Former Buccaneers HC Bruce Arians to Have Open Heart Surgery

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had quite a few coaches come through their door, but none as successful as Bruce Arians.

Arians is the winningest coach in Bucs history, finishing a three-year tenure in Tampa Bay with a 31-18 record (.633) and a Super Bowl win in 2020. Arians was inducted into Tampa Bay's ring of honor and serves as a front office consultant for the team in an unofficial role, and he's done so ever since he stepped down as head coach for health reasons in 2022 and was replaced by his defensive coordinator, Todd Bowles.

Unfortunately, Arians is still dealing with some of those health issues, and he revealed on Sunday that he's set to get open heart surgery right before the Super Bowl.

Bruce Arians set to undergo open heart surgery on February 6

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians talks to the media during the 2022 NFL Combine. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Arians and his former player, tight end Rob Gronkowski, appeared on the Today Show to talk about a number of things, including their Super Bowl ad together talking about the importance of prostate screening. At the end of the interview, Arians revealed that he's set to get open heart surgery in Philadelphia on Feb. 6, just two days before the Super Bowl.

"Hopefully the snowstorm doesn't stop me from getting to Philly," Arians said. "Open heart surgery next Friday."

Arians will be able to watch the game from the hospital, and it's a game he's familiar with. In addition to winning the Super Bowl with the Bucs in 2020, Arians also won two rings with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a wide receivers coach in Super Bowl XL and then as an offensive coordinator in XLII. A storied NFL coach with the Bucs and the Arizona Cardinals, Arians' influence on the NFL with his coaching tree (Todd Bowles, Steve Wilks) and offensive mind remains strong to this day.

Hopefully, Arians' surgery goes well and he can continue to be an important presence in the NFL world and beyond.

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