 4th and South podcast with Jarvis Landry, the former Tampa Bay running back discussed Bowles after the Bucs’ 26-19 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers and made it clear he thinks the coach’s seat could be getting warm.
The criticism started with Bowles’ demeanor. Tampa Bay is 1-5 after its fourth straight home loss, and Fournette said Bowles’ style never carried the kind of edge that really got through to players.
“I can say this from being there, playing under Coach Bowles, right?” Fournette said.
“He’s not a very vocal. He’s not a vocal coach, right?
When we mess up, you know he might yell, but it’s not - it’s not one of those yells that you take serious.
“I mean I respect him, but it’s like when B.A. (Bruce Arians) got on your ass, he got on your ass.
Like, ‘Damn, I hope [Arians] don’t chew my ass out again like that again like that. You know what I’m saying?”
Fournette also said Bowles didn’t always feel equally invested in both sides of the ball, pointing to his background as a defensive-minded coach.
“I think by Bowles being a a defensive-minded coach, he don’t pay attention to the offensive as much. So I don’t know,” Fournette said.
“Maybe favoritism? I can remember like certain days at the practice where he let the defensive guys do - he’d be a little more [lenient] on the defense than the offense.
I ain’t respect it, but you know f*ck it. He’s our coach.
It is what it is.”
Landry then asked Fournette about the state of things in Tampa Bay and whether Bowles should remain the coach. Fournette didn’t sound optimistic.
“Wholeheartedly I think this might be his last year,” Fournette said. “I think it might be his last year.”
That comes with the Bucs sitting at 3-12 in their last 15 games under Bowles, a stretch that has included a disappointing 8-9 season after a 6-2 start in 2025. Tampa Bay keeps finding itself in close games, but the results keep slipping away.
Still, the season isn’t over. The Bucs head to Carolina on Sunday to face a Panthers team that won the NFC South last year with an 8-9 record. Carolina is 3-2, and if Tampa Bay wins there and beats the Falcons the following week, it would move to 3-5 and 2-0 in the division.
Fournette said there’s at least still a path forward.
“But there is hope,” Fournette said. “When I was playing for Tampa we won the division at 8-9. So you all still got a shot, Tampa.”
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