Bruce Arians Talks Legacy, Hard Coaching & More
May 12th, 2020
“Don’t take it personally. You’re a hell of a guy; your football sucks,” said Bucco Bruce Arians.
Yesterday, Joe shared various chatter from the Tampa Bay head coach during his chat on KMVP radio last week. (Scroll down the home page and catch up.) The quote above was a comment Arians made on the air when talking about how players must understand that harsh critique can’t be taken personally on a successful football team.
“Is there still a place for that in the NFL, to coach a guy hard? Is it still alive?” asked former Cardinals fullback Ron Wolfley.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt about it,” Arians said. “I mean, I’m sure Coach Belichick and Pete Carroll, all of us who are up there [in age] still know how to get the best out of a guy. And if it means getting’ on their ass, get on their ass. If it means pat him on the back, pat him on the back. But I don’t think you can just pat them on the back all the time.”
Yes, Arians said he’ll even yell about Tom Brady and he’s far more concerned about respect than being liked.
Wolfley knows Arians might be thinking about how the game remembers him, given that he and Brady are likely at their very last stop. “Do you worry about your legacy?” he asked Arians.
“I worry about relationships, you know, not legacies,” Arians replied. “There are so, so many great relationships. That’s what this game is all about. Just getting to know guys and watch them grow and be successful and have a hand in helping them do that, and then that continued relationship later. I mean I’m so close to even the guys I coached back at Temple in the 80s.”
Joe always likes learning a little more about what makes Arians ticks as he approaches his 68th birthday.
One last nugget Joe will share is Arians saying he knew he had a Super Bowl caliber team with the 2015 Cardinals in the middle of training camp and it changed how he manged them.
“These guys know how to go. They know how to practice. We just gotta to get them to the games on Sunday,” Arians said he told himself in August of 2015. “I had to pull back and make sure we were ready to play every Sunday; ease off in training camp, didn’t play much in the preseason, monitored Larry [Fitzgerald], monitored Carson [Palmer], some older guys on defense to make sure they were ready to play on Sunday.”
Of course, those Cardinals went 13-3 and failed in the NFC title game.
Joe wonders what Arians will see midway through this August.
May 12th, 2020 at 12:16 am
Hopefully Arians sees guys on the field and not in virtual football booths with an Xbox controller .
May 12th, 2020 at 2:27 am
Nice story. The Buccaneers are a much stronger team than those Cardinals were IMO. Looks like folks are concerned. eh, Arians is a easy goin guy. These Bucs are his retirement party! He is gonna run em till they can’t run anymore then he is finished and that will be the same for Brady and Gronk. This is one huge NFL party to help those damned Buccaneers win again haha Just playing on that.
The best part is, the team without all of that is still powerful and don’t let it fool you. You will see dominance like never before by your Buccaneers! By the way I feel any ex or current Buccaneer is royalty and should be respected as such if they are posting in these stories. Just sayin’ GO BUCS!!
May 12th, 2020 at 4:40 am
I bet Arians knew that a certain ex-Buccaneer quarterback was not the answer after the first week of training camp last year, though he’d probably never admit that publicly. Thankfully we got a massive upgrade with the real America’s Quarterback, the GOAT Tom Brady!
May 12th, 2020 at 5:38 am
Look at the roster pre-Arians versus now. Look at the players and what they bring to the table. Brady wanted to come here. Do you think that maybe, just maybe, the coach had anything to do with it?!
Arians walked into a locker room culture of soft play and no accountability. A franchise not known for player development, at least not in this decade.
There is no denying that the 2019 Bucs were far superior to the 2018 Bucs. It’s not a coincidence.
May 12th, 2020 at 7:19 am
Arains has totally flipped the locker room after just one season. The guy knows what he’s doing. More important, he knows who’s a loser, and who’s a winner. Gone, McSoftie, VH3, and nice guy, good team mate, just threw to many bad picks at the worst times Jameis. This locker room now has grit, leadership, and the friggin GOAT at QB. Nice job Bruce, lets roll.
May 12th, 2020 at 8:50 am
This article is for the troglodytes that’s spew fantasies about BA not telling the truth. You can spin it how you want in your tiny minds. You don’t maintain strong relationships without integrity, you may not like the truth, but you should respect it.
Looking at you El Pessimisto and your farm dog.
In BA I Trust!
May 12th, 2020 at 8:59 am
Again I will I ask the question have you ever seen any coach say a player was “terrible” as they were entering free agency?
So he cares about relationships IF they benefit him. So again a lie and that is not surprising from a liar.
