Bruce Arians shocked the whole NFL when he announced his shocking retirement as Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach. While he is not moving away from the team and instead heading to the front office, his decision sparked a lot of talks about Tom Brady's role in his departure. After all, it doesn't seem coincidental that after TB12 ended his brief retirement and returned, the veteran tactician stepped down.
For one, former NFL star and current FOX Sports analyst Shannon Sharpe believes Brady had a role in Arians' move to the front office. According to him, the superstar QB probably gave the Buccaneers an ultimatum and made them choose between him and the coach.
“[Tom Brady had] 99% to do with Bruce Arians stepping down. Brady told BA: you're stepping down today, we're going to have a press conference tomorrow [Thursday] and you'll say all the right things. I believe Tom Brady told management: ‘It's BA or me,'” Sharpe said on Undisputed.
Shannon Sharpe further shared his logic behind the claim, noting that “we got no indication” from Bruce Arians that he's stepping down. The fact that he talked about the future of the team and their excitement to compete for another title with Tom Brady back is also clear proof for Sharpe that something happened from behind the scenes.
"Tom Brady had 99% to do with Bruce Arians stepping down. Brady told BA: you're stepping down today, we're going to have a press conference tomorrow and you'll say all the right things. I believe Tom Brady told management: 'It's BA or me.'"
— @ShannonSharpe pic.twitter.com/rPDGQPsaAY
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) March 31, 2022
For what it's worth, in his press conference to announce his move, Arians talked about his relationship with Brady–seemingly trying to defuse speculations about Brady's role in his decision even before people talked about it fully.
“We have a great relationship. All the players, every one of them has gotten cussed out, including him. That's just part of me,” Arians said. “People gotta write shit. It couldn't be further from the truth.”
The Buccaneers elevated defensive coordinator Todd Bowles to take over the head coaching duties, and Arians has a role in the promotion. The 69-year-old said that he has been planning to stop coaching for some time now, but he needs to have some sort of plan so as not to leave Bowles with a squad that is not competitive. At least when he retires, he doesn't want Bowles to be at a disadvantageous position.
“I really began thinking about my personal transition plan earlier this offseason. I wanted to ensure when I walked away that Todd Bowles would have the best opportunity to succeed,” Arians said, per Sporting News. “So many head coaches come into situations where they are set up for failure, and I didn't want that for Todd.”
It is hard to determine whether Tom Brady really forced the Buccaneers to remove Arians from his head coaching duties or nor, and fans will probably never know the truth unless Arians or Brady themselves talk about it. Maybe they'll open up about it a few years or after a decade from now when it no longer matters, but it's unlikely we'll get to hear from them discuss it publicly any time soon.
With that said, fans can only watch and cheer for the Buccaneers as they try to get back to Super Bowl contention in 2022. All eyes will be on the team anyway with Brady aiming to win his eighth ring and Bowles trying to prove that he can be a head coach in the NFL and actually win at the highest level.
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