Todd Bowles’ Describes Bruce Arians’ Gift
May 6th, 2022
Lots of Bucs fans write off the leadership and coaching acumen of Bucco Bruce Arians and think Tampa Bay won’t miss a beat with Todd Bowles.
Joe sure hopes they’re right.
However, Arians is the greatest coach in Bucs history and is leaving the team on a 22-5 run includes a Super Bowl win. It was no accident. And Joe does not discount Arians’ role in that historic level of greatness.
Bowles was a visitor to The Herd on FS1 this week and was asked to reflect on coaching for Arians, Bill Parcells and Andy Reid. Host Colin Cowherd asked Bowles what Arians’ gift is.
“His gift was he knew how to coach the coaches without asking them questions,” Bowles began. “He knew what they needed when they needed it just by feel and understanding how they are and what they do. And he had a very innate feel of coaching the coaches by just talking to them. I don’t know how to describe that, but his intelligence, his foresight, his understanding of the person, whether they were coaching something difficult or something small or giving advice or suggestions. He had a very good knack for that and I don’t think you can just teach that.”
Interesting answer by Bowles. During his Tampa days, Arians often talked about how he no longer wanted to coach the coaches. So that’s a big reason why he only stuck with assistants he knew or trusted through past experiences or connections.
Regardless, Arians clearly knew how to handle a big staff, and knew how to let them breathe and execute while he maintained a commanding CEO-style presence.
Bowles is going much more hands on in his approach to being head coach, and it’s unclear whether he can duplicate Arians’ success when it came to getting the most out of coaches. It’s not like Bowles planted a blossoming coaching tree during his days with the Jets.
Hopefully, Bowles is up to making every Bucs fan agree that losing Arians to retirement is no big deal.
May 6th, 2022 at 2:58 pm
Arians way worked for us. So glad we got him as coach. The best Bucs coach in our history.
May 6th, 2022 at 3:02 pm
The great ones rise to the top
May 6th, 2022 at 3:24 pm
BA cost us the SB last year. He’s a meathead.
May 6th, 2022 at 3:27 pm
Dungy and Gruden were very good while Arians was great. Bowles has a chance to be our best coach ever given his age and the fact that he is inheriting one if the best teams in the league. Its going to be a fun year.
May 6th, 2022 at 3:47 pm
Arians had Tom Brady enough said.
May 6th, 2022 at 4:04 pm
You have to be in contention for a SB to cost a team a SB…..
Other coaches have cost us 43 Super Bowls…..
Arians greatest gift is his delegation…..when he delegates those he delegates to grow. I’m sure all of the coaches have grown under Arians.
May 6th, 2022 at 4:06 pm
if BA was so great he would still be coach.
Brady had him kicked to the curb. thats what the retirement was about.
May 6th, 2022 at 4:10 pm
I 100% agree that BA absolutely IS the greatest Buccaneer’s coach ever. And that’s saying something because Dungy was a great coach as well and was deservedly enshrined in the Hall of Fame as a coach back in 2016.
May 6th, 2022 at 4:18 pm
@Robert, BA was great BEFORE coming to Tampa and was awarded Coach of the Year not once but twice. That was before he came to Tampa, changed the culture, and brought a Vince Lombardi trophy here in year 2.
May 6th, 2022 at 4:22 pm
I think much of the bad wrap that BA took from the fans was just his laid back nature. He’s gritty, profane and loves his whiskey. That’s a lot different than your Pete Carrolls of the NFL. BA doesn’t project the presence of a great coach, and therefore many thought he was not. But consider the adage that you can’t judge a book by its cover. It’s obvious that behind the scenes, his style was very effective. He directed a team that won us a SB. There’s only one other Bucs coach that has done that, and he did it with a team that was already SB ready.
May 6th, 2022 at 4:33 pm
My two favorite Buc coaches are Jon Gruden & Bruce Arians…..can you guess why?
May 6th, 2022 at 4:39 pm
T
May 6th, 2022 at 4:46 pm
Ha!😂 big staff
May 6th, 2022 at 5:01 pm
He gifted you aSB team. Use it wisely.
