Bruce Arians became the oldest head coach to win a Super Bowl – but he wants more
When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers secured their 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Bruce Arians became the senior head coach for winning the Super Bowl.
At 68, and after 45 years of coaching across college and the NFL, Arians finally led his team to the Vince Lombardi Cup.
3:17 Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians says winning Super Bowl LV in front of his mother was a dream come true
Throughout the college stages, and during a time with six different NFL teams before Tampa Bay, Arians gained great respect around the league and allowed him to build one of the strongest and most diverse coaches.
How did he go from graduate assistant to head coach to Super Bowl winner? And will the Bucs bring the band back together?
1970s and 80s – from playing to coaching
Arians announces that he is leaving the Temple in 1988
Like many coaches before and after, Arians was a player in college. After a year as the starting quarterback for the Virginia Tech Hokies in 1974, he moved to coaching as a graduate assistant at the same college and the journey began.
Over the next eight years – at VT, Mississippi State (wide catchers and running back coach), and Alabama (RBs) – Arians have raised enough profile to excel as head coach at Temple University in 1983.
6:06 A selection of Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ victory over the Kansas City leaders in the LV Super Bowl
Despite a 27-39 record in his six-year tenure, that experience came back to help him in a big way as he picked up his current workforce.
Among the players Arians coached at Temple were Todd Bowles (now his defensive coordinator), Kevin Ross (cornerbacks coach) and Todd McNair (back running coach). Clearly, it was an important part of his coaching career.
Late 80s and 90s – break of the NFL
Arians coached Peyton Manning at a very young age
Arians reached the NFL ranks in 1989-1992 for the Kansas City Chiefs as their running back coach. He went back into the college game as Mississippi State’s offensive coordinator from 1993-95, but it was the late 90s that made his name on the NFL map, and he never looked back.
In 1998, Arians got the job as a quarterbacks coach for the Indianapolis Colts, working with a certain rookie from Tennessee – Peyton Manning. Arians tracked Manning’s progress from rookie 28-interception to Pro Bowler in a row in 1999 and 2000, and he’s kept in the pros ever since.
Steelers 2000s tenure – two Super Bowl rounds
Mike Tomlin was Arians head coach for the final stages of the Steelers tenure
You’ll have read Arians ‘finally’ has his ring this year, but that’s not entirely true. He finally has it yourself ring, after earning two as a supporter with the Steelers.
After moving from Manning’s Colts to his first OC career – with the Cleveland Browns between 2001 and 2003 – Arians joined Pittsburgh under Bill Cowher as a wide receiver coach, and viewed him as a player from his group – WR Hines Ward – a Super Bowl XL won MVP.
Three seasons later, now as offensive coordinator, his offense marched 78 yards down the field in the fourth quarter and Ben Roethlisberger found Santonio Holmes in the corner of the finishing zone for one of the big Super plays A bowl that never existed.
2010s – head coaching experience
Arians were successful in Arizona but did not reach the highest heights
Arians made a lateral move to the Colts as OC in 2012, but after Chuck Pagano ‘s head coach’ s leukemia diagnosis in October was quickly relegated to the top position for the first time – and he succeeded.
Despite the team finishing 2-14 the previous year, and starting 1-2 that season, the Arians – along with rookie quarterback Andrew Luck – finished 9-3 the rest of the way, before Pagano and the Colts returned beaten by the last Super Baltimore Ravens Bowling Champion.
1:56 The Buccaneers have some of the best defensive plays from their big win against the Chiefs
Arians won the AP Coach of the Year award, and was captured by the Arizona Cardinals for his first full-time coaching career – nearly 40 years after starting his career on the sidelines.
His tenure in the wilderness was a resounding success – three winning seasons, a 49-30-1 record, and another Coach of the Year award (2014) – but two playoff runs ended with the Carolina Panthers in 2014 and 2015, previously the Cards dropped to 7-8-1 and 8-8 in his last two seasons as a lead.
Retiring after 2017 season – and 2019 return
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers managed to lure Arians out of retirement in 2019
When Arians announced his retirement after the end of the 2017 season, he was emotional. “The tears you see are tears of joy, peace,” Arians said.
“I miss the players. I miss coming out of the locker room, hearing the national anthem because it still gets me.”
Even if he never returned, he would go down as a successful coach with great respect. Quarterback whiskey, straight, honest breath of fresh air.
Comebacks & cast-offs to Super Bowl champions
Recovery, resilience, rehabilitation and retirement. Come back and the big passes at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers-winning Super Bay Bowl.
But he couldn’t help himself, and we know how the next thing will go. He felt his Buccaneers could ‘win now’ when he joined in 2019, and gathered the NFL’s biggest coaching staff – including Bowles, Ross, McNair and many more.
Arians had shot Bryon Leftwich in Arizona, and called on his offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay – he has said “he might not have taken the job if Leftwich had not been available.”
His diverse staff, round roster, and of course the ability to lure Tom Brady into the team has given him one ring. Do they have a chance to get another one?
2021 – going for two
Rob Gronkowski and Tom Brady celebrate winning another Super Bowl together
Among the highlights after the game, Arians said: “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll try to get two, and then we’ll see. “
After winning Super Bowls, teams are often reduced. Assistance coaches are hired away and free agents want to make big money on the market and go away. Some teams can’t handle the target on their back.
However, the Buccaneers have plenty going for them. Along with Arians, both OC Leftwich and DC Bowles live. Special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong will also return.
Last word: Brady wins seven, Gronk is back!
Neil Reynolds has the final say on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl LV, picking out his top five takeaways …
With Tom Brady leading the way on offense, there is little question that the offensive will be competitive again. He played some of his best football down the field and fired Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes along the way.
The young defense is at the heart. High school is locked on rookie contracts, and Devin White is not going anywhere.
The big questions start on the defensive line. Shaq Barrett wants to “break the bank” with a long-term free agency deal, while Ndamukong Suh is about to hit the market.
Chris Godwin and Leonard Fournette played big parts in the offense at various times this season, and both could be away in 2021. But it probably wouldn’t matter to the Bucs.
With Drew Brees ready to retire, the New Orleans Saints (12-4 in 2020) may no longer lock the division down. The Carolina Panthers are still young, while the Atlanta Falcons are starting a life under new coach Arthur Smith.
Tom Brady’s New England Patriots were the last team to win a Super Bowl in 2004 and 2005. Would anyone be surprised if Brady, Arians and the Bucs reached the doubles in 2021?