“Most of the guys hired today all look like (Los Angeles Rams head coach) Sean McVay. “Thank God the Glazers wanted to hire an old guy,” Arians said. ![]() Two years later after Tampa Bay had suffered through losing seasons eight of the past nine years it had its second Super Bowl title. And when you walk in the door, you’re going to know 18 of the wives.’ When she got on board, I was on board.” I told my wife, ‘We’re on the East coast, you’re near the (grand) babies. I said, ‘Let me think about it’ and then all of my assistants became available, all 18. The Glazers (the Bucs owners) are fantastic. “My son called me, he’s my agent, and said you need to call Jason (Licht, the Bucs general manager). “Well, yes and no,” Arians said with a chuckle. This was a lot tougher.”Īrians had said that for him to get back to coaching it would have to be the ideal situation, and the Buccaneers presented him with just that. I was used to charter busses and charter planes. I loved going to the practices, seeing the players and coaches. “I thought CBS was going to be the answer. “Arizona was a great experience,” Arians said of his first NFL head coaching job which didn’t come until 2013 when he was 60 years old.īut after a second bout with carcinoma and a grandson on the way, “It was time to get out,” he said. He got back to coaching with the Bucs in 2019 and won the Super Bowl last season. He’s coached every year since, except for 2018 when, after retiring from the Arizona Cardinals, he spent a year at CBS. When you learn how to delegate it makes it a lot more fun.”Īrians’ first coaching job came at Virginia Tech in 1975. “The thing about it is I never learned how to delegate and ended up in the hospital three times a week those last few years. When they love their teams, they don’t accept anything but winning.”Īrians wasn’t using Temple as a stepping-stone to better things. Bullies, we tried to make that Temple Tough slogan go, those kids that play there now still believe it. Al Golden left Temple for the University of Miami and Geoff Collins left the Owls for Georgia Tech. Great kids, started something that now is very special.”Īrians is one of two former Temple coaches in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers Matt Rhule being the other. We probably overscheduled ourselves, but we had a lot of fun. “It was a great time, just trying to take that program to the next level. “I was 30, thought I knew everything, and didn’t know anything,” Arians said of his arrival on North Broad St. But when you consider in nine of the next 11 years after he was let go Temple went either 2-9 or 1-10, maybe 6-5 is equivalent to winning a Super Bowl. “The guys here they were all calling us ‘The Temple Bay Buccaneers,’” Arians said.Īrians’ six years with the Owls never produced more than a 6-5 record and his 27-39 overall record doesn’t usually translate to the success he’s had since. There are five former Temple players-special teams coach Keith Armstrong, defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, running backs coach Todd McNair, safeties coach Nick Rapone, and cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross-and two former Temple coaches-quarterback coach Clyde Christensen and assistant special teams coach Amos Jones,-on Arians current staff.įifteen more players and coaches from Temple came down to Tampa the week of Super Bowl LV to show their support for their old coach. It shows on Arians’ Super Bowl-winning coaching staff with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. ![]() I’m probably closer to those guys than any group I’ve ever coached.” “Those six years at Temple were something. “I’ll tell you this,” Arians said in a lengthy telephone interview. Who could have guessed 38 years later a much-less cocky and now 68-year-old Arians would be the head coach of the Super Bowl champions and that his six years spent at Temple would play so much into that? In Philadelphia, the Sixers were NBA champions, the Eagles were not relevant and a somewhat cocky 30-year-old named Bruce Arians had just taken over the Temple University football program.īefore arriving at Temple, Arians had been a grad assistant at Virginia Tech and the running backs coach at both Mississippi State and Alabama of the powerful Southeast Conference. Tom Brady had just begun first grade in Northern California and Gandhi won the Best Picture award at the Oscars. Ronald Reagan was in his first term as President of the United States.
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