The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a new head coach on board in Bruce Arians. He’s a proven winner as a head coach and even has Super Bowl winning experience as a coordinator. There is plenty of upside with the 66-year-old ball coach, but he seems to have a major draw back… Arians is brutally honest.
If there is one thing Arians never had much of an affinity for it has been the political red tape side of the NFL. His circles have even speculated that it may have been a major reason why it took as long as it did for him to land his first head coaching gig in Arizona.
Arians doesn’t mince words. Which can be a great thing on the field when trying to coach up players. It’s a different story though when it comes to off-season front office moves. Which can be a very complex chess match at that.
Simply put, with the sample size given thus far it seems that Arians gives away too much information. Now from a media perspective, reporters have a field day when coaches constantly give them golden nuggets. With that said it sometimes can be to the detriment of the team.
Too Honest On McCoy
Take the Gerald McCoy situation for instance. Recently both Arians and even GM Jason Licht have made comments that diminish the value of the former All-Pro DT. When a team effectively says he isn’t as good as he used to be, they lose all the leverage in any negotiations with teams.
It’s puzzling why Arians and the Bucs have taken the route they have with McCoy. If in fact they really do want to move on from McCoy, they would have been better served if they played it out exactly how they did with DeSean Jackson before he was traded. Publicly reiterate his importance to the team and stand firm that you aren’t looking to shop him.
The reality though is that they’ve done the exact opposite, and have more than likely lost any potential trade partners. The Bucs will likely be forced to choose between two options. Eat his $13 million salary this season or simply release him to save the team money.
With the draft here in just a few short weeks, Tampa Bay will find out the impending future of Gerald McCoy.
