Fresh Timeline Emerges On Bruce Arians’ Decision To Step Down
August 6th, 2022
Bucco Bruce Arians
After all the national chatter and speculation about when and why Bucco Bruce Arians decided to retire, and how that may have tied to Tom Brady’s unretirement, Joe can’t ignore this nugget from Arians’ wife.
Christine Arians, an attorney, philanthropist and child advocate, joined a podcast called Powers On Sports and hit on all kinds of subjects, including her husband retiring from the Tampa Bay head coaching job.
She laid out the transition to Todd Bowles as Bruce Arians making the call to step down after Tom Brady unretired. Mrs. Arians also said she was confident Arians would have retired if Brady hadn’t called it quits in early February, but her husband didn’t want to “turn over a mess” to Bowles like he had in New York with the Jets.
“When Tom came back, it was like, ‘Oh my gosh. I can do this,'” Mrs. Arians said, quoting her husband.
“Now, it’s typical NFL stuff. It took three weeks to get it all worked out. You know, there’s (inaudible)stuff. You have to do an interview process. But guess what? Everybody’s under contract so how do you do an interview process? They had to have a meeting and some committee meeting, etc. Anyway, after three weeks of being quiet (laughs) it finally got done and was announced.”
Joe believes Mrs. Arians, who does spectacular work for many communities and certainly seems more credible than anyone working in the NFL.
But what’s interesting to Joe is how Mrs. Arians twice emphasized “three weeks’ that her husband and the Bucs kept his retirement decision quiet before Bowles was named head coach on Wednesday, March 30. That puts Arians’ decision to step down back to March 9 or earlier. The NFL Scouting Combine ended March 7. Tom Brady announced his unretirement on Sunday, March 13.
Of course, Brady probably advised the Bucs he was coming back before the announcement on the 13th, and three weeks could have been a roundoff job by Mrs. Arians.
Regardless, the timetables are tight.
A lot of fans and media types have wanted to know which came first: Arians quitting or Brady returning. They’ve speculated that Brady came back only because Arians was leaving, or that an arrangement was worked out because Brady didn’t want to play for Arians, but many believe Arians is a man of his word and quit because he wanted Bowles to be gifted a Brady-led Bucs with an intact staff of Arians’ coaches.
Mrs. Arians certainly backed up that Bucco Bruce quit when he knew Brady was returning. Joe believes her, even if there are shades of gray in the equation.
August 6th, 2022 at 8:50 pm
Spin it however you like Joe. Ben Volin had the story right. BA said he was excited to be calling plays again, and would coach until he couldn’t. I don’t think Bowles was Brady’s handpick successor, but he wouldn’t play for a buffoon like Arians again.
August 6th, 2022 at 9:11 pm
Makes sense
August 6th, 2022 at 9:17 pm
People see what they want to see truth doesn’t really matter anymore.
August 6th, 2022 at 9:25 pm
I feel Arians stepping down has something to do with the way he handled AB and the blitz vs the rams.
August 6th, 2022 at 9:35 pm
You people are so dumb. Brady/arians are tight. It’s not a big deal,leftwhich ,Bowles, and Brady run the xo’s
August 6th, 2022 at 9:40 pm
I’m quite sure if Brady had asked BA to return, he would have. Or at least, BA would’ve told everyone. The idea that BA didn’t want to leave Bowles holding a bag of poop is beautifully convenient. Both coordinators interviewed for other HC jobs, before Brady “retired”. This is pretzel twisting logic at it’s finest. Occam’s razor people. Don’t believe the company line. BA was promoted to be quiet. He has zero front office experience. I’m sure Licht listens to him, then politely tells him to go back into his golf cart.
August 6th, 2022 at 10:43 pm
As a Brady fan never really checked out your website. Here and there over the last 2 yrs. I usually chatted with Brady fans and former patriots fans rooting for Brady. Now I am obsessed with your stories on training camp. You had me worried last week with Brady looking exhausted comment.
