Bruce Arians: 2022 Buccaneers didn't have 'the real Tom Brady'

Tampa Bay Buccaneers senior adviser Bruce Arians has offered a brutal evaluation of the play and/or leadership of quarterback Tom Brady this past season. 

"Tom wasn’t himself, you know, with all the things that were going on," Arians explained during an appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show," per the Joe Bucs Fan website. "And I got to give him all the credit in the world for battling through what he went through last year for his teammates. I think the world of him but it wasn’t the real Tom Brady out there." 

Specifically, Arians was discussing the decision by head coach Todd Bowles to part ways with offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and five other assistants following the playoff loss to the Dallas Cowboys last month. It was previously reported that Arians was "extremely unhappy" about those coaching moves. 

"It was hard. It was very hard for me," Arians admitted about the firing of Leftwich. "But it’s Todd’s football team. I handed it to Todd for a reason. He’s got to build it in his image. There’s no hard feelings between the two guys; the philosophies just didn’t match." 

It's now known that Brady was dealing with serious off-field distractions from at least some point during the summer months through the season. He reportedly lost anywhere between 15 and 27 pounds related to his divorce from Gisele Bündchen, which they announced on Oct. 28, and he hinted less than a week before Christmas that he hadn't been fully healthy throughout the campaign. 

More recently, veteran defensive end William Gholston suggested the Buccaneers didn't have the right "mindset and mentality" during what became Brady's final season with the organization. 

Interestingly, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio offered multiple reasons on Thursday for why he believes the San Francisco 49ers could contact Brady about un-retiring and playing for the team the 45-year-old supported while growing up in San Mateo. Perhaps the seven-time Super Bowl champion would welcome an opportunity to show he can again be "the real Tom Brady" against live NFL defenses.