May 6th, 2022 at 5:05 pm
What Robert seems to forget, as well, BucsFan, is that Brady would never have come to the Bucs if he didn’t like the coach.
May 6th, 2022 at 5:18 pm
THANK YOU @Joe. Thank for saying some of the things that needed to be said regarding Bruce Arians.
What you said went completely by a couple of the responders here. It is as though only three or four words out of all you wrote registered in their feeble brains. They have the standard rectal-cranial inversion of a certain small percentage of those who post/pose as Buccaneer fans. They are probably of the crowd who believe that the G.O.A.T, Tom Brady, got us our latest Lombardi Trophy nearly all by himself. They don’t even listen to what TB himself has to say about football being a team sport and requiring the consistent work and dedication of everyone involved.
The majority of fans who look around at the “real world” will tell you, after only a little reflection, that any class organization, any championship level outfit requires quality individuals from one end to the other. In addition to the players and coaches a winning franchise will have quality people at every level. This goes from the scouting staff, the accountants and professional technicians to the cooks as well as the people who clean the locker rooms and restrooms daily.
May 6th, 2022 at 6:17 pm
Name GOB the last ten coach of the year winners. You can’t because it doesn’t matter. @Robert is right, Brady graduated BA to a meaningless front office position. Do you people really think Brady picked the bucs because of the coach? It was the roster and the roster alone. BAs vaunted offense was all but scrapped after the bye week, during Brady’s first year. BA was a passenger. Let’s get real folks.
May 6th, 2022 at 6:32 pm
His gift was definitely NOT work ethic.
May 6th, 2022 at 6:43 pm
No it can’t be. BA is old stale biscuit ammonia brain according to experts who post here. How in the world would Bowles know more than them about Arians?
May 6th, 2022 at 6:44 pm
As if by the bell, Listophrenic chimes in.
May 6th, 2022 at 6:46 pm
Robert – you are a certifiable cretin.
May 6th, 2022 at 6:57 pm
Que regrese gronk y suh
May 6th, 2022 at 7:04 pm
@Goatfarmer, ammonia brain, that’s a good one. You make that up? The effects of alcoholism are written all over the man’s face. It’s also clear in his actions. Smacking players, sideline outbursts and outrageous statements aren’t the hallmarks of a functional mind.
May 6th, 2022 at 7:16 pm
GOB you go on believing what you want. It’s your world man.
May 6th, 2022 at 7:38 pm
Listnfrmafar Says:
May 6th, 2022 at 6:32 pm
His gift was definitely NOT work ethic.
^^^^^^^^^^
Did you expect Arians to be running wind sprints with the players?
May 6th, 2022 at 7:42 pm
I remember when a lot of the fan base was on this site knocking Arians and Licht when we signed Brady. They were saying that there was no way that Leftwich and Brady as a coordinator could co-exist. Or how about the many saying that Arians system would get Brady killed. Arians has run more offensive systems as a coach then any of us here on this site can even remember. Can you explain the offense that he ran for Temple, or Cleveland, or Indy, or Pittburgh, or Indy again or Arizona. They were not the same.
Some of those guys under estimating Arains seem to still be on this site.
I am as much a Brady lover as anyone else. Somehow guys on this site know enough football that they suggest that we only won because of Brady and that the coaching by this team meant nothing.
So, who are all the other NFL teams that won the Superbowl with bad coaching or are we the only one?
Coaching means more in the NFL and NHL then baseball or basketball.
May 6th, 2022 at 7:50 pm
Geno, thank you. Of course Rubbert, Listophrenic and Gob have their own alternative universe that they play in so things like logic and facts are irrelevant to them.
May 6th, 2022 at 7:54 pm
geno, I’ll agree that coaching means much more in the NFL. But, you must admit that Brady all but scrapped BAs offense. Arians offense didn’t use motion. Brady Incorporated it. It’s a basic thing, that most good offenses use to identify man or zone coverage. He also utilized the short passing game. Something that a BA offense really didn’t exploit.
The bucs also had the distinct advantage of no fans for three straight road playoff games. My point is, that the players won those games, and BA was an impediment that needed to be overcome.
