When Bruce Arians stepped down as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach, many believed Tom Brady had a role in his decision. After all, it has long been rumored that the two have not seen eye-to-eye on some things.
Now a new report added fuel to those speculations, with Brady apparently frustrated with one aspect of Arians' coaching: his weekly planning for games. According to Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Brady expected coaches to have the game plan ready by Tuesday since he was used to it when he was in New England. Unfortunately, Arians wasn't able to do that because he just doesn't have the time to get ready that early in the week.
Brady, as in New England, showed up each Tuesday morning with a game plan for the following Sunday, a source said. He expected coaches to do the same. Arians, busy with other work, wasn’t ready at that early point in a workweek to complete a full game plan. It became representative of small-ish but significant problems between them.
Both Bruce Arians and Tom Brady have denied the talks about the rumored crack in their relationship. For one, Arians highlighted that he has always been known to give tough love to his players, and that includes the NFL icon. However, that doesn't mean they have a beef or whatnot, as he said he has a “great relationship” with Brady.
Meanwhile, after Arians announced his decision to step down and move to the Buccaneers' front office, Brady sent a rather heartwarming message to pay tribute to his former head coach. He reminisced about the 69-year-old coach recruiting him to Tampa Bay in 2020 and how he guided him and the rest of the Bucs to the Super Bowl.
“Thank you, BA for all that you have done for me and our team. You are an incredible man and coach, and it was a privilege to play for you. You are a true NFL legend and pioneer for all the work you have done to make the league more diverse and inclusive,” Brady wrote on Instagram.
“Smart, tough, and loyal are a few of the words to describe your style. I will always remember the conversations we had when you recruited me two years ago and all of the things we discussed came true. We all benefited from your leadership and guidance and I’m so proud of everything we accomplished. You were a huge part of the decision to join the Bucs and I’m forever grateful. I’m so happy you will spend the much-deserved time with your loving and supportive family that has given so much to our communities.
Congratulations on an amazing coaching career but more importantly, how you positively impacted me and everyone else in the game of football.”
Sure enough, his message didn't give any hint of ill feelings or frustrations towards his coach, which makes the rumors about their relationship even more unbelievable.
As mentioned, though, there are a lot of people who believe they are not in overall good terms. Former NFL star Shannon Sharpe is one big believer of that, even sharing his wild theory that Brady gave the Buccaneers an ultimatum on choosing between him and the head coach. He came up with this thought because Arians didn't give any indication he's retiring until Brady decided to unretire.
Considering that Arians and Brady are unlikely to talk about it, fans might never know the truth about the rumor and how it really started.
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