Todd Bowles' Bucs Job Security Discussed by NFL Insiders Amid Hot-Seat Rumors

The NFC South title will be hanging in the balance when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take the field for Saturday's clash against the Carolina Panthers.

Head coach Todd Bowles' job may be hanging in the balance as well.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano reported on the situation Wednesday with Graziano pointing out "some are wondering what Tampa Bay might do if the Bucs don't win Sunday" and Fowler adding "bailing on Bowles would be the Bucs' way of embracing a rebuild."

While Fowler also noted the team "doesn't seem overly eager" to pay the head coach's buyout since it extended him through the 2028 campaign, he also reported "staff changes are not off the table either way."

The bottom line is there will be plenty of pressure on the Buccaneers for Saturday's contest.

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It is quite a different tone around the team than earlier in the season when it started 6-2 and looked like one of the best teams in the NFC. Baker Mayfield was in the MVP conversation, Emeka Egbuka looked like the Offensive Rookie of the Year and fans were surely thinking about a Super Bowl run.

Yet Tampa Bay is just 1-7 since and enters Saturday's game with a 7-9 record and looking up at the 8-8 Panthers.

It even needs some help from the New Orleans Saints to win the NFC South.

Carolina would clinch the division title with just an outright win or tie Saturday, but the Buccaneers need to defeat the Panthers and hope for a win or tie from the Saints against the Atlanta Falcons. If both Tampa Bay and Atlanta win, the Panthers would still be the division champions because of the tiebreaker scenarios.

This is Bowles' fourth season as the head coach of the Buccaneers, and they made the playoffs in each of his first three.

But his future could be uncertain if he doesn't extend that playoff streak to a fourth straight year.