Jeremy Fowler explains why the Buccaneers should keep going. (1:01) In one of the most shocking moves of the off-season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced Wednesday that coach Bruce Arians is transitioning from a head-coaching role into a front-office one. The timing of the move is odd. Did Tom Brady push the other way? After Brady announced he was retiring, he said he was returning, even though he had already committed to returning in 2022. He attended the NFL combine earlier this month and was present at the NFL owners meetings this week before leaving one day early and not speaking to the media because of personal reasons. According to a source, Brady was recruiting players to join the team because he knew that Arians wouldn't be the coach. According to a source, the decision was made Monday after getting clarity on a hiring rule at the owners meetings. Brady was aware of this before Bowles. The free-agent signings of the Bucs.
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At 69, most of the people who were close to him believed that he would continue coaching for a few more years. The staff was shocked when they were told of the news before it was made public. Brady and Leftwich will have more control of the offense with the promotion of Bowles.
Had he not been hired elsewhere, he would have been considered the successor. He interviewed for the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears head-coaching vacancies but was passed up. The kind of place where Bowles could thrive has always been in the area of Tampa Bay.
When he was the coach of the New York Jets, he needed to dazzle at the podium in order to get favor with fans and the media. He can keep his usual evasiveness, sprinkling in a touch of dry self-deprecating humor, something most people don't get to see unless they are speaking to him one-on-one or in an informal setting.
Even though they were caught off guard by the move, players love him. No better person than White. When news broke, my guy was there.
The team's identity is very similar to that of the defense, which is why Bowles is in a position to focus almost solely on defense.
The league has struggled to find answers to its diversity hiring struggles and has just adopted a new rule that all teams must add a minority offensive coach in the next four years.
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While he is not on the offensive side of the ball, his presence is definitely noticeable. He becomes the sixth minority head coach in the NFL and the third this year. The four Black head coaches in the history of the team are more than any other team.
Some of the questions will not be answered for a while. Brady is not under contract after the 2022 season, so if things go well, could this keep Brady in Tampa longer? Will he be responsible for bringing along a new quarterback and taking on the growing pains that come with it?
It is fair to ask how Bowles will handle this expanded role given that he had just one winning season in four years with the Jets.
When I walked away, I wanted to make sure that Todd would have the best chance to succeed. It was the right time to pass the torch to Todd because of Tom's decision to come back, and the staff doing another great job of keeping the core of this team intact during free agency.
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