Coaching Fire Still Burns In Bruce Arians
August 19th, 2022
Bucco Bruce Arians was a busy man this week in Tennessee.
A referee threw a personal foul flag as the F-bombs flew from the old guy in a long-sleeve white Bucs shirt.
With a playcall sheet in hand, he had been standing behind the line of scrimmage before exploding in the direction of the end zone.
Yes, Bucco Bruce Arians drew a 15-yard penalty Thursday as Tampa Bay practiced red zone work against the Tennessee Titans’ defense in Nashville.
But the scene was about much more than a coach who snapped because of a pass interference penalty.
Arians’ official Buccaneers title is Senior Advisor to the General Manager. As training camp has marched on, he looks more and more like a coach.
Arians’ skeptics wouldn’t have believed two months ago that he’d be a fixture at summer practices and traveling with the club to Tennessee for sessions on back-to-back days in full sun. Arians’ covered golf cart didn’t make the trip and the Bucs didn’t get him a rental.
For these two days, Arians was front and center behind the quarterbacks, and it’s obvious Blaine Gabbert was seeking Arians’ counsel repeatedly. The Super Bowl head coach, the architect of the Tampa Bay offense, was coaching the QBs and stayed glued to his playsheet.
No, Arians wasn’t calling plays. But it looked like he happily would have done just that.
Joe talked to Arians yesterday about getting flagged in the fiery 11-on-11 session. The Bucs were in a special teams period and Arians was taking a brief break.
Joe told Arians that he looked like a guy who missed coaching and wanted to get back into it. Joe also told Arians that this story would be written – projecting Arians to be the Bucs’ playcaller in 2023 if offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich gets a head coaching job.
Arians neither waved off the suggestion nor told Joe not to write the story.
So here it is.
Joe is very glad Arians wants to stay involved on the coaching side on some level.
Sure, his personnel analysis is probably quite valuable, but Joe suspects that’s not where Arians’ passion lies. Ask the Bucs’ first three draft picks of 2022 if they met or interacted with Arians before they were selected, and they’ll all say they did not.
In the days before Tom Brady’s mysterious vacation, Arians was seen talking more and more to Brady on the practice field, and Brady was seen going to him. NFL Network training camp cameras also captured that last week.
A Bucs coach speculated to Joe this week that Brady might miss Arians’ constant feedback and how Arians interacted with him. “Nobody talks to Tom the way Bruce does,” he said.
A cynic would say Arians is getting more hands-on with quarterbacks now because Brady may not return this season, but Joe is not going anywhere near there yet. As GM Jason Licht said, Brady is “the least of our concerns.”
Joe would add the Bucs also shouldn’t be concerned about a 2023 playcaller as long as Arians is walking and talking.
Joe’s Thursday conversation with Arians ended abruptly. The horn sounded on the special teams period and Arians bolted for a 75-yard, cross-field walk that isn’t the easiest task for him. “Gotta go watch the defense,” he said.
August 19th, 2022 at 4:41 am
BA said multiple times the reason he stepped down was to set up Bowles for success, which I believe wholeheartedly. The company line about Brady’s absence being pre planned doesn’t pass the smell test.
August 19th, 2022 at 5:07 am
Saw a theory on-line that projects Brady’s surprise hiatus is because he is a contestant on the Fox game show “The Masked Singer”. I know it sounds absurd and is probably just a silly theory, but remember that Brady teammates Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Brown were on the show in the past, so while very unlikely, it is possible. It would explain the almost cloak and dagger secrecy.
August 19th, 2022 at 7:26 am
I don’t know about anybody else but I miss BA…..
August 19th, 2022 at 7:28 am
Brady stipulated that if he were to come out of retirement then he was going to be able to take time off during training camp. A) Nobody knows if this is fact other than Brady and the Bucs, and neither has made that information public.–Joe Brady values the time he spends chucking the ball with his pass catchers. He does not value standing in the hot sun watching others do drills.
I believe the Bucs were hoping that Brady would change his mind once camp started. Didn’t happen.
