Bruce Arians retirement presser: What he said about his relationship with Tom Brady, HOF candidacy, more
Written by ABC AUDIO ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on April 1, 2022
Bruce Arians retired as an NFL head coach Wednesday night, turning over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coaching duties to longtime friend and assistant Todd Bowles. Arians had an impressive head coaching career in the NFL that lasted eight seasons, which included five 10-win seasons and a Super Bowl title with Tampa Bay.
The winningest head coach in Buccaneers history, Arians had a .633 winning percentage (31-18) in his three seasons with the team — including an .833 win percentage in the playoffs (5-1). He finished with an 80-48-1 record (.624 win percentage) in his career with the Arizona Cardinals and Buccaneers. Including his 9-3 record as interim head coach of the Indianapolis Colts in 2012, Arians’ .635 winning percentage (89-51-1) ranks eighth among coaches who have coached at least 100 games in the Super Bowl era.
As Arians said farewell to head coaching in the NFL, there were plenty of notable quotes in his retirement presser. Here were a few highlights:
On relationship with Tom Brady
“We have a great relationship. All the players, every one of them has gotten cussed out, including him. That’s just part of me. … People gotta write shit. It couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Brady also had a front row seat at the retirement presser.
On his Hall of Fame candidacy
“I don’t give a shit about the Hall of Fame. Succession is way more important to me.”
Arians is the oldest head coach to win a Super Bowl at 68 years and 127 days. Arians is also the second-oldest head coach to win a NFL championship as George Halas remains the oldest coach to win a title at 68 years and 331 days when the Chicago Bears won the NFL Championship in 1963.
Five of the seven coaches ahead of Arians in winning percentage that coached 100 games in the Super Bowl era are in the Hall of Fame (counting Arians’ record with the Colts as well) — and the other two are still active (Bill Belichick and Mike Tomlin).
On what he’ll do during game day
“I can’t be on the sideline because they’ll be throwing flags on me left and right for cussing out the officials.”
Arians will be in Buccaneers’ front office as Senior Football Consultant, advising general manager Jason Licht in his new role.
On retirement decision
“When Tom said he’d come back, now it’s easy… It’s no better time to pass the torch than now.”
Arians wanted to put Todd Bowles and his assistants in the best position to win. Tom Brady un-retiring allowed the Buccaneers to go full-steam ahead in free agency and load the roster up for another Super Bowl run. The Buccaneers have another opportunity to win a championship with Bowles leading the way.
Thanks his coaches for helping him
“I really didn’t do shit.”
Arians left a legacy on the coaches he helped rise to prominence in the league. His staff has four Black assistants (Bowles, Byron Leftwich, Keith Armstrong, and Harold Goodwin) along with two women on it — Lori Locust (assistant defensive line coach) and Maral Javadifar (assistant strength and conditioning coach).
Bowles is the head coach of the Buccaneers now with Leftwich as the offensive coordinator. Armstrong is the special teams coordinator and Goodwin is the assistant head coach. Arians has been a trailblazer for the industry.
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