First take: Bruce Arians is ready to Win!
3 min read
Jan 10, 2019; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians talks with media as he is introduced as the new head coach at AdventHealth Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
After the week 17 loss against the Atlanta Falcons and the firing of now, Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter as head coach, the coaching prospect looked grim. The Buccaneers faced a coaching vacancy with one of the least appealing positions on the market. Peter King of NBC Sports per the Tampa Bay Times said the next head coach of the Buccaneers would be, “Someone who wanted to a coach for so long they’ll take a job anywhere.” In the same article, he hinted that the agents of the coaches, he spoke to weren’t excited about the position at all.
More on that HERE
Bruce Arians, however, was very eager to take on the challenge. Speaking at his introductory press conference, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arians praised the organization’s ownership, general manager, the core team of players, and his choice in coaching staff saying, “All the stars aligned.” Make no mistake, he’s excited to be a Buccaneer. He then went on to talk about some of his plans for the spring in OTAs, running two practices; “We’ll have a staff that can take all our young players and get those 40-45 reps that the veterans are getting.” He then went on to say, “You can’t find a diamond in the rough if he’s sitting on the sideline watching.”
Speaking briefly on the team of players the Buccaneers have he said, “I think we have the core here to win quickly. I’m not about building I’m about reloading.” His confidence in the team stayed high throughout his press conference. During the Q&A part, he told Ira Kaufman of JoeBucsFan.com when asked about parallels between the 2013 Cardinals and this year’s Buccaneers that “This one is much easier, I believe.”
Bruce Arians also wasn’t reserved in his praise of Jameis Winston, who he had a relationship with before coming to Tampa. When asked by Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times about the pressure on Winston he said, “There’s no pressure, I want him to relax and play the game.” He also put a large amount of faith in his development under his choice of Quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen and Offensive Coordinator/Pass Game Coordinator Byron Leftwich saying, “He’s going to be coached as well, I think, as he’s ever been and more prepared than he’s ever been, fundamentally and mentally.”
His eagerness to coach the team didn’t end in the press conference. The day that Bucs Life News reported that he was officially signing as the Buccaneers head coach, he was already in the works of signing two other coaches on the same day, and as of January 12, 2019, he’s officially filled all his core coaching positions with the exception of defensive backs coach and he already has his prospect that hasn’t signed yet. The next step will be to begin to watch play tape and start their evaluations to start reloading the team to get them into the best position to win.
The coaching changes that happen every few years for the Buccaneers briefly breathes new life and hope for the team and the fans. This breath, however, feels different. It feels sustainable and stable, filled with intent, and accountability. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may actually have the right coach. Make no mistake Bruce Arians is ready to be that coach.
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Press conference here:
