"It was tough for all of us. It was tough for any of us to look at any of the players and not feel the way we felt. I mean coaches as well, the entire organization. It was a painful experience to have our season slip away like that. But trust me, we all own it, and we're doing everything we can with our plans here moving forward to try to get back on track and I'm confident that we will."
"I'd say there's a lot of people that are frustrated with the way that the season went, and Todd's probably No. 1 and it means a lot to him. The playoffs obviously -- those [last] two years felt like we were ascending and if I would've to..."
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers failed to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2020, finishing with an 8-9 record after starting 6-2 and being considered Super Bowl favorites. General Manager Jason Licht and coach Todd Bowles addressed the disappointing season at the 2026 NFL Combine, their first public comments since the decision to retain Bowles. Licht described the experience as painful and acknowledged the entire organization owns the failure. Despite the collapse, Licht defended retaining Bowles, citing his eight-year tenure with the team and three consecutive playoff appearances from 2022-2024. Wide receiver Mike Evans' agents announced he would explore free agency following the season.
Read at ESPN.com
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