TAMPA, Florida — The franchise announced Tuesday night that Bruce Arians is coming out of retirement to take over as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
There is a one-year option on the four-year contract.
After his sixth season as coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2017, Arians announced his retirement, and he worked as a CBS game analyst during the 2018 season.
The Buccaneers’ owner, Bryan Glazer, released a statement saying, “We are thrilled to have Bruce Arians leading our team. He is one of the NFL’s most well-respected coaches over the past 20 years.” “During this process, our main goal was to identify the best coach who could motivate our players and advance our club. Some of the top players in our league have benefited greatly from Bruce’s development and professional success, and we are excited to have him continue that work with our team.”
Following the announcement, Arians, 66, tweeted his delight about joining the team.
I’m honored and proud to be the @Buccaneers’ head coach! to collaborate with GM Jason Licht and the Glazer Family, who have such wonderful ownership. It’s time to get working! #GoBucs #tampaBAy #buccobruce tweet.com/IlZE5duEME
– Bruce Arians tweeting as BruceArians January 9, 2019
Technically, he had a deal with the Cardinals that extended through the 2019 campaign. The Cardinals argued late in the game that they should retain Arians’ rights, notwithstanding the league office’s initial advice to the Buccaneers that no compensation was required.
The sides decided to exchange sixth- and seventh-round picks in order to settle the disagreement rather than get into a drawn-out battle, which made it possible for the Bucs to sign Arians. The Buccaneers’ 2019 sixth-round selection is exchanged for Arians’ rights and Arizona’s seventh-round selection, as per a source who spoke with ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Todd Bowles, the former coach of the Jets who was sacked last month following three consecutive losing seasons in New York, was anticipated to take a defensive coordinator position with Arians in Tampa Bay, sources told ESPN’s Dianna Russini. However, league sources told ESPN that Bowles is now also being considered to take Vic Fangio’s spot as the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears. Fangio and the Denver Broncos have agreed to an arrangement for him to coach them.
According to sources, Bowles and the Buccaneers have not yet finalized a contract.
Bowles is connected to the staffs of Tampa Bay and Chicago. Bowles was coached by Matt Nagy’s father, the Bears coach. Bowles and Arians have stayed friends since Bowles’ mid-1980s Arians days at Temple.
From 2013 to 2014, Bowles was Arians’ defensive coordinator with the Cardinals, a role that helped him land the head coaching position with the Jets.
On “The Rich Eisen Show” on Wednesday, Arians described Bowles as “like a son to me.” “I spoke with him primarily about his future. Everyone gets fired. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve been fired. And that resulted in this. He gave it some serious thinking. I was trying my hardest to sell when this occurred.”
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