Getty The Bucs continue to make roster moves.
Not everyone is buying the idea that Tom Brady has a perfect marriage with Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians. Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd suggested heading into the Bucs’ bye week that he believes there is a “strong possibility” this will be Arians’ last season with the Buccaneers.
“That’s why I think there is a strong possibility that Bruce Arians is not around next year and he retires with a big check,” Cowherd said, per JoeBucsFan.com. “I don’t think Arians and Brady — they are so different football-wise. They are so different personality-wise. They are so different lifestyle-wise. They are both winners. But I don’t think that is the fit. I never did.”
Cowherd is clearly speculating on the Buccaneers’ future based on his perception that Arians is not a good fit for Brady. Both parties have repeatedly dismissed this notion but that has not stopped the rumors from circulating.
Here is a look at Cowherd discussing Arians’ future.
Cowherd predicts Arians gets paid to leave the Buccaneers after this year. Says there is a power struggle.
Josh McDaniels makes sense as a HC for Brady and Tampa Bay if that were to happen.
Brady & Arians Were Not Able to Golf Together During Their Bye Week But Still Met to Discuss the Team’s Outlook
We know that Arians and Brady had a golf date planned during their bye before the NFL nixed the idea as a violation of COVID-19 protocols. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported that Arians and Brady still met to assess the state of the franchise as the Bucs enter the stretch run of the season.
“So yeah, golf was crossed off the calendar,” Breer explained. “But the concept wasn’t. Brady and Arians planned to spend the time on the links talking through ideas and plans, and that still happened. And the conclusion the two came to was that the details were really the thing that needed to be addressed.”
While Arians disagreed with the league’s decision, the coach and quarterback complied with the NFL’s request. Arians explained why he enjoys taking his quarterbacks to the golf course.
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve always done,” Arians explained in his Week 15 press conference. “The quarterbacks that play golf, I always love to play with them, especially in the open date, [it’s] just relaxing. It’s one thing to sit around an office and ask questions. It’s another thing to go out and enjoy yourselves. Have that time together where you can still get some things done that are very, very important, and it doesn’t have to be in a situation where it’s a classroom.”
Arians’ Contract With the Bucs Runs Through 2023
According to Spotrac, Arians signed a four-year deal with the Bucs in 2019 which runs through 2022. The Buccaneers also have a team option for the 2023 season which would take Arians to coaching at the age of 70.
This does not necessarily mean Arians will coach for the life of his deal, but it shows he has given the team a long-term commitment. After Brady signed with Tampa, Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht acknowledged that Arians’ career will come to a close sooner rather than later.
“I don’t have a lot of concerns on that right now,” Licht told ESPN in May. “We have a head coach [Bruce Arians] that, to be quite frank, isn’t gonna be here for the next 15, 20 years coaching the Buccaneers. So I think it was actually a perfect marriage: You’ve got two guys that have got something to prove; they want to win, they want to win now; they’ve got the same mindset.”
Brady signed a two-year deal with the Bucs last offseason meaning he is under contract for 2021. All signs point to the duo running it back next season, but there is sure to be more speculation if the team has an early postseason exit.
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