Crazy
April 6th, 2022
Bucco Bruce Arians.
It will be one of those moments Bucs fans will always remember, and probably not so fondly: the night they learned the best coach in franchise history was stepping aside.
Joe knows his exactly whereabouts and actions when upon receiving the text that now former-Bucs Super Bowl-winning coach Bucco Bruce Arians was no longer coaching. That may be the biggest non-Super Bowl bombshell coming from the Bucs since the Friday night that Chucky was fired.
And yeah, Joe remembers hearing that bulletin on radio driving to an assignment.
In an NFL offseason with crazy stories, Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports decided to rank the craziest. Arians stepping down in the final hours of March was crazy story No. 3.
3. Bruce Arians retires from coaching
Only because of the timing. At 69, with a recent Super Bowl win under his belt, Arians always felt like a possibility to hang it up. But calling it quits weeks after Tom Brady made his sudden, welcome return, ensuring he’d have another shot at a title? Pretty stunning, to say the least. Now Todd Bowles is running the show in Tampa Bay.
The timing was the big shocker for Joe. On March 30? Really late.
Joe can only think of one time when there was a coaching change with less than 30 days until the start of the draft. And that was when Jimmy Johnson split with Jerry Jones. And that wasn’t even close to being voluntary. The circumstances were night and day different than Arians handing the keys to the franchise to Todd Bowles.
April 6th, 2022 at 5:03 am
He was a great coach- can’t say he’s the best- too many factors- give Dungy Tom Brady, what happens? Give Gruden Brady…Give Arians our all time D with 3-4 hall of famers and Brad Johnson- it’s all subjective
April 6th, 2022 at 5:52 am
@Cleanhouse,
All true, but you can’t deny BA has been successful everywhere he’s been. Although, he’s had some great talent on most of those teams.
April 6th, 2022 at 6:19 am
I understand hesitating to call him the greatest head coach in Bucs history, especially given that Jameis regressed (he threw 30 picks Joe) and he only improved on Dirk’s record that year by two games.
But given his winning percentage, the fact that he won a Super Bowl in only his second year, and all the records his offense set indisputably put him at one.
Dungy neglected the offense and never won a Super Bowl. Gruden, Our previous greatest head coach, completely mismanaged the post super bowl years and had his name torn down from the ring of honor. While it’s absolutely disgraceful the Glazers did that, it does keep him below Arians
April 6th, 2022 at 6:51 am
The draft is coming soon, right? 🙏
April 6th, 2022 at 6:58 am
I trust Todd Bowles
April 6th, 2022 at 7:24 am
Bowles would almost have to be a bad head coach to screw up this situation
Gronk will be back
Maybe suh
And then you have the ability to add 2-4 playing contributors in draft
We should get a good player at 27 with edge rusher and corner being deepest in this draft.
This team has talent all around. Sure our schedule is tougher so what. At least we dont play in murderers row in afc.
April 6th, 2022 at 7:39 am
I like BA but best coach in history? I’m a huge Dungy fan and best coach would probably have Shula, Belichek, Landry, Noll, Lombardi and Dungy for the Bucs.
April 6th, 2022 at 7:48 am
I would say Dungy then BA…Dungy turn the culture around and built from scratch one of the best Defenses in NFL history. BA did the same turning the culture around but when he got Brady and all the free agents who followed…well we all know what happened there. McKay was also big taking a sorry franchise to the NFC championship game. Not a fan of Chucky even though he won a Super Bowl…He treated players badly in the years after and could not really develop a young QB.
April 6th, 2022 at 8:41 am
I’ll say this about AB. Yes The Bucs had talent, but talent alone doesn’t guarantee winning. Just look at the Browns and many other franchises. The Bucs WON BABY, so give Airens his due. GOBUCS!
April 6th, 2022 at 8:42 am
I meant BA NOT AB. Lol
April 6th, 2022 at 8:45 am
Dungy
April 6th, 2022 at 8:48 am
@Cleanhouse: give Gruden Tom Brady? With that Monte Kiffin defense? Oh my gawd! Those Buc teams would be unbeatable.
April 6th, 2022 at 8:54 am
Have got to get 2 actual impact players in the draft on D. Edge & Secondary.
Toss in a TE late & I’ll say we did as much as we could to outpace the rams.
April 6th, 2022 at 9:09 am
Give Tom a share of the Bucs after he is done. If Tom is an owner, the players will come.
April 6th, 2022 at 9:17 am
Arians is NOT the best coach in history. PERIOD. It’s constipated thinking by people who measure coaching greatest SOLELY by number of titles. Dungy is our greatest coach. NO COMPARISON. He built our culture for 10 years. Arians did absolutely nothing but hand the keys over to Brady, Bowles, and Leftwich and was smart enough to get out of the way. He repeatedly admits this himself. Arians is a great delegater of duties. A fine coach. A popular, respected players coach. But bestvBucs coach ever just because he was in the right place at the right time when Brady gifted him an opportunity. In a covid influenced weird year at that. I don’t know if it is an article written to stir up controversy because there cannot be any way that “Joe” believes it. If he truly does, than he has ZERO credibility in my book. Might as well be a grade schooler writing these columns.
April 6th, 2022 at 10:04 am
Winning coaches don’t just come along easily… Arians is why we have Brady, shipped off Winston, and put together a winning roster… Sadly, if anything, Bowles has proven NOT to be a winning HC… Now we are suppose to believe he will be without evidence… Hopefully Brady still has another winning season in him to carry this team and hide the flaws of the coaches…
April 6th, 2022 at 10:17 am
I am still not real sure how far BA has distanced himself from coaching.
He didn’t seem to do much to begin with. He assembled that huge staff and let it roll on.
That huge staff is still there and still rolling along.
I can’t say Bowles is in charge until he makes something his own, like a Special teams coach.
The draft is Licht’s territory, with a little help from friend Brady, so I don’t think it matters, not even a rat’s azz.
April 6th, 2022 at 10:35 am
PLEASE DRAFT WHERE ARE YOU?!!!
April 6th, 2022 at 10:59 am
BA is the laziest coach in Bucs history.
That is why Tom canned his ass.
Don’t listen to Joe. This guy called Jameis Winston “America’s Quarterback” for years LOL.
Remember when BA and America’s QB went 7-9? LOL!
Also, I have defended Joe on his obsession with this story, but it’s getting out of hand at this point. Old people don’t change opinions, and you’re just giving us the same opinion / angle to this story every time.
This article doesn’t even provide anything new. Just regurgitated crap for clicks.
April 6th, 2022 at 11:21 am
The guy was toast, he knew it, Brady knew it, the team knew it and management knew it. No big deal whether he is there or not, nothing has changed except I hope more discipline and a stronger work ethic. If it’s true, which I doubt that BA retired to set Bowles up then that’s a slap in the face to Bowles and all the other coaches around the league that have to make hard strategic decisions to build a winning team, why should Bowles be handed a shoe in winning team. Also if Bowles screws this up it would tank his career in coaching. I’d say BA has put a LOT of pressure on Bowles to succeed. Having Brady in his corner doesn’t hurt. Gronk, Suh and possibly JPP are holding off to avoid OTA’S and mandatory mini camp. They don’t need it.
April 6th, 2022 at 8:32 pm
List
You post as if BA may have done something to your momma. Such unbridled criticism is just not natural based on football alone.
April 6th, 2022 at 10:03 pm
BA best Head Coach in the history of the Bucs. If Dungy would have been willing to really build up the offense, then maybe the Bucs win a Super Bowl. But in the words of Rich McKay back when Dungy was Coach, “The Bucs are not a QB driven team” What kind of craziness is that. 2 years in a row, the Bucs dreams died in Philly, and Dungy was ushered out the door.
Then Gruden comes in and adds 2 Wr’s Keenan McCardell, Joe Jurevicius and a running back Micheal Pittman, 3 TE’s, That was 5 game day staters, and the 2 extra TE’s played a ton also.
Why Dungy never did what Gruden did to build up the offense, remains a total mystery to most.
But Grudens Team was 7-9 as Defending Champs the next year and the team began to openly disintegrate before the eyes of the nation with Keyshawn yelling back and forth with Gruden during a nationally televised night game.
The team just went down hill from the week 2 disaster losing to Carolina in OT and losing Alstott, and Jurevicius to injury when they collided in the same game.
It was a steady decline, the loss to the Colts after being up by 21, it was just a painful season overall. And then years of “bandaid veterans” being signed, which produced overall basically a .500 Bucs team after the Super Bowl for the rest of Grudens time with Bucs.
They had a few moments, but could not win a playoff game.
But this current Bucs team, went 13-4 as defending champs, and won a playoff game.
BA is the best Head Coach the Bucs have had.
GO BUCS!!!!!!