Bruce Arians Weighs in on Buccaneers Coaching Situation
January 8th, 2019 is the day that Bruce Arians officially came out of retirement to resume his illustrious NFL coaching career, by signing a four-year contract to become the 12th head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In his three years at the helm, Arians delivered in a big way. Not only did he help to lure Tom Brady to join the team as a free agent prior to the 2020 NFL season, but he also led the team to their second Super Bowl that very same year.
Arians' 'no risk it, no biscuit' philosophy paid immediate dividends for the Buccaneers' offense. Under Arians, the Bucs never averaged less than 28.6 points per game — even with Jameis Winston at quarterback for the first of those three seasons.
Surrounded by talented playmakers and a dominant offensive line, Tom Brady led the Bucs' prolific aerial attack the following two seasons, where the team was top-2 in the league in scoring, hovering around the 30-points per-game mark.
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So despite only coaching in Tampa Bay for three seasons, Arians' accomplishments speak for themselves. With a Lombardi Trophy, and NFC South Division title achieved as the head coach, it's no wonder he was inducted as the 12th person ever into the Bucs Ring of Honor this past Sunday.
A well-deserved accolade for Bruce Arians.
Since stepping down in order to allow Todd Bowles to assume head coaching duties, the Bucs' offense has taken a major step back. The team is averaging just 18.5 points per game in 2022, which is just 2.5 points more than the Denver Broncos, who are last in the league in that department.
Despite sacrificing his role on the sidelines, Arians is still involved with the team. He currently holds a front office position for GM, Jason Licht, under the title of Senior Advisor to the GM. And for such an aggressive, offensive-minded coach like Arians, it's fair to assume that the Bucs' sputtering offense has been difficult for him to watch.
Fans haven't only been calling for the jobs of head coach, Todd Bowles, and offensive coordinator, Byron Leftwich, throughout the season, but they've also been asking: Where is Bucco Bruce?
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In a recent interview with Bucs beat reporter for the Tampa Bay Times, Rick Stroud, Bruce Arians reflected on being inducted into the Bucs Ring of Honor, as well as some of the challenges he's faced since making the transition from the sidelines to the front-office.
“Would I love to be coaching? Yeah,” Arians said between sips of a vodka tonic. “It’s what you do. It kills me to go upstairs. I’m on the sideline in pregame and it kills me to have to go upstairs and just sit there. It kills me. It’s hard. It’s what I do. I’ve done it my whole life. I’m smart enough to know it’s over."
Arians, who has always been known as a players' coach, also chimed in on the different type of relationship he now has with players on the roster.
“It’s not the same. That daily interaction with the players and the coaches, the relationship I’m in. I sat and talked to Mike (Evans) and Vita (Vea) for an hour. The new guys are told, ‘That’s the old coach. You don’t want him cussing you out.’ I just (cussed out) a couple of them for the hell of it.”
And although it sounds like a return to the sidelines is not something that Bruce Arians envisions for himself, it's cool to hear him reflect on, and appreciate, how he has been embraced in Tampa.
“I can’t really put into words what it’s meant,” he said. “The little things of walking my grandchildren out on the field in pregame and seeing that pirate ship. Winning the Super Bowl, it’s always the dream. The Glazer family, they are fantastic. … I just can’t say enough about the embracement of Tampa for me and my family. It will always be home.
“It was a short ride, but what a ride!”
It feels right, that on the same day that Bruce Arians was inducted into the Bucs' Ring of Honor, the team went on to put up their best offensive effort of the season, all the while securing a home playoff game at Raymond James Stadium.
So after such an impressive offensive display this past Sunday, Bucs fans can only hope that it was a sign of things to come. More specifically, the hope should be that the current Buccaneers' coaching staff is on the verge of finally embracing the 'no risk it, no biscuit' philosophy that made Bruce Arians somewhat of a legend in Tampa Bay, and more importantly, a Super Bowl winning head coach.
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