Bruce

Arians

Per NBC’s Peter King, 69-year-old Arians is taking a “senior consultant” role in the Bucs’ front office, and DC Todd Bowles has been promoted to head coach. There were whispers of a potential Arians retirement after last season, but he seemed all in at another run in 2022. Especially with Tom Brady coming back, the timing of this is odd, but Arians wants to go out on top rather than in a rebuild. There have also been rumors that Arians and Brady’s relationship is strained, but that isn’t believed to be true. Arians handpicked Bowles as his successor. “With the organization in probably the best shape it’s been in its history, with Brady coming back, I’d rather see Todd in position to be successful and not have to take some [crappy] job,” Arians said. “I’m probably retiring next year anyway, in February. So, I control the narrative right now. I don’t control it next February because [if] Brady gets hurt, we go 10-7, and it’s an open interview for the job. I got 31 [coaches and their] families that depend on me. My wife is big on not letting all those families down.” Respect to Arians, that’s a classy move, especially if he wasn’t all the way in on coaching this year. Arians retires with a career 89-51-1 coaching record, one Super Bowl title, and two Coach of the Year awards. Arians has a shot at the Hall of Fame.

Arians noted that the team has about eight quarterbacks on their board but teams have been unwilling to part with their proven veterans. The Bucs may also be making inadequate offers but Arians has a point. GMs and owners are hesitant to move on from an established option at quarterback, evidenced by the lack of trades involving passers in recent years. With Tom Brady riding off into the sunset, Kyle Trask is the only quarterback on Tampa Bay’s roster. The Bucs are barely above the cap and will be losing numerous high-end players to free agency. This may ultimately force them to look to a cheap free agent or the draft for their next quarterback

It’s been widely rumored that the Chiefs will be the away opponent, but that likely won’t be confirmed for a bit. The NFL is surely hoping that German fans will be treated to better than Blaine Gabbert. The game will be in Munich.

Looking slightly beyond the surface, this shouldn’t be too surprising. It seems probable that Rob Gronkowski follows Brady into retirement. Gronkowski, WR Chris Godwin, C Ryan Jensen, and CB Carlton Davis are all unrestricted free agents. Head coach Bruce Arians has reportedly told his staff that they are free to look for other jobs around the league regardless of whether it’s a promotion or not. The Bucs got a Super Bowl ring, but the future looks incredibly grim without Brady. This team could look completely different next season.

This seems like newly-relevant news with Leftwich apparently the top target of the Jacksonville Jaguars head-coaching search. Arians has been successful as a play caller so this probably won’t diminish the Bucs offense in any way as long as Tom Brady is back in the saddle for 2022.

This wasn’t a given with Arians the second-oldest coach in the league. Arians also has a history of health concerns and spent time on the COVID list this year. The Bucs are expected to pick up their team-option this offseason on Arians, who’s signed through 2022.

Arians was forced to isolate away from the team after testing positive for COVID earlier this week. Wide receivers coach Kevin Garver is also returning from isolation ahead of Week 17. The Bucs are 13-point favorites versus the Jets this week.

Longtime assistant Harold Goodwin will take over Arians’ head-coaching duties in his absence. The latter will isolate from home in the interim, potentially returning in time to coach in Week 17 if the new five-day quarantine protocols are immediately put into action.

He’ll remain under contract through the 2022 season but receive a pay raise upon signing the new deal. It’s a generous reward from the Glazer family after the 68-year-old coach helped in obtaining the team’s second Super Bowl win in franchise history. General Manager Jason Licht also agreed to a new deal that tacked on multiple years to his current one.

“Hell no,” Arians said. “I’m going for two. If the (owners) will have me back, I’ll be back.” 68-year-old Arians is the third oldest coach in the league after Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick, and has already retired once before. Arians’ marriage with Tom Brady seemed to get off to a rocky start, but the duo course corrected at the exact right time, winning three road playoff games before becoming the first team in NFL history to play the Super Bowl at home. Arians tends to burn rather brightly, so his tenure in Tampa Bay probably won’t be overly long even though he is already committed to 2021.