Is Bruce Arians Angling To Save Todd Bowles For 2027?
November 13th, 2026
Bucco Bruce Arians
Bucco Bruce Arians is known for being one of the most loyal coaches the NFL has ever seen.
Arians sticks by “his guys” to the extreme. Look how he ensured Todd Bowles would be his successor in Tampa and protected the jobs of his assistant coaches.
Arians waited until the last minute to retire in 2022 — after the NFL Scouting Combine and free agency. He knew that would squeeze the Bucs into sticking with Bowles to replace him. They might have gone with Bowles anyway, but Arians wasn’t rolling the dice.
Joe asked every single 2022 Bucs draft pick in 2022 if he met Arians during the draft process. Every one said, “No.” Meanwhile, Arians was at the Combine in Indianapolis, presumably just killing time.
Look how many Arians assistant coaches were tied to him for decades. Many were around him at Temple University in the 1980s. Arians also came to the Bucs insisting on one of the largest coaching staffs in NFL history, if not the largest. He wanted jobs for his people.
Those close to Arians will tell you he’s all about loyalty — to the extreme. Joe felt some of that; Arians was not happy with Joe back in 2022 for pointing steady fingers of blame at then-offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, an Arians guy.
Yesterday, Arians announced he has the itch to coach and is considering a return. “This Joe” firmly believes Arians is thinking he could be the Bucs offensive coordinator in 2027, under the condition that Bowles returns — a coaching life preserver for one of his dear friends.
Yeah, it’s possible Arians might have made a bad financial move or two and is serious, at 74 years old, about being an NFL coach somewhere for a couple of seasons. But it seems much more plausible that he thinks he can fix Baker Mayfield and help his dear friend in the process.
Also, Joe thinks Arians seeing Mayfield throw a 60-yard laser on a dime to Tez Johnson for a touchdown on Sunday night might have helped lead to Arians’ revelation yesterday. A lot of NFL quarterbacks can’t make that throw.
Any offensive coach with an “itch” would love to get his hands on a stellar offensive line, a talented veteran quarterback, and a Pro Bowl running back.
November 13th, 2026 at 8:16 am
Arians as OC in 2027 with Bowles as HC? I don’t know, Joe. Can the Glazers/Licht do better?
November 13th, 2026 at 8:16 am
The most overrated coach in the NFL!! Our running game will be over !!
November 13th, 2026 at 8:17 am
Ive wanted them to fire todd for years but his defense is playing great, his clock management has gotten better, the special teams is playing well and the team as a whole is playing hard. If BA came back to run the offense i could tolerate some more todd bowles. I dont think BA would bolt for a head coaching gig after one successful year.
November 13th, 2026 at 8:17 am
Even Helen Keller could see that Bowles has this defense humming, but we need more O….Licht should have the booze and cigars lined up and not let Bucco Bruce out of his sight until he is back to wearing a pewter Kangol!!!
November 13th, 2026 at 8:23 am
BA could be eyeing the Colts for all we know.
November 13th, 2026 at 8:32 am
plot twist:
BA takes a HC job elsewhere and steals bowles away to be his DC…
bowles goes with, to avoid skating on very thin ice here…more job security…
and maybe they steal danny the gum chewer as well…
leaving us with sleepy zzz-rob, and in shambles 🙁
November 13th, 2026 at 8:32 am
I’m fine with Bowles as a DC
BUT he is not the complete HC , IMO
HE is lacking the intangible qualities of a head coach, he certainly knows football.
November 13th, 2026 at 8:33 am
and of course baker gets addicted to rocks or something and is seen roaming north florida ave late nights
November 13th, 2026 at 8:38 am
Baker only makes that throw 1 out of 20 times. He is notoriously inaccurate throwing deep, just like JW, even if he does have the arm strength.
If Arians comes back with his go deep early and often offense (my preference BTW with the right QB), then we will see 30 again. Interceptions that is. But without Evans will only get 20 TDs.
November 13th, 2026 at 8:38 am
Love this possibility. I would be ok with Bowles as head coach next year in this situation. Because even if Arians does not have formal head coach authority, he would surely have a lot of sway and could quietly help Bowles steer around some of the piles he’s wont to step in. And Bowles has shown (finally) that he has his defense playing well.
But the head scratcher here is – what are we waiting for? Do it now. Like, this morning! Tell Zac thanks and enjoy the rest of your salary as long as you stay as far away from team facilities as possible. The money to Arians would be a drop in the bucket compared to the financial upside of a home playoff game. Not to mention the pride of the fan base for salvaging a dumpster fire.
