The search for the position of head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is in full swing. One possible candidate to take the job is Bruce Arians, who has said he would be interested according to Ian Rapoport (see HERE).
The thought of him being the new sheriff in town should get Bucs fans excited. Not only has Arians worked with Jason Licht before during their days with the Arizona Cardinals, but Arians also has a history of developing young, talented quarterbacks, hence his nickname “the quarterback whisperer.” He worked with Peyton Manning in his first three years in the NFL as the quarterbacks coach of the Indianapolis Colts.
Later on, he worked as a wide receivers coach and then as the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2004 until 2011, won two Super Bowls there and helped Ben Roethlisberger turn into the super star that he now is.
In 2012 he took the job as offensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts and worked with Andrew Luck in his rookie year. Arians was given the job as the interim head coach from week 5 through week 16. After that the head coach returned from his recovery from a disease. The Colts won nine of those twelve games under Arians, who was awarded the NFL Coach of the Year.
In 2013, after 20 years of experience as an assistant coach in the NFL, he took the job of head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, where Jason Licht was the vice president of player personnel at the time, and turned a losing franchise into a playoff contender. He took the Cardinals to the NFC championship game in 2015. His record as a head coach is 49 – 30, which is a winning percentage of almost 62 percent. Looking at the Bucs record from the last 10 years, that does not sound bad at all.
In addition to the great success Arians has had with every franchise he’s worked for, the Buccaneers obviously are planning to stick with Jameis Winston, or at least are willing to give him another prove-it year. Consequently, the main goal of the franchise should be finding a coach that can develop the young quarterback out of Florida State. At the moment, considering the available options, there does not seem to be a better fit for the job than Bruce Arians.
Please make it happen, Licht!