May 6th, 2022 at 7:59 pm
Goatfarmer, I’m sure you think Barry Switzer had something to do with the cowboys 1995 season too. Please
May 6th, 2022 at 8:05 pm
GOB Says:
May 6th, 2022 at 7:04 pm
@Goatfarmer, ammonia brain, that’s a good one. You make that up? The effects of alcoholism are written all over the man’s face. It’s also clear in his actions. Smacking players, sideline outbursts and outrageous statements aren’t the hallmarks of a functional mind.
^^^^^^^^^
“Smacking players”? Hahahaha, you’re joking, right? You should’ve seen the coaches in my day.
May 6th, 2022 at 8:07 pm
GOB.
No, I do not believe that Brady scrapped the Bucs offense or BA’s offense or Leftwich’s offense. I do believe that an offense that was very good became great as the season went on because the coaching adapted to things that Brady saw and that Brady did well.
It seems absurd to me that you think that Brady instituted the game plan each week instead of the coaching staff. As great as Brady is, he surely looked at certain things and suggested that he saw things. But never once did he institute the game plan. He did not have enough time.
If you think Arians offenses NEVER used a short passing attack before, you are sadly mistaken. Please go back and look at those game films from all the teams he coached.
May 6th, 2022 at 8:13 pm
Arians gets credit for taking outside receiver, Larry Fitzgerald, and making him a slot guy to great success.
Arians gets credit for taking David Johnson and in his 2nd year at Arizona having those backs catch over 90 balls that season. No short passing game, sheez.
May 6th, 2022 at 8:53 pm
I’m sorry geno, but you have it backwards. Brady taught the bucs coaching staff how to win. BAs last HC job was in Arizona right? If you think the offense the bucs run is similar, you need your eyes checked. The offense BA and leftwich tried to shove down Brady’s throat wasn’t working. Brady changed almost everything.
May 6th, 2022 at 9:05 pm
Where is Whiny Testardverde? In rehab?
May 6th, 2022 at 9:28 pm
BTW Joe in Michigan, where the hell is Ben green, and medication Pete?
May 6th, 2022 at 9:30 pm
Medicated Pete, and Ben green, your expertise is in dire need on here!!! Please come out of retirement
May 6th, 2022 at 9:31 pm
@JimboBucsFan- Well said and absolutely correct. The biggest problem here is that we have a lot of bandwagon fans that this EXACT TIME last year were saying how our Bucs were going to go “UNDEFEATED” and that BA was better than Belicheat. Singing BA’s praises and saying that they hoped he didn’t retire ever. NOW, all the same fan’s are listening and actually believing ALL the garbage that BSPN and other media sources are saying about BA and how TB hates BA and all the stuff we’ve heard a thousand times since the end of the season. Well guess what bandwagon fans , if BA didn’t come out of retirement to coach our Bucs , we would have never gotten TB , no Super Bowl win , and all of you fake fans wouldn’t even be watching our Bucs because you obviously didn’t watch the disaster that was the Bucs before BA “Decided” to come back and coach. You obviously didn’t watch the last ten years of wasted talent and bad coaches that came through One Buc like the men’s restroom at Ray Jay on game day ! I haven’t missed a game either on TV or radio (when the game’s were in blackout) since 1996 when I was 14 and went to my first game. You all take this for granted and think we are just going to go win a Super Bowl every year. Ask your buddy Aaron Rodgers how hard it is to win a Super Bowl ? Ask Drew Brees !? The Bucs have won as many Super Bowls as both of them combined !! Go Bucs
May 6th, 2022 at 9:44 pm
Now I’m not calling all of you that don’t like BA fake fans . I know a lot of you have your own opinion on BA and that’s fine. But some of you are just flat out ignorant and foolish. LISTNFRMAFAR and BOJIM ! I don’t even think Bojim is a Bucs fan at all. My point is that a lot of you forget how it was before BA came out of retirement to coach our Bucs. It was painful to watch , but watch we did as true Bucs fans. Thank you @Joe for another great Post. Go Bucs
May 6th, 2022 at 9:53 pm
GOB – you’ve followed the Bucs since 2019, obviously. Next time you send your dues check to the Flat Earth Society, include a little extra. I’m sure they’ll be interested in your football theories.
