Buccaneers' Todd Bowles on Bruce Arians helping with offense: 'This is my team, not Bruce's team'

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said he won't ask former Tampa Bay coach and current senior advisor Bruce Arians for help with the team's sluggish offense. 

"Well, this is my team not Bruce’s team, but we talk all the time," Bowles responded when asked Wednesday if he could turn to Arians for some assistance regarding the offense, according to the Joe Bucs Fan website. "You don’t jumpstart [the offense] by asking a former coach what to do. We have our own things to deal with and we understand that. We’ve been with Bruce long enough to know what he wants, but they’ve been with me long enough to know what I want. We’re working towards that and we’ll get through it." 

It was rumored back in August that Arians, who stepped down as head coach of the Buccaneers in March, could potentially put a headset back on and serve as offensive play-caller for the club next season if current coordinator Byron Leftwich receives a coaching job with a different team during the winter months. That was before the Buccaneers lost three of four games to fall to 3-3 ahead of this Sunday's matchup at the 1-5 Carolina Panthers. 

As shared by ESPN stats, the Buccaneers are responsible for the league's worst rushing offense that is averaging a pitiful 67.5 yards on the ground per contest. Meanwhile, seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady is 15th among eligible signal-callers with a 52.0 total QBR and tied for 12th with eight passing touchdowns across six games this season.