Bruce Arians: 'It's been awesome' coaching Tom Brady

“It’s been a joy. It’s been awesome,” Arians said, as transcribed by NBC Sports Boston. “I didn’t know that Tom took so much time with young players and coached them. It’s one thing for me to say, ‘When you’re coming out of your break, your arms aren’t pumping,’ and they say, ‘Sure.’ Then Tom says it, they go, ‘Oh, really?’ And they do it.

“It’s like, I appreciate you, brother. It’s like having another coach on the field for sure.”

Arians’ laudatory remarks about Brady are somewhat surprising on a few levels.

First, the observation that the six-time Super Bowl champion enjoys working with his younger teammates stands in stark contrast to the reputation Brady developed in his latter years with the New England Patriots when he skipped OTAs, among other things.

Secondly, among the ups and downs in the still-developing relationship between Arians and Brady was how the Bucs head coach was prone to publicly criticizing the quarterback over his play and decision-making.

That said, Arians has praised Brady at times as well. Arians also arguably came off a bit disingenuous earlier this month when he defended Brady against external criticism in light of how outspoken he has been when unsatisfied with the QB’s play.

Amid the occasional disconnect that appeared to exist between Brady and Arians, a report recently surfaced that indicated Brady and Arians “get along great” and have a “deep respect” for one another.

Arians’ high praise of Brady this week certainly lends credence to that perception. What’s more, the Arians-Brady partnership has largely been a successful one given the Bucs already have punched their ticket for the playoffs for the first time in 13 seasons.