August 19th, 2022 at 7:31 am
He’s mad at Brady, not at the Refs….the Zebras forgive him 😂
August 19th, 2022 at 7:46 am
My concern is Bruce was able to challenge Brady. Will Bowles be able to do the same? Who is Brady going to turn to if or when his game is off? If he does not decide to call it quits THIS season!
August 19th, 2022 at 8:01 am
Seems Joe missed an easy opportunity to just ask BA if Brady is coming back. Simple yes or no.
Who says Joe didn’t ask?–Joe
August 19th, 2022 at 8:15 am
How come this article doesn’t fit with the narrative I’ve been illustrating for the last year?
August 19th, 2022 at 8:17 am
Something stinks to high heaven
August 19th, 2022 at 8:21 am
@Joe,
Even if Brady shows up for practice on Monday….can we still get your story you’re (were?) gonna put out if he doesn’t show on Monday?! Pa pa please…..
August 19th, 2022 at 8:24 am
Seems Joe missed an easy opportunity to just ask BA if Brady is coming back. Simple yes or no.
Who says Joe didn’t ask?–Joe
Is that why BA ran to the other field ?
August 19th, 2022 at 8:26 am
Joe,
Brady, the Bucs and specifically Alex Guerrero (Tom’s trainer).
Again, what you wrote (quote below) has not been confirmed by anyone.
“Brady stipulated that if he were to come out of retirement then he was going to be able to take time off during training camp.” –Joe
August 19th, 2022 at 8:31 am
From Sept last year:
“The interesting thing I think there — and this is just me, an outsider looking in — it was like Bill never really . . . I think his emotions or feelings never evolved with age,” Guerrero said. “I think in time, with Tom, as Tom got into his late 30s or early 40s, I think Bill was still trying to treat him like that 20-year-old kid that he drafted. And all the players, I think, realized Tom was different. He’s older, so he should be treated differently. And all the players, none of them would have cared that he was treated differently. I think that was such a Bill thing. He never evolved. So, you can’t treat someone who’s in his 40s like they’re 20. It doesn’t work”
THE BUCS ARE TREATING BRADY DIFFERENT. GOOD FOR THEM.
Guerrero said. “We have great support over here. The ownership is super supportive, the coaching staff is super supportive.”
August 19th, 2022 at 8:35 am
Fire might burn but the ability to out coach the Rams or Aints never was there. Bye BA
August 19th, 2022 at 8:41 am
Was Guerrero at Tennessee? He’s a big indicator. He and Brady are attached at the hip. Not that whether he made the trip matters but he seems to still be heavily involved with the team. Was Licht there ? Are you birddogging those two Joe ? Bowles ain’t giving the media Jack . The question obviously pi$$ed him off yesterday so he was snarky with his reply.
Joe would say Bowles wasn’t pissed off at all, not a shred. Maybe a little uncomfortable. Bowles has had news conferences less than 4 minutes each the past two days. As Jets head coach those would be nearly triple that length. Joe would suggest Bowles appreciates how soft the Tampa media is by comparison–Joe
Hey , gives the so called media something to run with. Keep it under your hat but Brady is actually at the lake with me. Sumbatch needs to go back to work. Drinking all my beer up.
August 19th, 2022 at 8:56 am
This is from Elle magazine:
Tom Brady’s marriage to supermodel Gisele Bündchen has not been without bumps in the road. While appearing on Howard Stern’s radio show on Tuesday, the former New England Patriots quarterback revealed that in 2018 he realized Gisele wasn’t satisfied with their marriage.
“She felt like I would play football all season and she would take care of the house and all the sudden when the season would end, I would be like, ‘Great, let me get into all my other business activities. Let me get into my football training,”‘ Brady said, via the Daily Mail.
“And she’s sitting there going, ‘Well, when are you going to do things for the house? When are you going to take the kids to school and do that?’ And that was a big part of our marriage. I had to, like, check myself. Because she’s like, “I have goals and dreams too.”‘
Brady told Stern that he skipped Organized Team Activities (i.e. off-season training) in an effort to spend more time with his family. Gisele ended up writing him a note expressing how she felt about their relationship, which Brady said he now keeps within easy reach. “I keep it in a drawer,” he said. “I read it and it was a heartfelt letter that said this is where we are in our marriage.”
Folks, this is bigger than football. He said he wanted to achieve work life balance and this year it included time away from camp. Notice that Brady hasn’t been on social media promoting his Brady Brand line. I know his social media team usually handles that, but Brady controls his IG account and stories, and he hasnt shared anything since his leave of absence . Brady prefers his privacy over speculation, so don’t expect any statement from him regarding his absence
August 19th, 2022 at 9:02 am
PW813…There’s no shame being out coached by Payton or McVay
August 19th, 2022 at 9:06 am
Joe,
I am curious why you cut one of my last comments.
It is fine to say that is not confirmed by you or guys you keep in touch with.
But it is not factual for you to say with ultimate certainty that it is “NOT CONFIRMED BY ANYONE” who has direct access to Tom Brady and the team.
Very simple answer. You presented something as fact that completely has not been presented as fact publicly by anyone, including Brady who you said “stipulated” it. Joe isn’t looking to mislead readers, especially on such a critical topic. Just re-read your words and rephrase it, as your opinion if you want to go there. Whatever sources you cited didn’t say Brady negotiated this as a term of unretiring. And sources on other subjects had names on them. Fans can choose to believe who they want to believe, from Ohrnberger on down.–Joe
August 19th, 2022 at 9:22 am
He obviously was perturbed at the question and had other things on his mind. You might not mislead but you must come from a family of farmers with all the seeds you plant. Stir the pot. Lol
August 19th, 2022 at 9:26 am
Perception is everything ..how does a non coach get 15 yards penalty on a team he does not coach!!!! this undermines BL and BOWLES…everything they do you will wonder how much it was influenced….bit I will say this I did not hear about BA when brady was there ..actually it’s only been since titans practice…Joe says BL calling plays? Are they the plays he wants to call based on his observations or BA…Brady issue is he is game plan heavy brady does what defense gives frankly BA never cared what defense was doing he believed his playcalling beats a defense…so I promise when brady comes back the first practice after titans game..wont be seeing BA as much…znd WHY ARE WE NEVER HEARING FROM BL
August 19th, 2022 at 9:33 am
BA is just working on his routine as Gronk’s manager in WWE
August 19th, 2022 at 9:35 am
Is BA the shadow play caller?
August 19th, 2022 at 10:06 am
Good for BA to stay involved. I’m sure Bowles appreciates it, OT he would go to BA and privately shut it down, and BA would comply with whatever Bowles wants him to do. Love me some BA.
August 19th, 2022 at 10:12 am
Well, we will see if this one gets through with no cuts. Not an algorithm cut this time. Just a choice from the owner of the site. I certainly agree with the right for him to run his business the way he sees fit.
“Here’s everything that I understand about this,” Rapoport began.
“It was planned. No one is worried. He’s fine. To my knowledge, it’s not a medical emergency related to him or, I believe, anyone close to him. I was told that everything is OK. The best description I got about this was that it is important to find a work life balance,” Rapoport said.
For my original comment, I used the word “stipulated”. Joe is correct, I do not know if stipulating takes the conversation too much out of context.
The flavor of my comment was that Brady had a discussion with the Bucs brass before he unretired. There was discussion that led to this time off and the work life balance that Ian talks about.
If you want to believe me or Ian Rapoport, you have the right to agree or disagree.
August 19th, 2022 at 10:18 am
As long as the Old Man throwing temper tantrums is there, Brady won’t be. Who’s team is this Bowles??? Seems like there’s quite a bit of debate on this subject.
August 19th, 2022 at 10:40 am
Elephant in the room. BA is walking a fine line. Can’t have former coaches cussing out, belittling players and getting the team penalized.
His name might should be taken out of the Ring of Honor before it even goes up.
Looking at you Glazers.
Is this the story you wanted us to wait for? Mmmmkay, lets get back to the world is ending topics.
LMAO,
Can the games begin already!!! This has been the worst offseason in Bucs History. Ha 🙂
August 19th, 2022 at 10:48 am
“Brady stipulated that if he were to come out of retirement then he was going to be able to take time off during training camp.”
This was the commenters quote, not Joe’s. No they’re not facts as you state below.–Joe
Thanks Joe… I think these are important facts. It means this isn’t unexpected or out of the blue. Everyone went in with eyes wide open. At this point, anything with Brady that was agreed upon, and is simply a matter of him doing what he stipulated, and the organization agreed to, is comforting.
August 19th, 2022 at 10:55 am
Here is how I speculate it went down…
G… Tom, I know the fire to play is still burning in your heart, but we need you here to strengthen our relationship and for the kids sake. How can we make this work.
T… During the regular season, I have to be locked in until the last play of our season. That is just the way it is. But maybe, the Bucs will agree for me to take time off during the preseason for us to have that family time and have a great vacation… at least until school for the kids is really in full swing. What do you think, Honey?
G.. Would love to have you hear more than that. But I think we can all do well with that plan.
T… I’ll talk to your agent and see if the Bucs agree.
Agent calling Jason, who is finishing consuming a six pack of his favorite beer….
So here is what Tom needs, Jason. Can you live with that?
Jason… I’ll call the Glazers when the buzz wears off. But I’m sure they would agree. They want to win and care about families..
August 19th, 2022 at 11:12 am
Mark2001 – that’s a reasonable hypothesis on what happened.
Now, does anyone really believe that Geezie is home scrubbing the floors, washing the clothes, doing plumbing projects and driving the kids to all their private school events? Of course they have people to,do,that for them. The entitled Geezie is tired of telling the head nanny what the week’s priorities are before she goes to whatever business function the multimillionairess is onto. Hypocrite much, Geezie?
Best thing for Tom – dump the dud.
August 19th, 2022 at 11:20 am
If you’ve been married for decades, GF, you know how it is.
After almost 45 years of marriage, I’m just starting to get a glimpse, a rudimentary understanding, of how the usual wife’s mind works. Admittedly, it is still the great enigma. So it is just a guess.
August 19th, 2022 at 11:31 am
I am sure when Lovie gets fired from the Texans Arians may get an interview.
August 19th, 2022 at 12:06 pm
To many chiefs and not enough indians.
August 19th, 2022 at 12:08 pm
What would make you think Lovie would get fired from anywhere? Sure.
But of course, with his likely bank funds balance, he can laugh all the way to the bank.
August 19th, 2022 at 12:09 pm
At least Abuc… you can’t say these guys aren’t getting “coached up”. I find that refreshing compared to the last forty years in most cases.
August 19th, 2022 at 12:37 pm
Arians is keeping his chops up just in case this becomes a total dumpster fire. So much is on the line for Leftwich and Bowles, and not having the influence of the GOAT out there is NOT ideal. 4 tough games to start the season, and if this team struggles, you can dial the anxiety and speculation up to 11.
August 19th, 2022 at 12:53 pm
BA will return once TB fails to return.
August 19th, 2022 at 1:09 pm
I just think it is in Arians blood. The old coach will never give it up all together until his days are done. As long as he and his family are happy with it, more power to him.
August 19th, 2022 at 1:24 pm
I hope BA doesn’t regret his decision.
I hope we don’t regret it.
August 19th, 2022 at 2:02 pm
Two very weird things about this training camp:
–Brady’s absence
–Bruce’s presence
I don’t get what’s going on– the QB is gone and the ex-HC is running practice?
Really?
August 19th, 2022 at 2:25 pm
BA is stepping on the head coach, even if bowles wants him there. This is a bad look all the way around. I can’t imagine Brady missing BA. I think Brady likes him just where he is, a powerless figurehead. If I were Bowles, I’d tell BA to get back in his cart, and go specially assist the GM.
geno, i can’t remember if it was you or me who first proposed that Brady’s time off was negotiated as a condition of his return. I really don’t care, I agree with For those of you who don’t think it’s a problem, look at it like this. Let’s say the bucs get off to a slow start, people will blame it on Brady’s absence, fair or unfair. Brady is causing a distraction by his absence, and he knows it. His coaches and teammates are being asked at every avail. Bradys radio silence on the issue, tells you all you need to know.