Miami Lawsuit I thought was supposed to be abt tanking and Flores treated bad as a black coach. The the whole lawsuit someone was centered around Brady. Nobody cared anymore abt Deshaun Watson case or if Flores was treated unfairly or not hired because he was black. Brady was the red meat for media and nfl fans. I was sick to stomach so I been constantly checking out your page I would say since camp started. I never look at much mainstream media your page and sometimes florio
August 6th, 2022 at 10:46 pm
The the whole lawsuit someone was centered I meant some how not some one
August 6th, 2022 at 11:18 pm
Move on already
Gezzzzzz
August 6th, 2022 at 11:21 pm
Joe, you really need to go work for CNN. Number one fake news network on planet earth. You’ll do great there. Another pointless article.
August 6th, 2022 at 11:31 pm
Are you suggesting Arians’ wife is a liar? Why would she lie about something like this?
August 6th, 2022 at 11:33 pm
Anyone, bloggers or Fans posting on here, can spin the story “This happened or that happened, ok whatever.
For me, I am glad Jason hired BA and the staff BA brought in. And I do not even care if the Bucs were like the 8th choice behind San Fran, Miami or anyone else lolololol
The Fact is the Bucs have a 2nd Lombardi on display at 1 Buc Palace, lololol and that is what counts. lol
All the talk about this and that, But the 2020 Lombardi is in Tampa, along with the Epic Boat Parade that every other NFL team wished they had been the first to do.
The Bucs were having an Epic sun splashed World Championship celebration when so much of the Country was dealing with snow and just plain crappy weather. lol yeah Baby.
Eat your heart out 31 other NFL cites lolololol
The lost Decade dumpster fire was over. The Den of Depression was no more.
So have at it if you like, but BA is a decent guy who got a shot late in life, and has a winning record with 3 NFL teams, and hoisted the Lombardi, not to shabby, and none of the places BA went to be head coach was anything to bragg about when he got the Job to coach these teams.
And again “oh and Brady was going to Miami” this, maybe that, maybe maybe maybe lol.
Here is a fact, Brady is the Starting QB for the Bucs in 2022, and TB12 might win his 8th Lombardi in a TAMPA BAY BUC uniform in Feb 2023
To be continued ………. lolololol
GO BA!! GO BUCS!!!!
August 6th, 2022 at 11:44 pm
GOB must be airtight with Tom Brady to be so certain. That’s why the Patriots fan jams this board more than anyone. Calling Arians a buffoon? Takes one to know one I guess.
August 6th, 2022 at 11:44 pm
It’s OK that Brady flirted with Sean Payton–he’ll be fine returning to Byron.
August 6th, 2022 at 11:51 pm
Who the feck cares? Tom Brady is playing QB for us this year. I don’t care if the head coach is Bill Belichek, Bruce Arians, Todd Bowles, or Barney Rubble, we have a 50-50 chance of going to the super bowl.
August 6th, 2022 at 11:59 pm
I know, I know, I should turn the page and move to the next article and comment. But…. this speculative nonsense that goes round and round for months when it’s completely irrelevant is mind-numbingly painful.
Why? What’s the point?
It sure seems there are other questions that actually matter.
How’s Wirfs since carted off?
How’s Evans Hammy?
What exactly is wrong with Jensen?
Which WRs are standing out that are fighting for a spot?
Who’s been fielding Punts and kicks?
How’s Hall look?
Who is winning the LG spot?
How have the DBs looked?
How’s White look at RB?
August 7th, 2022 at 12:27 am
Lol we all know Brady pushed Arians upstairs, if not brady wasn’t coming back … that’s why he was at Manchester with the glazers randomly…He would just gift brady regardless the friendship, don’t be Naïve
GoBucs!
August 7th, 2022 at 12:37 am
August 1976, perfect.
August 7th, 2022 at 2:23 am
The Glazers were not even in Manchester when Tom was there. Your whole post is irrelevant. BA was the best coach the Bucs have ever had. He changed the entire culture. I am getting REAL tired of people bashing him and calling both he (now his wife) Todd Bowles and Brady liars. What kinda fans are these here?
