Rob Gronkowski isn't holding back -- he believes Todd Bowles should be on the hot seat.
The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end played for the franchise when Bowles was the defensive coordinator. The pair won a Super Bowl together during the Tom Brady era, and Bowles would eventually take over as the head coach following Bruce Arians' retirement.
While Bowles started his career well in Tampa with three straight playoff appearances, things took a turn for the worse last season. The Buccaneers lost seven of their last nine games last season and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
Those losing ways have continued into this season, as the Buccaneers are 0-3. Gronkowski said it is a "discussion on the table" for the Buccaneers to consider
parting ways with Bowles midseason.
"I think that's going to be a discussion on the table," Gronkowski said. "There's no doubt about that. There's something that has to be changed up in that organization. Like I said, I believe it's the culture right now. There's just no winning. It's just not a winning atmosphere right now. Even though it should be a winning team, they shouldn't be 0-3 right now, and they can't go 0-4, 0-5 — that would be too tough. And if they do, something needs to change over there. I don't know what it's going to be, but I would say everything's on the table for discussion, and that could be a possibility."
The Buccaneers are not doing anything well right now, ranking 19th in points scored and 23rd in points allowed. The fact that they've lost 10 of their past 12 games signals that the team has been trending in the wrong direction for a long time.
Baker Mayfield is out for at least three weeks with a thumb injury, and rookie Jalon Daniels will take over this week against the Green Bay Packers. Only seven teams in NFL history have made the playoffs after a 0-3 start, and just one has done so after a 0-4 start.
It's clear that the Buccaneers have likely reached their ceiling with Bowles as head coach. He's won just one playoff game during his four full seasons in Tampa Bay, and the rest of the NFC South has caught up with the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Atlanta Falcons, all of which have fielded better teams.
If the season continues going in the wrong direction, Bowles may be the first coach fired this season.
Gronkowski is keeping busy in his post-NFL career with his analyst work with FOX. But he's also keeping busy in other ways -- he'll be teaming up with eBay Live seller and host PCBHobby at New York Comic Con to tackle the comics, cards, and collectibles hobby. The former Buccaneers tight end will geek out on Marvel-related topics with fans before the theatrical release of Doomsday.
"This is the Gronk Geeks Out series number two," said Gronkowski. "I did the first one at The National with Gronk geeking out, just ripping cards and being on eBay Live. And now we're doing it at New York Comic Con on October 9, and it's going to be a special experience because I don't have much of a background in comics, but I'm learning now. I worked with PCB Hobby from Florida. They taught me a lot about comics, how to grade the books, what comic books are all about."
"I didn't know that the movies were all based off of comics as well, comic books that were written from back in the day, so I'm just learning as we go," Gronkowski continued. "But the experience and and just how fun eBay Live has been, and the experience of being on eBay Live is just a thrill every time. Even if I don't know much of what's going on, I learn as we go, bring the personality to the table, and I'm excited to be on my first Comic Con event as well in New York City."
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Rob Gronkowski bluntly details why Buccaneers' Todd Bowles is on the hot seat
