Bucs own NFC South, and they are ready to win the game again in 2025, initially appearing on Athlon Sports.

Death, Taxes and Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the NFC South.

It's a reality over the last four years, and Bucs didn't win the division last time, they won the Super Bowl title as a general card team in 2020.

Despite Tom Brady's retirement and ingesting over $80 million in dead cap space, the Bucs haven't missed any rhythm under general manager Jason Licht and head coach Todd Bowles, and Banner Alling Banner after Banner Alling Banner enjoyed it on the only NFC team in each of the past five seasons.

With the return of the entire starting offense, the defense in the rookie class helped a lot, so why shouldn't the Bucs be the simple favorite to win NFC South for the fifth consecutive year in 2025?

In the latest episode of The Best Podcast, I sat down with Fox Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman to talk about the Tampa Bay offseason, which was heavy in offensive continuity and addressed defensive weaknesses.

"The sports pointed out aren't that much weaker," Oman said. "There are certainly places that cannot be injured. If the (internal) guard is injured, it's still a vulnerability. If Antoine Winfield Jr.

The biggest change for Tampa Bay is not that big, he replaced offensive coordinator Liam Coen by promoting Josh Grizzard, 34, who is part of a staff member who led the top five in the sprint and last season. After the former's dim offseason departure, most of Cohen's staff were also kept under the Grizzlies.

"They were really lucky to have two first-year offensive coordinators, first-time play, essentially clicking on the way they had last two years, and (Dave) Canales and Coen," said Orman. "So they needed the same break (with the Grizzlies).

After Bucs became head coach of rival Carolina Panthers one season, Canales improved the Tampa Bay offense, which was in Byron Leftwich's final season with Tom Brady's center. Coen raised it to another level in his only season call in Tampa, with the most obvious improvement in ground games.

Expectations will be different in the first season of the Gray, but throughout the week he was involved in last year’s success, handling Bucs’ third package and working with quarterback Baker Mayfield, he had everything that he needed to keep up with.

"I think the Grizzlies are in a different place because he inherited the top five offenses," Oman said. "That's not what the Canal has, not even what Cohen has. I think all the Grizzlies have to do is step back, and this is their first year as a coordinator."

Keeping offensive staff unchanged despite the loss of Cohen should be a huge advantage for the Bucs, and while there will certainly be some new changes on the big headsets, the Grizzlies' live product looks a lot like what Tampa Bay fans saw last season.

"I think they did move him to that place in a row, promote from within and want more," Oman said. "Besides the compliments to him. He's only 34 years old, but he's really sharp and has been on the offensive idea all the time. He's closer to everything than the two guys before him, everything is new there, both (Canales and Coen) (Canales and Coen). But the basic rules are the same, maybe some dialect change."

If things remain flat on that side of the ball, if the Bucs hope to be the Chalk Division Champion again in 2025 and have a deeper playoff this time, it will still fall on Powers and the defense.

They have enhanced depth along the defensive line and cornerbacks, but staying healthy elsewhere will be the key to more consistent on the ball this season.

“If you think about the defense last year, and the amount of damage they were safe at guard, around the corner, all year round…if they had only a normal healthy year, even an unhealthy year, but not a snak bug year…I think they would be better, and they would be better as a result,” Auman said. ”

The schedule presents some challenging stretching as the Bucs opens through back-to-back road races and faces first place in the entire league again. But because of the ideal mid-season meeting for another week, they have four of their four of the six games at home that should be redeemed strong after switching to two NFC South titles in the past two seasons.

"The schedule is a nasty schedule, don't get me wrong, but I think they have everything," Oman said. "If they're healthy, if things are to click the way they should be, this should be the 11-win team."

Is this enough to win the department for the fifth consecutive year? Will the Atlanta Falcon or another surprising challenger emerge from one of the other members?

To see the entire conversation, including in-depth dives for each team in the department, watch the full episode of BPA:

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This story was first appeared on June 4, 2025 by Athlon Sports.