Bucs’ Bruce Arians Blasts Tom Brady Rumors

Getty Bruce Arians broke silence over recent rumors about he and Tom Brady having a strained relationship.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians recently sounded off on rumors about retired quarterback Tom Brady, particularly the one about their strained relationship.

Former NFL player Rich Ohrnberger, who played with Brady in New England from 2009 to 2011, claimed in a series of tweets that there were increasing tensions between Arians and Brady in 2021 and that “the relationship was souring”. Ohrnberger claimed Arians changed Brady and Leftwich’s game plan ideas and added that Brady and Leftwich had “major disagreements”, too.

Arians couldn’t leave the rumor alone, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. Arians took time out to interview during a weekend in Birmingham, Alabama, where he had a birthday party for a grandchild, Stroud noted.

“I mean, that’s such [expletive]‚'” Arians told Stroud. “That’s what pisses me off. I guess probably Byron could corroborate this, too.”

GettyTom Brady and Bruce Arians converse during a Buccaneers playoff game last season.

Arians addressed Ohrnberger’s rumors specifically. Ohrnberger claimed Arians’ was less involved in the offense because of rehabbing an Achilles injury and he just metaphorically took a red pen to Leftwich and Brady’s game plans.

“First of all, I don’t rehab my Achilles in the morning,” Arians told Stroud. “I will go over the game plans and add things, but I don’t delete anything. I don’t have to because they do such a good job.”

“I’ll see some things. Add some things. It’s an awesome collaboration, one of the best I’ve ever been around,” Arians added, who also told Stroud he doesn’t use red pen to make changes. “I never heard of that one … that was the best one ever. That’s pretty graphic to not know what the [expletive] you’re talking about.”

Arians also shot down Ohrnberger’s rumor about changing the game plan in the Divisional Round loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Stroud reported. The Bucs fell 30-27 after staging an epic comeback but gave up a last-second field goal after two long completions between Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp.

“This one pissed me off too bad,” Arians told Stroud.

Ohrnberger Doesn’t Quit, Arians & Brady Expressed Good Terms

Ohrnberger tweeted more in response to Arians breaking silence on the rumors. The former NFL player and current California sports radio host claimed his information came from “multiple impregnable sources”. He didn’t name any sources, but he notably played college football at Penn State with Bucs assistant coach A.Q. Shipley according to JoeBucsFan.com.

With that said, Ohrnberger jumped the gun on rumors about Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes not allowing his fiance and brother to attend games. Mahomes called him out, Ohrnberger deleted the tweet and claimed he got the rumor from a trusted source according to Chron.com’s Matt Young. Pro Football Talks’ Mike Florio noted that “Ohrnberger isn’t a reporter” but believes Ohrnberger’s claims about Arians and Brady could be true.

Either way, Arians and Brady notably showed nothing but mutual respect and appreciation upon the quarterback’s Feb. 1 retirement announcement. Arians called it “an honor to be his head coach” in a statement, and Brady said about Arians that “there is no way we could have had success without your experience, intuition, and wisdom” in his retirement announcement.

Arians on Potential Brady Return: ‘That Would Shock Me’

While Arians didn’t take offense over rumors of Brady’s potential return elsewhere, the Bucs head coach doesn’t see it happening.

“That would shock me,” Arians told Stroud. “And he let us know in time to do the free agency like we’ve done in the past, that’s why I don’t see it happening.”

“It seems like there’s one [story] every day now,” Arians added. “Everybody is speculating he’s going somewhere else. That don’t bother me. This other [expletive], the relationship thing, that’s so far-fetched.”