Jenna LaineESPN Staff Writer May 13, 2023 10:07pm ET4 minutes read
Bucs HC Todd Bowles fulfills a promise to his mother and gets his college degree
Todd Bowles fulfills a promise to his mother by completing his college studies at Mount St. Mary’s University.
TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles fulfilled a promise to his late mother Joan that he would graduate from college by performing on stage at Mount St. Mary’s University left to enter the NFL school.
Bowles missed the second day of the Buccaneers’ rookie camp to attend the ceremony in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where he addressed the senior class and received a standing ovation from students and faculty. Bowles earned a Bachelor of Science in Youth and Community Development.
“It’s an incredible thing for me to be in a class with you,” he told the students. “I’m more nervous now than I’ve ever been talking in the dressing room at half-time.”
Bowles left Temple University in 1986 to join the NFL, signed with Washington as an undrafted free agent, and won Super Bowl XXII in his sophomore season. He played in the NFL for eight seasons before joining the Green Bay Packers squad in 1995-96 and beginning his coaching career with Morehouse in 1997.
He has been coaching at the NFL level since 2000, was the head coach of the New York Jets from 2015-2018, won a Super Bowl as defensive coordinator with the Buccaneers in 2020, and was named the team’s head coach after Bruce Arians retired in 2022, leading the Bucs to an NFC South title.
“I didn’t graduate and my mom never said anything,” Bowles told the audience. “She just went along with it. And she let me go on and live my life. And she passed in 2009 and the only thing she asked me to do was make sure I get my degree.”
“I stuck with it and now I’m 59. You’re never too old to stop learning. You stop learning and grow old. You get old when you stop learning. So I’m telling you, born in 2023 – the future is yours, take it, grab it, run with it, be excited, be excited, come back every once in a while and thank your parents.
Joan died of cancer in 2009. Bowles was encouraged to return to school by his agent Tony Agnone, a Mount St. Mary’s graduate student, and he graduated in September.
“It was personal. It’s not a spotlight deal for me,” Bowles said. “It’s more or less about honoring my mother and making sure I keep a promise I can live with when she says they’re getting ready to go to college, and there’s another coming up — I hope that it will inspire you and help you on your way forward.”
His eldest son, Todd Bowles Jr., is a defensive back at Rutgers University, while his son Troy will graduate from Jesuit High School in Tampa and attend the University of Georgia on a football scholarship. His youngest son, Tyson, is in sixth grade.
“Todd’s success in football, both on the pitch as a player and on the touchline as a coach, is not at all surprising given his work ethic and attention to detail. Those same qualities were evident in his assignments,” Director and Associate Professor of Human Services Timothy Wolfe said in a statement.
“Obviously, a successful NFL coach doesn’t have to do the extra work required to complete a bachelor’s degree, but Todd is definitely the type of person who keeps his promises and finishes what he starts.”