Again if you don’t want a guy just say generic things and let him go, yet he killed him to the world, man what a great relationship builder this guy is. You guys fall for his lies if you want, I’d rather listen and watch his actions.
May 12th, 2020 at 9:05 am
BA may be looking towards his legacy but he still has a ways to go to reach longevity marks.
Both Marv Levy and the legendary George Halas coached until they were 72!
I’m not sure why BA wants to give up just because of a number. As someone who is 72 I do not know anybody my age who doesn’t have a health “condition” of some sort or another. My wife jokes when we get together with some of our other “mature” friends she calls it an “Organ recital”. Because the old folks just talk about their latest infirmity.
BA is creating a sweet deal for himself. If by any miracle the Bucs reach the SB this year BA could keep his job as long as he wishes. It will get down to title and duties. But reach the SB and BA can give himself whatever title he wants and work whichever schedule he likes. He already has the world’s largest staff of assistants.
Why should he give it up?
May 12th, 2020 at 9:25 am
Ba is the most overrated coach in the history of the nfl.
Soon you sheep will all see the truth
Time to herd up all the sheep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Figured I would beat him to it
May 12th, 2020 at 9:50 am
I don’t get the “68 is ancient” meme.
68 is the new 50’s.
May 12th, 2020 at 12:00 pm
Since we are taking things out of context, Arans said:
“There’s so much good and so much outright terrible.”
I guess we all comprehend things from the prism of our own perspectives. I started to post some comments from the Times but, what’s the point. Certain fans feel that Jameis was “betrayed” and there is no reasoning with them.
No matter your OPINION, leading the NFL in TOs is contrary to success. This is an undisputed FACT.
Now, how about the “so much good”? Or do we just choose to ignore that he also recognized the talent?! The prism.
The NFL is about WINNING. Nothing more, nothing less.
May 12th, 2020 at 12:04 pm
Ndog go to the New Orleans sites and ask the questions your mind burns with. P,ease talk about your favorite player schizoid jaymisssy. All your questions and statements have the same tone and story Blah Blah Blah. Ndog go bucs
May 12th, 2020 at 12:05 pm
Ndog here you go Blah Blah blah
May 12th, 2020 at 12:06 pm
This ones for Ndog Gooooooo Buccccssss
May 12th, 2020 at 12:08 pm
ndog
lies?…lol….
so i guess BA lied after games when he said some of those INTs werent on JW….lol….
BA bashed VHG trash @$$….was he lying then?….he bashed OJ for his play…was he lying then?….and he bashed JW for not playing better in DEC…now was he lying then?…..
shut up mutt…..dont bash BA just because he kicked your boy to the curb….
stay in your cage, watch and listen to JW as he sits on the saints sideline….
GO BUCS!!!!!!
May 12th, 2020 at 12:20 pm
My Father was running a 60 Unit Condo at 83 years old and my Grandfather was still teaching pilots how to fly on instruments while still flying his plane himself, so no, I don’t think BA is almost having to retire at say 69 yoa. He should continue to Coach the Bucs as long as he is in good health. My Father in Law had a seven way bypass heart operation in his 70’s and is still living on his own and driving his van at 94 years old.
May 12th, 2020 at 12:20 pm
Just keep lying to yourselves if it makes you feel better.
May 12th, 2020 at 12:39 pm
When I once lived in Bavaria in the Air Force It was common to see Grandmothers hard at work in the fields and a 94 year old Grandmother shoveled snow out of a large driveway area and loaded and unloaded beer trucks every day, and was able to out shovel me when I went out to help her the first time I saw her out shoveling snow. If older folks in the US continue to work out a lot they can amaze you with all they can do. Those that just lounge around enjoying being retired die younger. Hopefully if BA doesn’t want the burden of being a head coach, hopefully he will stay on as a Senior Adviser to the Bucs. I believe he has been a great help to Licht’s drafts ever since he got here and he likes to interview prospects himself. It would help keeping his Asst. Coaches here which have made a huge difference in developing our young players!
May 12th, 2020 at 12:47 pm
I guess I may be missing something. Here’s the article:
https://www.tampabay.com/sports/bucs/2019/12/29/bruce-arians-onjameis-winston-so-much-good-so-much-outright-terrible/
I think it summarizes Jameis’ status in terms of not being the Bucs starter.
May 12th, 2020 at 1:13 pm
Ndog no one is lying and your the only one denying themselves happiness by holding on to a loosing situation. Again trying to bring everyone down is unbecoming of anyone.
May 12th, 2020 at 1:14 pm
Ndog go Bucs