The decision and the timing are surprising to say the least. Fifteen days after superstar Tom Brady decided to come out of his announced retirement in February, Bruce Arians, his coach for the last two seasons with the Buccaneers, took his on Wednesday, surprising the microcosm of the NFL. “I have spent most of the last 50 years of my life on the sidelines, coaching football in one form or another. Today I made the decision to take on another role with the Buccaneers.“Explained the interested party, who will become a consultant within the franchise.
It will be Todd Bowles, defensive coordinator until now, who will succeed him as head coach. “I really started to think about the transition that would take place in the last few weeks. I wanted to make sure that when I left, Todd Bowles would have the best chance of succeeding. Many head coaches find themselves in situations where they are doomed, and I didn’t want that to happen to him.“, he added.
Bowles, sixth minority coach
The 69-year-old who took over the reins of the Buccaneers in 2019 led the Tampa Bay team to Super Bowl victory in 2021, with Brady as the decisive quarterback who won his seventh championship ring there, after six gleaned with New England. The retirement of Arians is surprising, as the 44-year-old quarterback has just announced his return, because “there is a job to finish“, he had justified during his announcement. The Bucs indeed remained on an early elimination in the play-offs, against the future champion, the Los Angeles Rams. “Tom’s decision to come back and the great job (by management) in keeping the core of this team intact convinced me that now was the right time to pass the torch to Todd“, he nevertheless explained.
«You are an incredible man and coach and it was a privilege to play for you. Smart, tough and loyal are some of the words to describe what you are. I will always remember the conversations we had when you recruited me two years ago and all the things that came true“, paid tribute to him Brady on Instagram. The star will now play under Bowles, who is the sixth minority NFL coach.
