Underrated Head Coach?
February 2nd, 2019
High marks with low franchise.
Yes, Joe was up in Atlanta for three full days running around the Super Bowl media center at the World Congress Center trying to pick up any morsels on the Bucs he could.
You’ve already read a few stories Joe typed from there, and there is a lot more to come.
One thing Joe noticed is that everyone Joe spoke to believes Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht hit an Albert Pujols-like mammoth home run against the Astros in landing Bucco Bruce Arians to coach the Bucs.
An item came over Joe’s Twitter timeline last week noting Jim Hanifan coached the Cardinals for six seasons. Only two other coaches led the Big Red for as many years, allegedly. Jimmy Conzelman and Bruce Arians, so the information claimed.
Joe looked it up last night and it was wrong. Arians was only with the Cardinals for five seasons. However, while fact-checking, Joe learned something cool about Arians with the Cardinals.
Let’s face it, the Cardinals since World War II have been one of the sorriest franchises in all of sports. You think the Bucs with a playoff win-drought going on 16 years is bad? After winning the NFL title in 1947, the Cardinals didn’t win another playoff game until 1998. That’s 51 years without a postseason win!
Anyway, the history of Cardinals coaches shows only one has a better winning percentage than Arians, and that was the team’s original coach in 1920, Paddy Driscoll (1920-1922).
Driscoll had a .680 winning percentage. Arians had a .667 winning percentage with the Cardinals, tied for second with Norm Barry (1925-1926).
So given the horrid post-World War II history of the Cardinals, and that Arians has the best winning percentage of any Cardinals coach since Calvin Coolidge was in the White House, could it be that Arians might just be underrated?
February 2nd, 2019 at 8:33 am
Jameis’ interviews out there were the most revealing interviews I’ve ever seen from him. I think BA breathes serious confidence back in him.
February 2nd, 2019 at 8:36 am
I dont see how you can underrate a guy who has been succesful everywhere he has been
February 2nd, 2019 at 8:45 am
@Joe … “Could it be that Arians might just be underrated?” Wow, we really have reached the silly time of the football year. Underrated? Bucs fans expectations of Coach Arians seem to be that he’ll have us in the Super Bowl by no-later-than 2020 for sure. And oh ya, that he’ll establish a dynasty that’ll surely last for at least a decade, if not longer … with Jameis at the helm.
Rather lofty expectations Joe, BUT … when you compare BA to youthful Raheem, toes-on-the-line Schiano, cellar-dweller Lovie and Atlanta’s ‘Welcome Back Koetter’ he automatically wins hands-down. Actually I’m probably one of BA’s biggest fans. His 40-27 record in Arizona (60% W-L record) is very impressive to me … Cards record improved each year for the first 3 years … 10-6, 11-5 then 13-3 … before settling back down to ‘average’ (7-8-1 and 8-8). Given the state of our current roster, wouldn’t even mind if We started off ‘average’ (say 8-8) then advanced to 10-6, 11-5 and 13-3. Here’s hoping … but still cautiously optimistic.
February 2nd, 2019 at 9:02 am
All that information is OK, however he better win, that is all fans are concern with.
February 2nd, 2019 at 9:32 am
No doubt Licht Weight saved by The Bucco Bruce Bell. Arians had the Cardinals at 13-3 only have Carson Palmer blow out his knee ( that pesky Mark Barron…was part of Wentz’s knee injury as well ). That doomed their season. Bucco Bruce is loose…can’t wait to see how this goes.
February 2nd, 2019 at 10:26 am
The right man for the job. Let’s just hope BA ages more gracefully than Albert Pujols has for the Angels.
February 2nd, 2019 at 10:39 am
Arians ain’t no Belichick
But a wins a win
February 2nd, 2019 at 10:43 am
^ lol, who the hell said he was Belichick?
But yes he should be great. Looking forward to it.
February 2nd, 2019 at 12:10 pm
Hope this isnt a barry melrose return
February 2nd, 2019 at 2:58 pm
At this point, I’m not giving anyone props until those props are earned. If he’s a great coach, let him prove it.
That’s not to say I’m not still a devoted Bucs fan, just that I’ll believe in change when I see change.
Or maybe I just need time to recharge my batteries.
February 2nd, 2019 at 4:54 pm
Bonzai
Charge em up baby! We should live in the moment and simply enjoy it. Right now the moment is very good for Buc’s fans.
There will be plenty of time to weep if the season goes south or BA’s staff can’t turn around our “culture”.
Meanwhile let’s have fun and enjoy being Buc fans. I’m Alfred E. Newman….”What me worry?”
BTW have you added to your list of three books published? Got the first one done and online but I’m not writing like I should.
Too much time on JBF. LOL Although since I’ve been placed in moderation I’ve had more time to get back to real writing.
February 2nd, 2019 at 7:20 pm
Coolidge should have run for another term….he would have steered us away from the depression. Thanks a lot Hoover!
Go Bucs?
February 2nd, 2019 at 7:51 pm
@stpetebucsfan
Released another one. Halfway finished with the next. I’m having trouble writing hte last month or so myself, so I know how you feel!
February 3rd, 2019 at 12:27 am
Thanks Joe for this encouraging article. Turning around a starved franchise worse than the Bucs in his first year and taking them all the way to 13-3 makes his winning percentage only part of the story. You know he can do the same for us. The decline was only because of his injured QB!
February 3rd, 2019 at 11:05 pm
Any coach who can go 10-6 (as Arians did in his first year at Arizona) with Bradley Sowell as his starting left tackle is underrated.
New England just won the Super Bowl with the starting 5 O-Linemen being a 3rd Round draft pick, a 4th Rounder, 5th Rounder, 7th Rounder, and an undrafted free agent. If our O-Line coaching is as good as I hope, sign one veteran free agent and use 2 of our first 4 draft picks on OL we should be good up front. I hope.