November 13th, 2026 at 8:42 am
He had one playoff win without Brady, one. Regular season he had a ton of success prior to TB12. But he only won a title with the GOAT.
And he had to remove Licht’s biggest draft mistake Winston to open the QB spot.
Plus, he’s a HC not an OC. And at 74 I just don’t see how he’s going to be able to effectively get the job done.
Go play golf and drink whiskey. Ensuring we get saddled with Bowles past 2026 is the wrong direction.
November 13th, 2026 at 8:43 am
“Arians waited until the last minute to retire in 2022 — after the NFL Scouting Combine and free agency. He knew that would squeeze the Bucs into sticking with Bowles to replace him.”
Why would any NFL owner hire anyone who manipulated them this way?
Oh, wait. We’re talking about the Glazers, the suckers who already retained him as a consultant that did absolutely nothing other than continuing to advocate for a horrendous head coach that was one of ”his guys.”
So, what a great guy, right? Loyal to his followers no matter how badly they fail. Yet he has no problem biting the hand that feeds him!
Take a hike, Arians!
November 13th, 2026 at 8:45 am
BA couldn’t fix this franchise’s Winston (who holds both TD and yardage records here).
How will he fix an older less talented oft injured Baker?
It sounds to me you guys are getting desperate…
There is no magical solution or elixir here folks.
Sorry to have to break it to ya’ll.
November 13th, 2026 at 8:46 am
Adam is onto something. This is a good running screenplay. Arians is going to put the band back together but it’s definitely not going to be in Tampa Bay. This can have the makings of Bill Parcells shunning the Bucs in the 90’s.
November 13th, 2026 at 8:47 am
Served the Bucs well, but BA is already 74 (oldest coach in the league is Reid at 68). BA’s likely only coaching for another year or two at most, or simply until the next health issue arises. Which puts us back into this exact same point at that time. Considering he still pimps both Leftwich & Bowles as great coaches, after ALL the evidence to the contrary personally have ZERO faith in whoever he might add to the staff as a posaible successor. Much rather take a calculated risk on a long-term option like Udinski & possibly set the offense up for possibly the next 8-10 years. Teams lose far more OC’s to HC gigs than DC’s… Baker’s had 10 OC’s in his 9 years in the league, hard to have consistent success with that kind of turnover.
November 13th, 2026 at 8:49 am
“Arians was not happy with Joe back in 2022 for pointing steady fingers of blame at then-offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, an Arians guy.”
Another reason not to bring him back in ANY capacity.
November 13th, 2026 at 8:50 am
if BA returns this year, you don’t and can’t scrap the offense and implement a whole new system overnight…
he’s an old master at this point…so he knows better…
you keep the system…while adding to it a little bit more each week moving forward…
and subtract the things that obviously aren’t working, more and more each week…
shouldn’t be too hard or overwhelming for the players if it’s done at a decent pace…
and BA would need to have a serious word or two with that ted hurst guy…lol…maybe have a lineman help him out and wedgie ted up onto a locker hook or something…lol…
yeah he might need to have a few words with the eggman too 🙂
November 13th, 2026 at 8:50 am
Screw that. Let BA take over in Dallas or Washington or the Chargers. Anywhere but here and take Todd Bowles and this entire staff with him.
Do we want to be great or mediocre? I want to be GREAT. Not happening WITH THIS REGIME.
November 13th, 2026 at 8:51 am
man ohh man our receivers are something else….haha
November 13th, 2026 at 8:57 am
The Bucs don’t need to get cute. A simple and sensible path forward is available to them.
Fire the Hack
Name an interim OC
Put Mayfield on a short leash, meaning if he has more than two turnovers in a game, or more than one in consecutive games, bench him.
November 13th, 2026 at 8:58 am
Even if BA returned THIS year as OC and stuck with the current system, Jeff know better than to run the exact same play in two series in a row
November 13th, 2026 at 9:00 am
Would the Joes be willing to sacrifice this ground game for a potent aerial attack come (bad weather) playoff time? (If they win the division)
November 13th, 2026 at 9:00 am
Yes, heck yeah!! Bring Bruce back!! Go Bucs!!
November 13th, 2026 at 9:03 am
LOL..You people don’t know what you want. Anybody but the Todd, Na man bruce sux too old also..
