The Buccaneers retirement most football fans remember this offseason is quarterback Tom Brady’s short-lived exit, undone 40 days later when he elected to return for a 23rd season.
However, it wasn’t the only instance of a prominent Tampa Bay figure stepping away. Coach Bruce Arians also retired on Mar. 30, handing the reins to then-defensive coordinator Todd Bowles as he stepped into an advisory role.
Bowles has steered the Buccaneers to a 7–8 start—far below Tampa Bay’s recent standards but still good enough for first place in the NFC South. Meanwhile, Arians, who guided the Buccaneers to victory in Super Bowl LV, has no regrets about his decision.
“Would I love to be coaching? Yeah,” Arians told the Tampa Bay Times, as he prepares to be inducted into the Buccaneers’ ring of honor on Sunday. “It’s what you do. It kills me to go upstairs. I’m on the sideline in pregame and it kills me to have to go upstairs and just sit there. It kills me. It’s hard. It’s what I do. I’ve done it my whole life. I’m smart enough to know it’s over.”
Arians coached the Cardinals for five years and Tampa Bay for three years, compiling a career regular season record of 80-48-1.
Having retained his trademark wit, Arians added, “It’s not the same. That daily interaction with the players and the coaches, the relationship I’m in. I sat and talked to Mike [Evans] and Vita [Vea] for an hour. The new guys are told, ‘That’s the old coach. You don’t want him cussing you out.’ I just [cussed out] a couple of them for the hell of it.”
