Bruce Arians made a big decision ahead of the 2022 NFL season by leaving the Buccaneers‘ post as head coach. With Tom Brady coming out of retirement, the veteran coach felt it was time to pass the torch to Todd Bowles.
Things in Tampa Bay were much more complicated than predicted since then, with the team barely making the playoffs with a losing record—only to be outplayed by the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round.
The Bucs‘ early exit from the playoffs hasn’t come without consequences, as several members of the coaching staff were fired. For that reason, Arians is believed to be “extremely unhappy” with the Buccaneers.
Rumor: Bruce Arians unhappy with Bucs over coaching staff firings
“Not happy. Very unhappy. Extremely unhappy,” Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times saidthis week on WDAE radio about how Arians feels in regard to the coaching staff changes in Tampa, as quoted by JoeBucsFan.com.
“Having had some interaction with him about it . . . he’s disappointed,” Stroud added. “You know, he’s disappointed. I guess that’s the biggest thing. You know, he wanted Todd to have this opportunity. He wanted to keep this staff together. He wanted these [coaching] families to be together. Many of them have another year on their contracts.
“Many of them thought they would be here as long as Todd is the head coach, were told as much, and that’s not the case. And so he’s hurt by it. I don’t know if you’re going to see him around much next year.”
Arians apparently wanted this staff to stay together as much as possible, even when he was no longer in charge of the team. Now, Bowles will have to chase success with a very different unit by his side.