Bruce Arians has 'itch' to return to coaching amid uncertainty about Buccaneers' Todd Bowles

One-time Super Bowl champion head coach Bruce Arians has not held such a role with a team since he surprisingly stepped away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in March 2022. 

During a recent conversation with NFL insider Jordan Schultz, Arians made it known he'd like to return to the sidelines in 2027.

Bruce Arians on possibly coaching again: "We'll see"

"I had torn my Achilles early in [the 2021 season], and I was wearing these prosthetic high heels, and it threw my back out, and I couldn’t stand on the sideline for four hours anymore without a lot of pain," Arians said about his retirement, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "I was also monitoring an aneurysm on my heart, so I had some health issues. We did everything we thought we could do in Tampa after winning the Super Bowl [in February 2021], trying to get two, and then it was time to give it to [Todd Bowles]. Now that I’m all healthy again, I got the itch again. So, we’ll see." 

Bowles has been the subject of hot-seat rumors throughout 2026, and such chatter only grew louder after Tampa Bay entered its Week 10 bye with a record of 3-6. According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, Arians acknowledged that he would consider returning to the Buccaneers "if it were open." 

Whether or not Buccaneers ownership would hire Arians is unknown. 

Arians turned 74 years old in October and, per Smith, would be the oldest head coach in NFL history if he received such a job. Recent history shows that teams more often than not prefer to hire younger coordinators or younger second-time head coaches. That said, the Cleveland Browns went with 60-year-old Todd Monken earlier this year. 

It's widely believed Monken wasn't Cleveland's first choice this past winter. 

Bruce Arians: "Another fire got lit"

Arians shared that he felt the "itch" during a visit with a high school team in Arizona that is coached by his son.

"Just talking to him every day about ball," Arians explained. "Going to talk to their coaches in the spring, and I talked to the team. Just another fire got lit."

Arians added that he misses interacting with "the players in the locker room" as a head coach. For what it's worth, Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones may want to hire a head coach who has proven he can guide a team to a Super Bowl title this coming January.