The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had far from the start to the season they wanted. They're currently just 1-5 and hold the worst record in the NFC, and another loss to the NFC South-leading Carolina Panthers on Sunday would almost certainly spell doom for the team's playoff hopes.

A lot of the criticism for that start has been directed toward head coach Todd Bowles. Bowles has made the playoffs in all but one of his seasons as head coach of the Bucs, but he's only had double-digit wins a single time and he's had a losing record twice during that time span.

Bowles has faced plenty of criticism over recent weeks from all sorts of people in the NFL world. One of those people has been a former player of his, Leonard Fournette, who played under Bowles as head coach for one year in 2022.

Fournette expounded on that criticism during an appearance on the 4th & South podcast he hosts with former NFL player Jarvis Landry, and he had some honest thoughts on Bowles stemming from the year he played under him in Tampa Bay.

Leonard Fournette Gives Honest Take on Todd Bowles

Fournette told Landry that whenever Bowles yelled at the team, he didn't take it seriously — he also mentioned that Bowles' mindset as a defensive head coach made him, in Fournette's eyes, not pay as much attention to the offensive side of the ball.

"He might yell, but it's not one of those yells you take [seriously]," Fournette said on the podcast. "I respect him, but it's like, [when Bruce Arians] got on your ass, he got on your ass... by Bowles being a defense-minded coach, he doesn't pay attention to the offense as much. So I don't know — maybe favoritism?"

In Fournette's only year with Bowles at the helm, he put up 668 yards on 189 attempts with three touchdowns on the ground. He also had three receiving touchdowns on the year.

Fournette's words hold some weight, given that he's played under Bowles, but it's also one opinion among many when it comes to Bowles. Bowles won 10 games in 2024 and also won a playoff game with the Bucs in 2023, so he has a record of success in Tampa Bay, but the problems with his tenure have also manifested themselves year after year as well.

Bowles and the Bucs will try to reverse his fortunes, along with his team's, when they play the Panthers at 1 p.m. on the road Sunday.