When Bruce Arians stepped away from the Arizona Cardinals many believed that his days as a coach was over, but according to the new Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach the stars aligned to bring him back into the game. Arians in a sitdown with Dana Scott of the Arizona Republic said he knew he was going to miss the game, but being around the game as a broadcaster made him miss it even more.
“It started actually in the first game,” Arians said. “I knew I was going to miss the players and the locker room. But during Pittsburgh and Cleveland, the first game and the production meeting, seeing the guys and it grew and grew and grew.
“By Week 8, I was at practice, the defensive back messed up. I went to correct him and said, ‘Oops, this isn't my team.' … It was growing each week how much I missed the locker room and the arena.”
Arians knew to come back it was going to be a situation he was comfortable with, and where he could fill his staff with coaches he was comfortable with, and he found that situation with the Buccaneers.
“The stars just kind of aligned. I wasn't sure one would open that I would want and I actually said no to a couple. And then knowing Jason (Licht), those in the Glazer family close to my grandson, and then Todd's (Bowles) available, Keith's (Armstrong) available, Byron's (Leftwich) available, the whole staff is available. It's like, ‘You're supposed to do this, this is like a sign. You have to do this.' “
Arians is still going to be on the headset but he hired people he trusts and it seems like he is going to be letting others have bigger coaching roles. At the end of the day this is Arians team, but if it's up to Arians, it's going to be a team effort that gets it done.
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