Everything came together perfectly for the Bucs in December, January and February, and one Tampa Bay player says it was a byproduct of superior management.

Ali Marpet, everyone’s favorite left guard, talked to a virtual gathering of Hobart University folks and was asked about Bucco Bruce Arians.

There are so many directions Marpet could have gone, and the one he chose was praising Arians’ style versus other leaders he’s experienced.

“Coach Arians, like any good coach or a manager, [He] lets people have autonomy over themselves,” Marpet said of his head coach.

“So I think that as long as you have talented guys under you, you can kind of let people work. And I think that too often people are so tight on the reins and don’t let talented people do what they have to do. And I think Coach Arians has a really good feel of like when he needs to step up and when he can let guys figure it out for themselves, [assistant] coaches and players.”

Joe was intrigued to hear Marpet mention Arians managing his assistants. It’s rare to hear a comment like that. Joe felt like Marpet was saying there have been times when he definitely expected to see Arians step in to deal with an issue but instead Arians let the position coach handle it.

Yes, Arians was incredible last season. The magic touch was his, and when winter rolled around, Arians literally could do no wrong.

That’s a huge reason Joe believes the Bucs will thrive this season. The coaching will not screw it up. At least not enough to prevent the Bucs from a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the NFC.