New Bucs head coach wasn’t in Tampa all week with his nose buried in film trying to get a jump start on the 2019 season. Instead he was honoring a prior commitment back in Arizona at a fundraiser for his Arians Family Foundation’s sixth annual golf tournament.

While in Arizona, Arians spent a little time with The Republic’s columnist Kent Somers and talked about his journey back to football after a one-year hiatus.

“It started actually in the first game,” Arians said. “I knew I was going to miss the players and the locker room. But during Pittsburgh and Cleveland, the first game and the production meeting, seeing the guys and it grew and grew and grew.

“By Week 8, I was at practice, the defensive back messed up. I went to correct him and said, ‘Oops, this isn’t my team.’ … It was growing each week how much I missed the locker room and the arena.”

As the season wore on Arians knew he wanted to explore a return, but once the regular season ended and his stint as a television commentator for CBS Sports was over, things started falling into place.

“The stars just kind of aligned,” Arians said. “I wasn’t sure one would open that I would want and I actually said no to a couple. And then knowing Jason (Licht), those in the Glazer family close to my grandson, and then Todd’s (Bowles) available, Keith’s (Armstrong) available, Byron’s (Leftwich) available, the whole staff is available. It’s like, ‘You’re supposed to do this, this is like a sign. You have to do this.’ ”

You can read the full story from The Republic, here,