Even during his brief retirement this past season, Bruce Arians remained one of the NFL’s most charismatic personalities.
His presence was still felt each Sunday, albeit from a broadcast booth instead of the sideline, as a member of a three-man broadcast team for CBS Sports alongside Greg Gumbel and Trent Green.
But a year away from the daily rigors of being an NFL coach was enough for Arians, who signaled his return to coaching this week by signing a four-year contract to become the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The appointment creates an opportunity for Arians to change the perception around both himself as an NFL head coach lacking postseason success, despite a strong regular season track record, as well as change the fortunes of a Buccaneers franchise that has sputtered in mediocrity for the last decade.
Arians’ time with the Arizona Cardinals from 2013-2017 featured a combined 49-30-1 regular season record but a 1-2 mark in playoff games.
His best two teams both failed to reach the Super Bowl, as his 11-5 squad in 2014 was hampered by injuries and was forced to start quarterback Ryan Lindley in a playoff loss at Carolina, while in 2015 his 13-3 team mustered less than 300 total offensive yards in an NFC title game loss, also at Carolina.
This is to say Arians has unfinished business left in the NFL. Arizona’s offense proved successful when starting quarterback Carson Palmer remained healthy during the duo’s tenure in the desert.
Arians’ history with quarterbacks is well documented, from his time with Indianapolis Colts' Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck, as well as five years spent overseeing Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers offense. His move to Tampa coincides with a crucial moment in the career of 25-year-old Jameis Winston.
It may seem like the Florida State product has been in the NFL forever, with four seasons already under his belt. But while the passing numbers have at times been gaudy — as indicated by Winston being the youngest player in league history to both pass for 4,000 yards and throw 40 touchdowns — none of those four seasons have ended with playoff appearances for Winston and Tampa Bay.
The Bucs have gone just 21-33 in games started by Winston. Unlike some of his quarterbacking peers, the coaching staff around him has remained largely intact for this period as well. Dirk Koetter served as the offensive coordinator for Winston’s rookie season in 2015 before becoming head coach. Following that, Todd Monken oversaw the Tampa offense for the next three seasons.
Winston’s on-field NFL career has seen his completion percentage increase almost 7 percent over his four pro seasons, but his touchdown-to-interception ratio remains an issue and he’s yet to have a season with single-digit turnovers.
His off-field actions resulted in a three-game suspension to start the 2018 season, on top of the controversy already surrounding him from when he rose to stardom at Florida State while rape accusations against him surfaced — the case was settled in Dec. 2016.
In more ways than one, it seemed this season represented the good and bad that comes with Winston as a franchise quarterback, something Arians now inherits.
Before and with Winston, the Bucs have been shut out of the playoffs, last winning the NFC South in 2007 and last winning 10 games in 2010.
The big unknown facing both Arians and Winston is whether they can elevate Tampa Bay back to relevancy in what many consider one of football’s deepest, yet most unpredictable, divisions.
Though Arians has just arrived, the pressure will be on right away to resurrect both Winston’s career and the fate of the Buccaneers franchise.
