Last year, the Buccaneers started strong, at 6-2. It ended with a 2-7 meltdown.
Many have blamed coach Todd Bowles for the collapse. Defensive tackle Vita Vea does not.
Vea shared on Thursday his thoughts about what went wrong last year.
“There’s a bunch of stuff,” Vea said, via JoeBucsFan.com. “I feel like I kind of want to set the record straight. I feel like [there is] a lot of stuff going about on Bowles. I feel like none of it is Bowles’ fault; I feel like we all love Bowles, the players in the locker room.
“So that’s one thing I want to set the record straight at; we all love Bowles. It’s not what he’s doing. You know, he’s telling us what to do, giving us all the answers to the test and it’s on us players to be able to go out there and execute what he’s telling us to do. He’s always putting us in the best position to play. So, that’s one of the main things, is being able to take coaching.
“And in that light, if anything, blame us players for not executing. Bowles always puts us in the best position to win games. I even told Bowles, the day he retires is the day I retire.”
Bowles arrived as Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator in 2019, Vea’s second NFL season.
Despite Vea’s defense of Bowles, it feels like the heat is on for 2026. The NFC South is wide open, and the Bucs are the betting favorites to win it.
If they don’t, an ownership group that hasn’t hesitated to make changes could be looking to make another one.