During the fourth quarter of Sunday afternoon’s game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints, a massive fight broke out involving a number of star players from both teams including Tom Brady, Mike Evans, Leonard Fournette, and Marshon Lattimore.
Oddly, former Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians – who was on the sideline, despite not holding an official coaching position with the team – also seemed to be involved in the altercation, instigating from the sideline. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the NFL is investigating his presence on the sideline.
“Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the league office currently is working on addressing all things related to the incident, including sidelines. That specifically includes Arians,” Florio wrote on Monday morning.
Arians, who was the head coach of the team before retiring after last season, now serves in an executive role with the Bucs. His official title is “senior adviser to the General Manager.” While it’s not clear what the role entails, it does not sound like an official coaching position that would require him to be on the sideline, much less conversing with officials or players during the game.
It remains to be seen whether Arians will face any discipline or be allowed to remain on the sideline in the future.