August 7th, 2022 at 3:30 am
@crickett , go cry …. The glazers were there they met, then Tom met with christiano bt it’s okay
GoBucs!
August 7th, 2022 at 5:09 am
If Arians was ousted, he wouldn’t still be with the Bucs everyday, including chatting with Brady during camp. He would have simply left.
August 7th, 2022 at 5:48 am
The earth is flat and Martians are living underground on Mars.
August 7th, 2022 at 7:47 am
Arians retiring to hand the team over to Bowles isn’t a story.
Arians retiring because Brady wanted him out is a story.
The fact of the matter is the truth will never be known.
That makes it a theory forever.
August 7th, 2022 at 8:50 am
Ausgust 1976 Buc – couldn’t agree more. None of the noise about retirements, TB coming back, BA moving upstairs, blah, blah, blah matters. BA, the staff he hired, players he coached along with TB brought us a Super Bowl. The team and coaching staff are still intact and we have a winning culture. Enjoy it. Who cares about how the sausage got made.
August 7th, 2022 at 8:51 am
Does Warren Sapp have enough 💵 to make a weekly stroll through Dale Mabry
August 7th, 2022 at 9:03 am
Lol, this story will never die. I beleve Arian’s wife and I beleved Arians to begin with. Whackjobs like florio and the trolls posting here are best left ignored. I know that it might be hard to fathom nowadays, but people still actually do things for altruistic reasons. Arians was a great coach and is a good man. In the immortal words of the late, great Stan Lee…Nuff said.
August 7th, 2022 at 9:15 am
The truth will never be known because lying is permissible in todays society. Everyone lies from the top down.
August 7th, 2022 at 10:24 am
Goatfarmer..it’s what we need more of ya know.
More Patriot fans on JBF telling us how our team should be run and this and that.
August 7th, 2022 at 11:41 am
Well said 1976 and you hit the nail on the head Cricket. It’s actually quite simple. Those who are “actual” Buccaneers fans and those whom are posers that hide behind false proclamations are as clear as crystal.
You see actual Bucs fans wouldn’t throw Arians under the bus to start with. You see “actual” Buccaneers fans KNOW QUITE WELL that we to our shame was the most losing team in ALL of sports and that changed when few and far between hero coaches of LEGEND, somehow wasted up on our shores and grab the organization by the short hairs and walked them to the TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN, “kicking and screaming usually” to the UTTER stunned delight of ALL the “ACTUAL FANS”.
There is absolutely, 💯, NO Doubt whom the actual fans are and who the self loathing, Creepy, hate all that is good and right, really are. No matter what name they hide behind they are still the jealous, and self loathing “Golem’s” that want their magic ring back. Tom Brady, to them, is actually the ring that controls all rings to them. LITERALLY he is their “Precious”. Get it? And their hate has NO END.
BUT HERE’S THE THING guys. We, “the Bucs org. and entire fan base” DID NOT DO THIS TO YOU! What don’t you want to ADMIT about that? You LITERALLY take the view we (the BUCCANEERS AND ALL THE FANS) “STOLD” your “precious”. You REFUSE to see the TRUTH?
Seriously. Why are you hating on all of us for? Not rejecting Tom? You gotta stop for just a second and ask yourself why do you blame us and not the REAL CULPRITS and the people that BROKE YOUR HEARTS! I have to say it would be hard for me to not be PIECED OFF if I were in your shoes as well BUT I WOULD AT TBE VERY LEAST DIRECT MY ANGER TO WHOM ACTUALLY HAVE IT COMING! It’s not the Bucs org and fans. No it’s not.
Why don’t you go where your Gut and Heart are SCREAMING that you should go? Why aren’t you blaming ROBERT CRAFT and BILL BELICHEAT and the entire PATRIOTS organization? In fact they didn’t lose Tom. They didn’t have him stolen. NO! No they threw him away! THEY INSULTED THE HELL OUT OF HIM ON TOP OF ALL THE REST. THEY. THEY (the PATRIOTS organization) THREW him AWAY! Not us. Stop Hating us (the Buccaneers Org and especially fans) because we embraced him and all of us have treated him good and we appreciate him. We KNOW that if it weren’t for him that we might not have had half of what we have these last few years. We’re treating him as well as humanly possibly. So please stop blaming us and taking low life cheap shots at us for our MUTUAL respect and admiration of Tom. We ALL understand that you lost your “precious” but we DIDN’T do that to you. The PATRIOTS “threw him away”. THEY did that to you and this all relates to Bruce Arians in a Very direct way so that’s why the book I wrote. I’ll work on cutting it in half.
