Some coaching news could shake up a future New York Jets coaching search.
Retired Super Bowl winning head coach Bruce Arians told NFL Insider Jordan Schultz that he wants to unretire and get back to what he loves most.
“Now that I’m all healthy again, I got the itch [to coach] again. So we will see,” Bruce Arians told Schultz on his podcast.
Arians last coached in the NFL in 2021 as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he abruptly retired after the season. He revealed to Schultz that he was battling health problems, including a torn Achilles, a back injury, and an aneurysm on his heart.
Arians said, after having “open heart surgery, I’ve got so much more energy. It’s amazing” … the fire has been relit to get back into coaching.
An Interesting Candidate
Arians, 74, will turn 75 during the 2027 season. He hasn’t coached in five years. However, Arians has served in a senior football consultant role for the Bucs for the last four years.
The Jets don’t currently have any openings, but there are expected to be major changes this offseason. Glenn has a “scorching hot seat” and is among the coaches “most likely to be fired, and perhaps before the 2026 regular season ends,” Mark Giannotto of USA Today wrote.
Arians would check two boxes that Glenn couldn’t when he was hired: an offensive-minded guy and an experienced head coach.
Arians has been a head coach for eight total seasons between his time with the Arizona Cardinals and the Bucs. During that stretch, Arians owns an 80-48-1 regular season record and a 6-3 record in the playoffs.
He has won a world championship, has been named Coach of the Year twice, and has a long track record of success.
It would be a risky hire. Arians has had complicated medical issues in his past; they seem to have been cleared up now, but they could come back at any point. He hasn’t coached in the league in five years. Not to be an ageist, but Arians is closer to the end of his journey than the beginning. This hire would not be a long-term fix.
Perhaps a Return in a Different Role Is Suitable
It has been mostly assumed, given Arians’ interest in a return, that it would be as a head coach. His final eight years coaching in the NFL all came at the head coach level. However, there could be a path to returning as a coordinator.
Arians has 13 years of experience as an offensive coordinator at both the college and NFL level. That wouldn’t be nearly as stressful or demanding as the head coach role and would allow him to return to the game he loves.
Since we’re floating around in speculation land, what about a potential reunion between Arians and Mike Tomlin?
Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein revealed what Tomlin had to say on an NBC conference call when asked about the possibility of entertaining a return to coaching in 2027:
“Haven’t given one iota of thought about coaching. I’m sure some of that’s going to come up in the not-too-distant future, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there,” Tomlin said.
So are you saying there’s a chance? He sure didn’t shut the door on the possibility.
If Tomlin returned as the HC of the NYJ, he would need to rebuild a staff. When he first became head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2007, his first OC was Arians. It would be poetic if they reunited in 2027 in New York.
Super Bowl Winning HC Coming Out of Retirement, Jets Plot Twist