There goes the running game
Winston threw for 5000 yards with 30/30 when he was here..
You’ll never see those stats again..
Anyhow if you dont think hes in Bowles’s ear now????
November 13th, 2026 at 9:04 am
That was my first thought when you posted it yesterday. It would make a lot of sense given how the D is playing. The question is next year or are they contemplating it now? Fire Robinson and hire BA as OC?
November 13th, 2026 at 9:09 am
BA is not only thinking of Baker but also Jalon. I know BA will not tolerate having a QB in the field playing at 40% because of injury. Jalon will quickly be in the field.
Is a no brainer to pursue BA. We can’t get any worse.
November 13th, 2026 at 9:19 am
Isn’t he already on the staff with some ridiculous title? Just put him in charge of the offense. If Robinson objects he’s an idiot. Arians IS a great offensive coach. Having him rebuild the offense on the fly is actually a good idea. Crazy – I have never heard of a team doing something similar but Arians and Bowles have a good working relationship and Bowles and Robinson are both struggling enough to warrant something happening.
I have never heard of a team doing anything similar. But here is the truth. Bowles has got the defense humming. Danny Smith certainly has the special teams doing some good things. Robinson is the only thing holding this team back right now. Crazier things have worked although I don’t know what those would be off of the top of my head.
November 13th, 2026 at 9:22 am
People forget how bad of a coach Arians was. He was one more season away from being biggest disappointment in recent memory. Then we landed Brady! Brady built and set the culture in the lockeroom and Brady made that offense look good by getting his guys to come play for us.
Arians is a fun guy to listen to talk but I was so unimpressed with him as a coach.
If you think he is going save this offense go back watch the games before Brady got here you might sing a different tune.
The highest probability is we win the divsion and both coaches stay put. While I don’t love Zac he is figuring our run game out and a little continuity sure would be nice for a change.
November 13th, 2026 at 9:27 am
BA could replace Zac R but I am not sure he can fix Baker and I doubt if he wants to draft a qb in 2027 and wait for him to develop, dude is 74.
November 13th, 2026 at 9:49 am
Looks like Todd Bowles has turned the corner on his Defense. Now he’s looking for Zak Robinson to do the same with the offense. That seems like a desperate move. I’d like to see Vegas’s odds on that happening. We are looking at another cliff hanger defining moment. Baker has not looked the same this year compared to previous years. So far Robinson’s offense has made Grizzard’s offense look good.
A Bucs bye week turn around is looking more wishful thinking than a reality.
November 13th, 2026 at 10:16 am
To everyone shouting about bringing Arians back as OC, keep in mind that he’ll probably look to bring Leftwich back with him because in his mind he’s completely competent and capable. To which when he would retire again, he can break out the angle that Leftwich can replace him now because he just needed more seasoning and experience, which he’ll say he has now…..NO EFFIN THANKS.
November 13th, 2026 at 10:32 am
Why wait!!! We won’t need you next season. We’ll have Bellichick
November 13th, 2026 at 10:37 am
The only way I’ll take Bruce Arians back for head coach is if Jim Schwartz was the defensive coordinator. I would also give the quarterbacks coach a title of offensive coordinator to work under a Bruce Arians.
November 13th, 2026 at 10:38 am
What’s the story on Whitmer ? Thought the whiz kid was gonna be good for Baker and this is the worst Baker we have seen in Tampa.
Anyway, hard pass on Arians especially if he wants to keep Bowles around.
Get some fresh blood in here. 5 years of Bowles has led to some division titles (in the worst division in the NFL aka easiest to win) and the Bucs have underachieved in each and everyone of his seasons.
That’s the headline. Underachieving. Why the hell do we want more of that!?
November 13th, 2026 at 10:40 am
I love BA but would not want to see him as the OC. If Bowles departs (and I hope he does), we need a clean sweep of the coaching staff and start new. I would also hate to see BA’s reputation as a Bucs coach get tarnished by joining this staff.
November 13th, 2026 at 10:45 am
He wants to coach Temple and get a young girlfriend like Belichick.
He wants to coach the Cardinals and play golf in Arizona.
Maybe coach the Bucs.
I’d take the Temple gig.
November 13th, 2026 at 11:12 am
I’m not sure the Bucs would be able to get any other serious OCs with Bowles still being here. He’s on the hot seat. If the defense saves him this year, I’m pretty sure he’s out of excuses come next year