May 6th, 2022 at 9:56 pm
Who are these brain dead posters who believe TB is the only reason we won the Super Bowl. These posers never played football before in their lives. The coach has everything to do with a good team. If TB is the only reason that someone follows the Bucs then please stop. We don’t need or want you as fans. You are what is wrong with the NFL. Little nerdy d-bags who have no clue about football. Why don’t you guys go back onto your NEw England fan page and spout all of your stupid sh!t on there. Or did they already run you off those pages. Seriously find another team to troll.
May 6th, 2022 at 10:06 pm
GOB Says:
May 6th, 2022 at 9:28 pm
BTW Joe in Michigan, where the hell is Ben green, and medication Pete?
^^^^^^^^
Hahaha, Realisto too!
May 6th, 2022 at 10:54 pm
Amway Joe in Pure Michigan…you rang? First things first…there’s zero chance you even played a lick of tackle football but you talk a big game.
Rehab? You still trotting out Dad jokes “Whiny Whinny went to rehab for whining too much ( yuck yuck ) “! Actually…your brand of “humor” gives Dad jokes a bad name. I apologize to all Dad jokesters out there for the comparison.
May 6th, 2022 at 11:03 pm
@buccos, I’m not going to recite my resume. But, I’m damn sure I played a higher level of football than you did. Brady is the reason the bucs won the Superbowl. It must hurt a lifelong yucks fan to admit that. Of course it takes a team, this isn’t tennis. But, Brady is the x factor. You folks have been drafting in the top ten since I was a kid. That’s plenty of kicks at the can. No Tom Brady isn’t the only reason the bucs won, but he’s by far the most important reason.
Before you disparage people who actually played in the league, go buy yourself a freaking clue. Bruce arians had absolutely nothing to do with the bucs Superbowl. In fact, he was a detriment that needed to be overcome. Without his sideline shenanigans, and obviously impaired judgment, you probably have two in a row. Many here agree. Stop making it sound like GOB is the only one.
May 6th, 2022 at 11:17 pm
Now there’s a “mine’s bigger than yours” contest. What’s next a reach around?
May 6th, 2022 at 11:32 pm
Whiny: Welcome back! I thought your Mom grounded you from your social media devices for a minute!
I’m not sure why you have an obsession with Amway…Did you get fired from there?
May 6th, 2022 at 11:38 pm
Janitor Joe…Turned Amway Sales Pro….thanks for the well wishes. Social media devices? More Dad jokes? Cool. I wasn’t fired from Amway…but was cornered by an Amway freak at a coffee shop once. He kept quoting others on a website…had a horrible sense of humor…wait…was that you Amway Joe? He had a hair lip so I’m guessing it was you. He had never played a down of football in his life either…so the similarities are uncanny.
May 7th, 2022 at 12:12 am
Whiny: It’s obvious you think of me as your Dad, which is why I get on you. I don’t want you to go through life being a whiny b!tch. Since you’re a whiny b!tch now, you won’t thank me, but you will in the long run. You’re welcome, Sonny.
May 7th, 2022 at 12:22 am
Amway Joe taking the tough talk up a notch! The attempts at humor remain horrible…but I think we’re all impressed with the fake tough guy routine.
May 7th, 2022 at 1:56 am
Whiny: Look, I feel sorry for you that you lost your $200 life savings in some sort of pyramid/ponzi scheme, but it’s time for you to look in the mirror. In your defense, you’ve won so many participation trophies that you don’t think you’re responsible or accountable for anything.
May 7th, 2022 at 11:12 am
No Joe in Michigan @ I do not expect any coach to run wind sprints, but I would expect one to go to meetings and come in early and stay late. It’s not a PART-TIME gig. Goatpounder, your rebuttals are always entertaining yet irrelevant. How about you add some creative content, you’re sounding like Bucs1987. In other words a moron. 2019 BA led the Bucs to a whopping 7-9 season and that’s a FACT. GOB is correct all those #1 draft picks and no playoffs! It makes perfect sense why some of you see BA as a great coach because 7-9 was an upgrade. 2024 NO Brady, we’ll see how well BA’s well trained protégés do.
