Bruce Arians confirmed as Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach
66-year-old QB guru comes out of retirement after one year to lead Florida franchise
Wednesday 9 January 2019 21:02, UK
Tampa Bay Buccaneers have appointed veteran Bruce Arians as head coach with the former Arizona Cardinals coach coming out of retirement to sign a four-year deal.
Arians succeeds Dirk Koetter, who was sacked shortly after the Bucs completed a 5-11 season with a 34-23 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The Florida franchise has agreed a four-year contract until 2022 with a fifth-year option in 2023 to bring the two-time Coach of the Year to Raymond James Stadium.
"Bruce Arians is one of the NFL's most well-respected coaches over the past two decades and we are excited to have him leading our team," Buccaneers owner Bryan Glazer said in a press release.
"Throughout this process, we focused on finding the right coach with a proven ability to elevate our players and lead our team forward.
"Bruce has played a large role in the development and career success of some of our league's best players and we look forward to seeing him continue that work here with our franchise."
Arians, who worked last season as a broadcaster, has worked with a string of outstanding quarterbacks, including Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Andrew Luck and he'll be tasked with continuing the development of Jameis Winston, who like Manning and Luck was a first-round NFL draft selection.
The 66-year-old Arians will not call offensive plays for the team, instead handing that responsibility to offensive coordinator/pass-game coordinator Byron Leftwich.
"Obviously I'll have a big hand in it," Arians said Wednesday on the Rich Eisen Show.
He added he feels "very, very comfortable" with Leftwich calling plays.
Tampa Bay have finished last in the NFC South division in seven of the past eight seasons and released Koetter after a three-year run that extended their play-off drought which now stretches back to 2007.
However, he has been quick to find employment, returning to Atlanta as their offensive coordinator in the latest round of hirings in the NFL.
Eight teams began the week looking for new head coaches and that number is diminishing after Matt LaFleur agreed a four-year deal to succeed Mike McCarthy at Green Bay and Kliff Kingsbury filled the position once held by Arians as head coach of the Cardinals, who sacked Steve Wilks after one season.
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