Bruce Arians steps aside so Todd Bowles can become Buccaneers head coach

By: Los Angeles Times
Wednesday, March 30, 2022 | 8:43 PM

PALM BEACH, Fla. — Bruce Arians, who led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl victory, is retiring from coaching effective immediately with the intent of being replaced by defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.

Arians, 69, informed his coaching staff and players of the news Wednesday evening and discussed the decision exclusively with the Los Angeles Times and NBC’s Peter King.

Bowles is expected to be named coach as soon as Wednesday night, with an introductory news conference Thursday.

“Succession’s always been huge for me,” Arians said, adding the organization “is probably in the best shape in its history.”

Arians, a two-time NFL Coach of the Year, is handing the reins to Bowles, his defensive coordinator in Arizona and Tampa Bay and a former head coach of the New York Jets.

Normally, a team would need to comply with the Rooney Rule and conduct in-person interviews with at least two minority candidates for a head-coaching vacancy — that’s people of color and/or women. But because this is happening after the start of the league year, when the interview window has closed, this type of coach-to-coach succession is permissible.

The Buccaneers recently sought clarification from the NFL to ensure they were operating properly under the hiring protocols.

Bowles would bring the NFL’s total of minority head coaches to six. He will be the fourth head coach of the Buccaneers who is Black, an NFL record. No other franchise has had more than two. The Glazer family, which owns the Buccaneers, previously hired Tony Dungy, Raheem Morris and Lovie Smith to be head coach.

Arians said a pivotal moment in his decision came two weeks ago when future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady decided to unretire and rejoin the team. Arians said that gave him the peace of mind he needed to pass along the job to his longtime friend and colleague.

“(I don’t need to) win another 15 games for me to be happy,” Arians said. “I’d rather see Todd in position to be successful and not have to take some (bad) job. I’m probably retiring next year anyway, in February. So I control the narrative right now. I don’t control it in February because (if) Brady gets hurt and we go 10-7, it’s an open interview for the job.”

Asked if there was some type of friction with Brady that played a role in the coach’s decision to step down, Arians said no, yet conceded: “I had conflicts with every player I coached because I cussed them all out, including him.”

He then added: “Great relationship off the field.”

Arians plans to remain in the Buccaneers organization as senior consultant for football. He did not attend the Tuesday media breakfast for NFC coaches and made his comments about his decision over the phone.

“I’ll be at practices. I’ll be in the office,” he said. “Whatever they need me to do. I’m gonna have a heavy hand in the draft because (general manager Jason Licht) and I, we’ve got a good rapport in the draft. We’ll have Todd in there, too.

“The biggest thing I know, I won’t be on the sideline during games. I’ll be making too many penalties. They’ll flag me now that I’m not the head coach for cussing them out. That’s the biggest thing right now — where the hell am I gonna stand during the games?”

The coach said he gave serious thought to retiring after the Buccaneers won the Super Bowl 13 months ago before getting swept up in the idea of repeating as champions.

“I thought really hard about going out on top,” he said. “Then it was like, nah, let’s go for two. Last year was a grind with all the injuries but still winning and getting to where we got. Immediately after, two to three weeks afterwards, it was like can’t let my coaches hanging. I got 31 families that depend on me. If I retire in February, it’s open interviews. My wife is big on not letting all those families down.”

He said this third coaching farewell is for keeps.

“Like (my son) Jake said, ‘You’re stepping away from a Super Bowl team. That ain’t really smart,’ ” he said. “I don’t feel like I’m stepping away because I’m not retiring. In my mind, I’m not retiring I’m just moving over to the other side of the office and still be there for whoever needs me.”