August 19th, 2022 at 2:52 pm
surprised that NO one has reported seeing TB anywhere ?? where’s the paparazzi when yo need them ??
I also wonder why BA is on the the practice field Everyday ?? can’t feel right for Bowles..
If we don’t make the playoffs ; BL will not be going for interviews anywhere…To start off the 1st 4 games with injuries we have will not work well for BUcs..just saying..
August 19th, 2022 at 3:17 pm
mark, I think this is a better representation.
B: I still want to play. I know you wanted to be in Miami, so did I. They wouldn’t trade me, so this is my only option.
G: Well, if they won’t let you go, then I have some conditions. Do you really need to be at the training camp thingy? We need you around here.
B: at least for part of it, then I can check out for a couple weeks.
G: this is it Tom, you’re retiring after this.
B: yes dear, this is it.
August 19th, 2022 at 3:25 pm
GOB:
My conjecture is after a talk this week with someone not named Ian Rapoport. A person with integrity who would be unlikely to lie to me about the situation. The parts left out are destined to stay off this site.
After Joe, as owner of the site decided to ban my comments, I then found the Ian Rapoport quote that seemed to support my earlier sentences.
So, it was likely you that 1st said that Brady’s time off was negotiated as a condition of his return. I just strongly believe that now and even though I am not a betting person, I would gladly take that bet over every other alleged story.
August 19th, 2022 at 3:33 pm
geno, got ya. Have you heard the latest rumor making the rounds on Reddit? They’re saying this absence is because Brady will be on the Masked Singer. Oh lordy, if that’s it?
August 19th, 2022 at 3:45 pm
Did Arians grab another player by the Helmet?
August 19th, 2022 at 5:22 pm
So I’m not the only one that gets shut out by Joe for no reason??? Censorship at its finest.
August 19th, 2022 at 6:11 pm
@geno711
I heard exactly what Ian Rapoport said and you’re really spinning it to what you want to hear.
August 19th, 2022 at 6:35 pm
Listn, you’re not alone buddy.
August 19th, 2022 at 6:47 pm
A word on “censorship.”
First, this site is not a democracy, neither is it an open forum. It’s Joe’s Bucs-loving house, and a business. Joe is responsible, under many interpretations of the law, for every single world written here. It doesn’t matter who typed it.
Hundreds of words are “censored.” And hundreds of commenters are in moderation for crimes against Joe, which typically are misrepresenting Joe’s views, also common is stating opinion as fact, personal attacks, hate speech, routinely changing topics, etc.
This doesn’t make Joe some sort of woke communist. It’s just Joe having a comment area that suits Joe’s business. What could be more capitalistic?
Everyone has (or had) a chance to disagree respectfully without misrepresenting.
Please remember that Joe is not in the comment business. They are fun and Joe’s glad some fans enjoy them, but they’re not what Joe is about. Joe could probably make more money having a wild-west-style comment section, but Joe has no interest in moderating that, and Joe also has no interest explaining to Joe’s advertisers why it’s a good idea to be a partner with Joe on giant pile of misleading nonsense and hate.
Joe thanks you for your patronage.
August 20th, 2022 at 12:08 am
I don’t get the “Gisele wants Brady @ home more” reason for his time away from training camp.
Won’t Brady be on the road all season for the FOX broadcasts (when he retires from football)?
August 20th, 2022 at 1:43 am
Joes — fine job on the copmments section. I’ve had afew posts simply never register too, it seems to usually happen when the temperature of a comment thread is heating up and I get it. I appreciate it. And appreciate your explanation above — while I get it and subscribe to it, many others don’t get it and need it spoon fed to them.
Bravo. Carry on.
Got any mre Rosie photos?!?!?!
;-0