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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have hired Bruce Arians as their new head coach, the twelfth in franchise history. The rumors were hot and heavy early on in the process and it seems as though there was never a doubt that Arians was their target. Ian Rapoport was the first on the news.
The #Bucs are signing Bruce Arians to a 4-year deal with a fifth-yaer option, source said. Among the coaches Arians hopes to finalize deals with: Harold Goodwin as Run Game Coordinator/OLine, Byron Leftwich as Pass Game Coordinator and Clyde Christianson as QB coach.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 8, 2019
Arians left the Arizona Cardinals following the 2017 season citing health issues. Those issues have since been fixed and when it was time to throw his kangol hat back in the ring, the Bucs were the team he was fixated on.
His relationship with Jason Licht played a big role as well as his relationship with Jameis Winston. It will be on Arians to help develop Winston to get him to the level many believe he can reach. After working with some incredible quarterbacks like Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Andrew Luck, Arians is the man for this job,
Arians, a two-time NFL Coach of the Year, has been around the league quite a bit. He was the quarterbacks coach for Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, then Offensive Coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, Wide Receivers coach and Offensive Coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Offensive Coordinator and interim Head Coach of the Indianapolis Colts, then of course Head Coach of the Arizona Cardinals. In all, Arians has coached in the NFL for 25 years. As a head coach, he holds a 49-30-1 record.
Many believe that former New York Jets Head Coach Todd Bowles will come on as Defensive Coordinator to reunite the band so to speak as his Arizona Cardinals teams saw some success, reaching the NFC Championship in the 2015 season.
Deal is set to be for four years with a fifth year option.