Getty Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said the team might have to look behind "Door No. 2" at quarterback.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced that head coach Bruce Arians has tested positive for COVID-19, and assistant Harold Goodwin will temporarily take over as acting head coach. The news puts Arians’ status for the team’s Week 17 matchup against the New York Jets in doubt.
“I tested positive for COVID-19 this morning but have only experienced mild symptoms to this point,” Arians said in a statement released by the Bucs. “Harold Goodwin will take over my duties during my absence. I have complete confidence in him and the rest of our coaching staff to prepare the team for this week’s game against the Jets. I look forward to rejoining the team and being back in the facility as soon as I can test back in.”
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Goodwin on Arians: ‘He Doesn’t Micromanage Anything We Do’
The Buccaneers have already clinched the NFC South title but are still fighting to be one of the top seeds in the NFC. Goodwin is typically the assistant head coach and run game coordinator during a normal week. Prior to Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs, Goodwin explained why the current coaching staff has been able to have success under Arians.
“I just think it’s a situation when we all walked in the door we got the call from B.A. [Arians] as soon as we showed up in the building, everybody knew what to do,” Goodwin told reporters on February 1, 2021. “He didn’t have to set the expectation. The expectation had been set years ago. So, it was a nice, relaxed atmosphere for us. For us just to simply do our job. He doesn’t micromanage anything we do, so he lets us go. We know what he wants us to get done and we’ve been able to get that done for the last two years here.”
The NFL Is Expected to Shorten the Required Quarantine Time: Report
NFL and NFLPA are getting close to adopting the new CDC guidelines that would reduce the quarantine time to five days from 10 days for all players, including those who are unvaccinated. Agreement could be done today, per sources.
One thing to watch is the NFL’s revised rules for those who test positive for the virus. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the league is close to shortening the required quarantine time based on the new CDC guidelines.
“NFL and NFLPA are getting close to adopting the new CDC guidelines that would reduce the quarantine time to five days from 10 days for all players, including those who are unvaccinated,” Schefter tweeted on December 28. “Agreement could be done today, per sources.”
It will be worth watching to see if Arians has any chance to coach against the Jets. At the very least, the news increases Arians’ odds of being on the sideline during the Bucs’ regular-season finale against the Panthers as long as the coach is able to make a full recovery.
The Bucs Do Not Plan to Rest Their Starters
Tampa Bay still has a chance to secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC which would give the team a first-round bye along with home-field advantage throughout the postseason. After the Bucs clinched the division title, Arians revealed the team had no plans to rest their starters despite clinching a playoff berth.
“Yeah, now the last game, maybe, if nothing would change then we’d have to make a decision and see,” Arians noted during his December 26 postgame press conference. “But I’ve always felt like if you rest, you lose something.”