Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians has said he will coach on the field during the 2020 season and wear a mask and face shield due to the coronavirus threat.
Ariens is 67 years old and has survived several episodes of cancer, which places him in a higher risk group compared to other coaches and players in the league.
“There’s no way I’m training from a box,” said Arians, known for getting shot on the pitch and even yelling at officials to the point of spitting. “Once we have a shield that I love, I’ll have my mask and my shield and I won’t be able to spit on them anyway.
Arians said he not only trusted the league’s safety protocols, but was “very confident” that the NFL could pull off a full 16-game season.
“I am very confident. I think the protocols in place are extremely safe and that the coaches, players and staff will be smart outside the building. No one will get sick here because everyone has a negative test in building, so you’re going to get sick somewhere else. We just need to have a lot of discipline this year, and I’m sure we’ll get there. “
Arians also said he believes that despite the lack of an off-season schedule, new quarterback Tom Brady is ahead of the curve in terms of learning offense, although he would have liked to see Brady get it. live representatives during the preseason. He believes Brady’s experience will make up for it, although he believes the overall play around the league will suffer without the offseason.
“I think he’s ahead of the curve,” Arians said of Brady. “He’s a very bright guy. The terminology was the big thing. As we meet now starting tomorrow, we’re going to start collaborating more. So I think he’s in a great position as far as it goes. .
“All the guys who’ve worked with him see his level of intensity even at this type of training and only know that they’re going to step up when we’re there for real. It’s great. You would have hoped. that we would have done. the practice of spring so all of [the players] could overcome the “ dread ” – especially young players – of Tom Brady entering the locker room, and Gronk, but we’ll be fine I think in a week’s time and maybe every guy will have enough balls to talk to him (laughs). “
Has there ever been any doubt that the Arians would coach this season, given that he has already retired once, after 2018, and that Brady had a role in his comeback? despite a global pandemic?
“There was never any doubt that I was going to coach,” he said. “Especially once I see the protocols and everything that is in place. Whether it’s Tom or the quarterback – I’m going to get excited, I really love our ball club. Hit wood, we can. staying healthy this year. and doing the things we want to do, to get to the playoffs. Having Tom obviously adds to the excitement, but I would have been all-in anyway. “
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