As the Bucs seek to continue the best sustained success in franchise history, the team announced multiyear extensions Thursday for head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Jason Licht.
Tampa Bay is going after a fifth straight NFC title, all the more impressive considering the Bucs had never won so much as back-to-back division titles in their first 45 seasons. A foundation of that success is continuity, and they’ll have that moving forward, both in the coaching staff and front office.
“Jason and Todd’s leadership has been critical to our organization’s success,” team co-chair Joel Glazer said in a statement. “The winning culture they have established has us well positioned for the future.”
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Bowles, 61, was the defensive coordinator on Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl championship team in the 2020 season, and took over as head coach after Bruce Arians retired in March 2022. The Bucs are 27-24 in his three years as head coach, improving from 8-9 to 9-8 to 10-7 along the way.
“I am excited to continue working with Jason for years to come as we build on the success we’ve enjoyed and keep reaching for even bigger and better goals,” Bowles said in a statement. “My family loves Tampa and we’re looking forward to delivering more great moments for our fans in the coming seasons. I also appreciate the confidence that the Glazer Family has shown in my abilities to lead this football team. It is a responsibility I do not take lightly and am honored to have.”
Licht, 54, is in his 12th season as general manager, making him one of the league’s longest-tenured GMs, and he’s made the Bucs one of the NFL’s most homegrown organizations. Of the team’s 29 draft picks over the past four years, 27 remain on Tampa Bay’s current roster, and Licht has worked to retain the team’s best free agents, making players like tackle Tristan Wirfs and safety Antoine Winfield the highest-paid players at their positions when they re-signed.
“I am very grateful to the Glazer Family for the trust and belief they have shown in what we are doing here,” Licht said in a statement. “I am also very excited to continue working alongside Todd well into the future as we continue our mission of finding and developing talented players and chasing additional championships for our fans.”
Bowles and Licht kept the Bucs atop their division despite the retirement of Tom Brady after the 2022 season, with significant salary-cap limitations because the team had borrowed from future seasons to surround Brady with top-level talent in his three years in Tampa. Signing Baker Mayfield on a bargain contract and re-signing him to a three-year extension were key parts of that success, and Mayfield is in line for another new deal, perhaps after the 2025 season, after throwing for career bests with 41 touchdowns and 4,500 yards last year.
Baker Mayfield has rejuvenated his career in Tampa with Todd Bowles, despite a revolving door of offensive coordinators. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Bowles has won despite losing first-year offensive coordinators to head coaching positions in each of the past two offseasons. Dave Canales left to be Carolina’s head coach a year ago, and Liam Coen left to become the Jaguars‘ head coach this offseason. Bowles promoted Josh Grizzard to be the offensive coordinator, again citing continuity as a key factor. Licht, much the same way, saw his top assistant leave as John Spytek was named general manager of the Raiders.
Continuity hasn’t always been a hallmark of the Bucs’ franchise. After the 2025 season, Bowles will have the fourth-most games ever for a Bucs head coach, behind only John McKay, Jon Gruden and Tony Dungy. His .529 win percentage ranks third-best in team history, behind Arians and Dungy.
The Bucs are now favored to win the NFC South, continuing the longest active playoff streak in the NFC, behind only the Chiefs (10) and Bills (six) in all of the NFL.
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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