Bruce Arians retires, being replaced by Todd Bowles as head coach

There is some very interesting stuff going on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Bucs announced on Wednesday that Bruce Arians was retiring as a head coach and moving into a front office role with the team. Todd Bowles, who has been Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator, will replace Arians as the head coach.

Arians will discuss the news at a press conference on Thursday.

Arians already talked with NBC’s Peter King and the LA Times’ Sam Farmer about the decision. He said that Tom Brady’s announcement that he would be returning led him to make the decision to step away.

“Tom was kind of the key. When Tom decided to come back … and all of these guys back now, it’s the perfect timing for me just to go into the front office and still have the relationships that I love,” Arians told NBC Sports’ Peter King and the LA Times’ Sam Farmer.

Arians said that he always wanted Bowles, a minority head coach, to succeed him. He said the timing of his decision allows Bowles to coach the team while Brady is the quarterback. That would give Bowles a great chance of succeeding.

There are possible takeways here. One, either Arians is the most selfless coach ever and giving Bowles the chance to show what he can do with a quarterback like Brady. Or, there’s theory two: Brady really did clash with Arians, and one of the conditions of his return was not having Arians back as head coach. Arians has repeatedly slammed the rumors, but it’s hard not to think something might be going on.

Arians, 69, retired after the 2017 season, only for the Bucs to bring him back in 2019. So he has done this before, which could lend credibility to the idea that he really wanted to step away.

Photo: Sep 19, 2021; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians prior to the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports