In a stunning turn of events, Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians informed his coaching staff and players that he is stepping aside and will take on a new role for the team as a senior football consultant.
The Buccaneers are promoting defensive coordinator Todd Bowles to head coach.
Bowles will get his second head coaching opportunity in the NFL. After spending two seasons (2013-14) with Arians in Arizona, he was hired as the New York Jets head coach in 2015. He led the Jets to a 10-6 record in his first season at the helm after New York had finished with a 4-12 mark the previous season. Overall, the Jets were 24-40 during his tenure.
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The highly-respected Bowles has coordinated one of the NFL’s most effective defenses over the past three seasons in Tampa, a unit that was instrumental to the team’s Super Bowl run in 2020. During those three seasons, the Buccaneers allowed the fewest rushing yards in the NFL and the fifth-lowest yards-per-play average.
“Todd is a great football coach and I know he will do excellent things here with the Buccaneers,” Arians said in a statement. “I wanted to ensure when I walked away that Todd Bowles would have the best opportunity to succeed. So many head coaches come into situations where they are set up for failure, and I didn’t want that for Todd.”
Bowles began his coaching career at Morehouse College in 1997. A year later, he moved on to Grambling State where he was defensive coordinator and secondary coach for two seasons.