GO BUCS!
August 7th, 2022 at 12:35 pm
Who cares when he decided to retire? Is it really that important? No.
August 7th, 2022 at 12:47 pm
1987 – ROTFLMAO!
Every site needs a Patriots exiled bloviating knowitall who claims to have inside info and allegedly played in the NFL for 72 seconds.
August 7th, 2022 at 1:15 pm
Laughing at all the people who want to take the word of Ben Volin or some other media type over the word of Mrs. Arians.
Who is closer to the situation?
1. Ben Volin’s 3rd hand account.
(and it is 3rd hand — the article says that an ex offensive lineman of Brady’s they think might have talked to a A.J. Shipley — not Brady himself).
Or 2.
Mrs. Arians.
Truley a lot of trolls on this site or people that have never understood the difference between click bait media and actually supported journalistic sourcing.
August 7th, 2022 at 1:19 pm
GF, yes I’m tight with Brady. We have dinner at least once a week. He tells me these things. Your powers of deduction are either non existent, or your just another fan boy with zero ability to be objective. I’m sure you’re one of the folks that denied the Miami story. Ben Volin was absolutely correct in his reporting. It’s safe to say his sourcing about Brady and BA was solid also.
Believe what you like, but nobody can answer my question. If Brady loved and respected BA, why didn’t he ask him to return? It’s never been reported. You can bet if that were the case, Arians would’ve shouted it from the rooftops.
August 7th, 2022 at 1:29 pm
geno, no I don’t believe Mrs. BA. It wouldn’t be the first time a wife covered for her husband. I’d much rather believe an objective beat writer, who doesn’t have a dog in the fight. I understand how much you all love Arians, and it clouds your judgement. Remove yourself from the diehard bucs fan, and look at the situation objectively. The coaching change wouldn’t have happened without Brady’s approval. Do you actually believe BA would be retired, had Brady asked him to come back? Seems to me BA is basically doing the same thing he did last year, sitting around in a golf cart.
August 7th, 2022 at 3:17 pm
Well said Obvious if it wasn’t so Obvious Bucs were losing under Arians until Brady arrived. It’s now clear Brady wanted to be coached by Payton a real master of the game and was through with the clown posey. BA’s wife believes whatever he tells her. BA is a BSer.
August 7th, 2022 at 3:47 pm
GOB,
I have no problem with you having a grain of salt when it comes to Mrs. Arians.
But to not have a lot more grains of salt when it comes to Ben Volin is absurd.
According to his own article, his information is not direct, it is 3rd hand and no indication that there is a 2nd corresponding source before writing his article.
The Boston Globe had great sports writers in the day that actually found multiple sources before printing their articles. Guys like Will McDonough, Peter Gammons, or Bob Ryan had multiple sources and would not report hearsay like that ever. Believe me, Ben Volin, does not have integrity of those guys.
Your hate for Arians even comes out in your analysis of Volin’s supposed credibility in your 1st post here.
I will continue to counter your biased hate of Arians with no basis except for your self-proclaimed insider New England knowledge base.
August 7th, 2022 at 4:26 pm
The Rich Ohrnberger tweet that Ben Volin relied on was strongly discredited.
Especially when Ohrnberger tried to back that up with other inside the relationship information between Brady, Leftwich and Arians that proved false.
Ohrnberger was shown to have been a sham. By the way, Ohrnberger in the past has called himself a satirist and the class clown including impersonating people before.
Ben Volin had called Brady a backstabber long before the Bruce Arians retirement and has continued that narrative going forward. It’s actually funny because Volin actually has expressed his like for Arians coaching ability (opposite those thoughts of GOB).
One last thing on Ben Volin’s veracity. On Deflategate, he said that it was a shame investigation and that it would ultimately end up getting Roger Godell fired. Another of his spot-on assessments.
August 7th, 2022 at 4:57 pm
WOW Geno, I feel “tingly all over”…LOLOLOLOL
August 7th, 2022 at 5:39 pm
geno I don’t hate Arians. I just think many of you give him far too much credit. Again, none of you BA sycophants can answer my question. Why didn’t Brady ask him to stay on one more year? According to many here, he picked Tampa in part, because of the coach. I personally think that’s laughable, but whatever. Do you honestly believe they kept Arians on to be some kind of special assistant to Licht? He has zero front office experience.
I will agree geno, that reporting isn’t what it was. But, Volin was proven absolutely right on the Miami stuff. To dismiss all reports you disagree with, as fake news is a little tendentious. When a reporter gets something right, why not simply give him or her credit? This Brady tampering stuff has been going on for three years now.
August 7th, 2022 at 5:46 pm
Ash Says:
August 6th, 2022 at 9:17 pm
People see what they want to see truth doesn’t really matter anymore.
_________________________________
Indeed.
Welcome to The World: 2022 Edition.
(Sometimes also known as The Idiocracy)
August 7th, 2022 at 5:46 pm
I am sure from coaches’ comments that none of them asked Brady nor Gronk to “unretire”. Most know that they have to decide this for themselves. Brady “tweaked” Gronk after he had been out for a year, but it was for an entirely new team and city. I doubt anyone asked BA to unretire after his plans were so certainly explained. He actually didn’t even want to coach one more year but when Brady retired, he felt he had to. I wouldn’t be surprised if when BA came to the Bucs that he told Licht and the Glazers he would only do it for a couple of years. AND, if you had a torn ACL and had to coach I am sure you would be riding around in a golf cart, too. Especially if you were going on 70 years old. The All or Nothing series has a great look at what he did for his team when he took over for an ill HC. Some of you people must have awfully large rectums when you have your head stuck up there and still can spout such nonsense.
August 7th, 2022 at 6:32 pm
Eric the ALt right Viking – keep your stupid politics off the board
Joe please permaban any political garbage.
It’s old
August 7th, 2022 at 6:44 pm
Crickett, sorry. It doesn’t make sense. He felt he had to coach once Brady retired? Doesn’t that mean he didn’t think Bowles, or BL for that matter were ready? Mind you, both coordinators interviewed for at least one other team. Coaching a Brady lead team is infinitely easier. So, if BA was only going to coach one more year anyway, why not jump at the chance to coach Brady again. Had Brady been traded, or stayed retired, BA would’ve essentially been presiding over a rebuild. That doesn’t sound like something a 70 year old coach would be enticed by. Yet, BA told the media how exciting he was to be calling plays again, and would coach until he couldn’t. I’m sure it’s possible his health played a factor, but it just makes no sense, to me anyway. Maybe the cynic in me is taking over.
August 7th, 2022 at 7:11 pm
GOB, your points have been addressed already, ad nauseum, by many posters and pundits. NO, he did not want to leave Bowles with a Gabbert QB and a probable loss of many good players. He DID want to retire but didn’t think the time was right (for Bowles). When Tom came back his wife said he was overjoyed that he felt he could retire now. He didn’t give a damn about coaching another year with Brady. He told the media what they needed to hear until all the (3 week) hoops had been jumped through. I do not understand (with your football acumen) how in the world you do not see this.
August 7th, 2022 at 7:32 pm
He retired half way through the 2020 season. His lax work ethic and need to put his mouth in motion before his brain in gear sabotaged the 2021 season. That’s the facts and Brady had enough.
August 7th, 2022 at 9:24 pm
GOB, I will give credit to Volin for his writing on the Miami Dolphin connection.
But when you look into the weeds, there was nothing in that Miami Dolphin connection to suggest that Brady did not like BA. Further, that does not get around the fact that Volin’s source for the Brady Arians riff was from a BS artist that has been proven to pushed tons of fake news.