May 7th, 2022 at 11:49 am
Listnfrmafar is a Pats fan who lost his way so his opinion doesn’t really matter at all.
May 7th, 2022 at 11:52 am
And there it is, Bucs1987 valueless words if wisdom, thanks for chiming in and proving my point.
May 7th, 2022 at 12:12 pm
I agree with all of you. The years BA won coach of the year, great coach! Here, great front office guy. More like a monarchy figurehead than an active participant in daily operations. Also, let’s not forget how Blessed BA has been with QBs and conciliatory owners (Something McKay never had vs your beloveds). You can say he is a QB whisperer, but he failed to utter a sweet-nothing to Jameis, which would have solidified his whisperer legacy imo. He is better than good, but he has also been very lucky… BA never had a Jets experience, but that may speak to his strengths navigating his career. You can’t knock the guy, but maybe the pedestal you construct is a bit too high since he kind of coasted with the bucs and he had more resources at his disposal than any other NFL coach.
Sidenote: if you still believe anything out of Brady’s mouth, I’d like to sit with your gullible/naive self at a poker table.
May 7th, 2022 at 2:47 pm
My college baseball coach once told me, his catcher, that the job of a pitcher was not strikeouts or a perfect game but, only to keep his team close and in the game. He could not win it but he damn sure could lose it. A QB is the same. Institute the coach’s game plan, make “in play” adjustments, maintain ball possession and keep the team in the game allowing the other 21 players to win it. It is why all these athletic QB’s will not win unless they understand their job. Teaching that and getting players and assistants to “buy into the plan” makes a great coach. From Lombardi to Arians all great coaches have that ability.
May 8th, 2022 at 8:25 am
GOB Says:
May 6th, 2022 at 11:03 pm
@buccos, I’m not going to recite my resume. But, I’m damn sure I played a higher level of football than you did. Brady is the reason the bucs won the Superbowl. It must hurt a lifelong yucks fan to admit that. Of course it takes a team, this isn’t tennis. But, Brady is the x factor. You folks have been drafting in the top ten since I was a kid.
1. I don’t disagree that Brady was the biggest reason that the Bucs won the Superbowl.
2. As a bucs fan since 1982, I have no problem admitting that.
3. As an NFL football team, the coaching will always be a huge part of what team wins. Your disparaging of Arians does not make sense to me if you played in a competitive league of high-level football. You should clearly understand that Arians resume is far greater than your own and his successes not just for 1 year but for many years speaks to his great skill in coaching.
May 8th, 2022 at 11:25 am
When you compare Arians 1st year and 2nd year you see the obvious changes in his No Riskit No Biskit offense to a Less Riskit More Biskit. When he 1st came here it was known he had no use for pre snap motions, tight ends as receivers or running backs and that it produced a lot of interceptions. That’s exactly what he showed in that 1st year. Jameis threw the most yards ever but also threw the most picks. I blame that on both of them because both are stubborn to the core. Jameis played how he wanted to play and made bad decisions and Arians refused to adjust his offense. He stopped using Jameis’ favorite target in Cam Brate. Then Brady came and still more the same. Everybody knows that when he was finally forced to adjust and use pre snap motions, the tight ends as receivers and less chucking the ball down the field for the sake of chucking it this offense began to click and Brady had everything to do with it. The only thing his offense brought here was excitement we’ve never seen before but it took Brady to bring a SB.
May 8th, 2022 at 1:42 pm
Bruce Arians signalled very publicly to Jameis Winston to stop the self coaching as he was coming in the door of One Buc Place. “The QB Whisperer” said it loud and clear enough that even a fool like myself could understand. That is, Winston needed be prepared to listened to some new approaches. Obviously one year wasn’t enough as the bad habits were firmly ingrained in JW. After that first year BA saw that we had a Super Bowl ready team, so he decided to see if he could find a better field general “behind door number two”. Once again the football gods smiled down on this forlorn franchise and the rest is history! 🤩
I don’t believe that BA and TB had a clandestine handshake behind the scenes either.
Go Bucs!
P.S. There is no doubt TB performed on and off the field to the highest level during the bizzarre year of Covid-19. His brain and arm along with a superbly executed defensive scheme for the big game sealed the deal for our latest Lombardi.