When Bucs Ring of Honor member Bruce Arians retired from the game of football after the 2021 season and into the 2022 offseason, it felt likely that it would be the last time we saw him roaming the sidelines as a head coach. But, after a couple of surgeries and feeling better and energized from retirement, Arians is getting the urge to coach once again.

Arians made the statement publicly for the first time while appearing on Jordan Schultz Podcast, “The Schultz Report.” He went into detail about why he retired.

Former Bucs HC Bruce Arians Thinking About Coaching Again

“I had torn my Achilles early in that season,” Bruce Arians said. “And I was wearing these prosthetic high heels and it threw my back out. I couldn’t stand on the sideline for four hours anymore without a lot of pain. I was also monitoring an aneurysm on my heart, so I had some health issues. We did everything we thought we could do in Tampa after winning the Super Bowl. And then it was time to give it to Todd (Bowles.)”

Bucs head coach Bruce Arians – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Then Arians went into what gave him the inspiration to think about doing it again, and also when it first hit him.

“Now that I’m all healthy again, I got the itch again, so we’ll see. Never say never,” Arians said. “Mid-September (when he first felt it again). I’ve always missed the players, you miss the players in the locker room. I damn sure don’t miss the refs. And I’m sure they don’t miss me. Not now being with the Bucs this is the first time I’m not a consultant anymore.

“Going to some high school games, my son started coaching in Arizona and just talking to him every day about ball, going to talk to their coaches in the spring and to the team, another fire got lit. I hadn’t had no desire to go back, and I was still fighting some health issues. But now after the open-heart surgery, I’ve got so much more energy, it’s amazing. It’s just a matter of – we’ll see what happens. ”

And then of course, the question had to be asked. Has he talked to any teams yet?

Bucs head coach Bruce Arians – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“No, not at all,” Arians said. “This is probably the first time I’ve said it publicly.”

The full episode between Arians and Schultz has not come out yet, but you can find the YouTube for Schultz here.

Would Arians Return To Coach The Bucs?

The 74 year-old Bruce Arians has a vast history coaching in the NFL and made a huge impact with the Bucs. He was a two-time NFL Coach of the Year before even coming to Tampa Bay, and then had a legendary run with the Bucs in the three seasons he coached from 2019 to 2021. This included winning the Super Bowl during the 2022 season, the second in team history, and then also breaking the franchise record for wins in a season at 13 just one year later.

Arians’ 31-18 coaching record is good for fourth all-time in team history. That’s only seven wins less than his protege Todd Bowles, who is in his fifth season as the Bucs head coach. Arians does have the best winning percentage in franchise history at .633 and the most playoff victories with a 5-1 record.

And most importantly, he, along with Jon Gruden, are the only coaches to win Super Bowl and lift the Lombardi Trophy with this team.

Bucs head coach Bruce Arians – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

So would Arians entertain the idea of coming back to coach the Bucs? It’s a little complicated.

Tampa Bay currently sits with a 3-6 record this season, but because every team in the NFC South has three wins on the season, they are not out of the division race. The Glazer family will see it through with Bowles, but the odds are that the Bucs won’t have a winning record once again, meaning there’s a chance the team lets go of Bowles after the season.

Arians and Bowles are close. Arians coached Bowles when he played at Temple and brought him onto numerous coaching staffs in the NFL, including the Buccaneers. A big reason why Arians also stepped down in 2022 was to give Bowles another opportunity to be a head coach.

Would Arians take back his old gig following the demise of his mentee, Bowles? Arians is a loyal person, so that decision would be a difficult one to make.

Bucs Bruce Arians and DC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Due to Arians’ age, he would have to go to a team that is ready to win now. The benefit of returning to Tampa Bay other than already having roots there is that he could win right away in the the NFC South, which is highly regarded as the worst division in football. But does Tampa Bay has enough pieces that Arians would want?

And would Bowles be open to stepping down and staying on as Arians’ defensive coordinator? That would remain a wild card possibility.

Realistically, Arians would likely want a team that has more added fire power on their roster than what Tampa Bay has, especially on offense. And, if Bowles were to get fired by the Bucs, Arians could take him as his defensive coordinator if he wound up somewhere other than Tampa Bay.

There are both positives and negatives to consider if Arians wanted to come back to the Bucs.

What we do know is that football in general is better when Arians is involved in the game.