Super Bowl-winning Tampa Buccaneers’ head coach Bruce Arians is stepping down and will be replaced by his defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, the team announced Wednesday evening.
In a statement released by the team, Arians said that he chose to step down now so that Bowles would have the best chance at success. NFL star quarterback Tom Brady earlier this monthBrady’s decision “confirmed for me that it was the right time to pass the torch to Todd,” Arians said.
“It was evident to everyone in our organization over the last three years that Todd deserved to be an NFL head coach,” team General Manager Jason Licht said in a team statement. “I have always felt that if this situation ever arose, we had the best candidate for the job already in-house.”Arians said that after 50 years, he’s ready to move on. He said that he began conservations a few weeks ago about a succession plan.
Bowles and Arians both were with the Arizona Cardinals, with Arians as head coach and Bowles as defensive coordinator. Brady in announcing he would return tweeted he had"unfinished business." On Wednesday, Brady thanked Arians in an Instagram post and said the head coach was"a huge part" of his decision to join Tampa Bay in the first place.