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Yelling On The Couch Helps Todd Bowles Keep Fan Perspective September 4th, 2026Joe has told fans that Todd Bowles tunes out criticism at an extreme level. He’s nowhere near obsessed with fan and media opinion like most NFL head coaches are. Bowles gave a little insight into his approach to the noise during a sitdown this week with Evan Closky of WTSP-TV, Ch. 10. One part of Bowles’ explanation for why public criticism doesn’t bother him is that he “grew up rough.” Since Bowles didn’t elaborate, Joe isn’t going to speculate on how Bowles defines “rough” and how it applies to many fans thinking he doesn’t have what it takes to win a Super Bowl. But Bowles was more clear about how he views fandom and media takes as part of the game. And he understands because he’s a fan himself. “I’m the No. 1 person that wants to win. So when we don’t win, I take it hard on myself. So I don’t have time to listen to anybody else,” Bowles said. And if people haven’t been giving me advice when I made it, they don’t need to be giving me advice now. So [fan and media criticism] really doesn’t bother me. It’s part of the game. “The true fans are going to be the true fans. And just like everybody else, when I watch a different sport and my team messes up, I’ll yell on the couch. It’s not personal; so I don’t take it personal. And you just got to keep doing your job and you got to have better result.” Joe is glad to hear Bowles doesn’t take media and fan criticism personally. He shouldn’t. If Bowles did, he probably would have unraveled completely last season and been fired — a scenario that would have brought joy and/or peace to a lot of fans.