My comment, why do you continue to push Volin’s narrative concerning BA?
How about this narrative:
Adam Schein: “Listen, I am curious your mentality after Tom [Brady] retired. Because, there were a lot of people who didn’t believe it. You obviously, you kind of have to tread lightly. You know there is a chance, as you said, to leave the light on. What was the mentality for you after the original retirement and when did you realize, “OK, we are going to get the GOAT back?””
Jason Licht: “Well, after the original talk we had with him, that I had with him — I know he called Bruce. Everybody has a moment when they think it might be time. Bruce and I, we just decided to give him some space and let him think this through a little bit. We had several phone calls with him. Sometimes talking football; sometimes not. Bruce was heavily involved in that. When he decided he was going to come back [laughs], I have gone on record as saying it was a sense of relief.”
So let me ask you GOB, if Brady was so done with Arians why was he constantly on the phone with him during his retirement days. I am retired. Liked a lot of people at my last job. You know the guys that I never called after my retirement. The guys that I didn’t like or respect.
August 7th, 2022 at 10:08 pm
geno, I’d love to hear your sources that tell you Brady was constantly on the phone with BA, during his retirement days. Or, is that part of the fake narrative the org. Is pushing.
On Volin: he wasn’t the only one who had sourcing about a rift with BA. You know that. People had it, and didn’t run with it, because it was unconfirmed at the time. I’m sure you still believe the glaziers weren’t in Europe, and that Brady just brought his kid to see a soccer game.
WTF do I know, ok sure BA and Brady are kindred spirits. Brady begged him to come back and he said, no I’m good. I’m sure Brady loved being coached from a golf cart. I’m sure BA has such a lack of faith in Todd Bowles, that he let him interview for a junkyard franchise, instead of giving him the keys. I guess geno, that we’ll have to agree to disagree. No hard feelings.
August 8th, 2022 at 8:53 am
@GOB
I am ok with an agree to disagree stance.
It was just when you started off the whole comment section that Ben Volin had it correct, I just wanted to show you how weak that source was compared with the source that I gave you, Jason Licht.
Re Your question on August 7th, 2022 at 10:08 pm
geno, I’d love to hear your sources that tell you Brady was constantly on the phone with BA…
I just game you my source.
Jason Licht was the source and is a stronger source than the Ohrnberger IMO.
Ohrnberger’s story that Arians would come in with a “red pen” on the playbook that BL and TB had worked on at the back half of the week is just hogwash. Arians style was to always give his QB the right to take out any play from the proposed playsheet that he did not like. That included Winston, Palmer, Rothleisberger, Manning, and Luck.
How about all the Bucs media sources that include Rick Stroud and Greg Aumann that have access to the Bucs coaching staff and players all the time. They do not buy into the “red pen” or “sitting on a golf cart” theory of being a problem.
And your hate for BA continues to show from your:
he wouldn’t play for a buffoon like Arians
I’m sure Brady loved being coached from a golf cart
Your first take ever on this site was about this subject and I get that you do not want to be wrong on your 1st ever post.
GOB Says:
April 16th, 2022 at 12:28 pm
K2, what did you think Brady would say? The guy already told you 90 % of his public comments are lies. I think he honestly likes BA the person, but not the coach. If the events and convenient timing can’t convince you, nothing will. If Brady directly came out and told you the truth, some of you still wouldn’t believe he pushed Arians out. It’s all right there in front of your eyes.
August 8th, 2022 at 10:51 am
@GOB
I am ok with an agree to disagree stance.
It was just when you started off the whole comment section that Ben Volin had it correct, I just wanted to show you how weak that source was compared with the source that I gave you, Jason Licht.
August 8th, 2022 at 10:52 am
Re Your question on August 7th, 2022 at 10:08 pm
geno, I’d love to hear your sources that tell you Brady was constantly on the phone with BA…
I just game you my source.
Jason Licht was the source and is a stronger source than the Ohrnberger IMO.
August 8th, 2022 at 3:45 pm
Sparky^^^ lmfao!!! haha