Bruce Arians Dec 12, 2021; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians against the Buffalo Bills during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians shocked the NFL world on Wednesday when he announced that he would be retiring from coaching and instead move to a front-office role in the organization.

The Buccaneers did not waste any time in naming defensive coordinator Todd Bowles as the new head coach of the team.

Arians spoke with the media on Thursday to discuss why now was the right time to retire. He said that it had to do with his friend and defensive coordinator Bowles getting the job.

“A number of people have already asked, why are you stepping away from a chance to go to the Hall of Fame and win another Super Bowl,” Arians said. “Because I don’t give a s***about the Hall of Fame.

“Succession is way more important to me. This has been my dream for a long time. Guys that know me, they knew I wanted one of my guys to take over. And that’s more important to me than anything, and have a place that I could go and be welcomed back. And I get to stay and have the relationships that I love, and I couldn’t turn it over to a better person. Todd’s going to do a great job.”

Arians’ sudden retirement will give Bowles his first chance as a head coach since his tenure with the New York Jets. While his time with the Jets wasn’t great, ending with a 24-40 record in four seasons, he has since done a masterful job transforming the Buccaneers’ defense into one of the best in the league. Bowles has been brought up for several head coaching vacancies over the years, but he ultimately stayed put in Tampa.

This will be the first time in his head coaching career that he has a quarterback as competent as Tom Brady, so things will almost certainly be far better than his last head coaching experience. Brady has already shown that he can play well with a defensive-minded head coach with Bill Belichick in New England, so all signs point to it being a very good season for the Buccaneers under Bowles in 2022.

[NFL.com]

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.