Bruce Arians speaks on current role with Buccaneers

Reports first emerged in late March confirming that Bruce Arians was stepping down as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was also learned at that time that defensive coordinator Todd Bowles had been promoted to serve as Arians' successor and that Arians would become a senior consultant for the franchise. 

Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich later remarked that "nothing" with his scheme would change following Arians' decision, which left some wondering what the 69-year-old will be doing moving forward. Per Ira Kaufman of JoeBucsFan and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Arians offered an answer to such questions during a recent appearance on the "Eye Test For Two" podcast. 

"It’s a 'What do you think?' job," Arians explained. "Everybody asks me what do I think and they know they’re getting a brutally honest answer, whether it be [owner] Joel Glazer, [general manager] Jason Licht, Todd Bowles or Byron Leftwich. It’s been fun going to practice, watching and learning some more, watching us change, looking at the new guys. Man, that draft class is going to be a home run. Looking forward to getting to camp." 

Arians will still be interacting with coaches and players but will have a new home on gamedays. 

"I get to be in the locker room, get to be around the coaches every day and still have a big hand in the draft," he said. "The relationships were always the biggest thing for me. Building a new team, watching the new guys come in. Now, Sundays might be different sitting upstairs. I might be able to still holler loud enough to cuss out the refs from up there." 

It's widely thought quarterback Tom Brady is about to play his final season as a member of the Buccaneers, so the pressure will be on Bowles to win immediately. If Bowles experiences even a couple of early losses, some fans likely will look for Arians to leave upstairs and save the day.