"I don't give a sh** about the Hall of Fame" - Bruce Arians reiterates his top priority upon stepping away from coaching
Bruce Arians emphasized his primary objectives as he decided to retire as an NFL head coach. The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach spoke at an introductory press conference for the new Tampa Bay head coach, Todd Bowles.
The 69-year-old head coach had this to say concerning why he’s no longer coaching in the NFL:
"Number of people already asked: Why are you stepping away? From a chance to go to the Hall of Fame and win another Super Bowl? Because I don't give a shit about the Hall of Fame. Succession is way more important to me. This has been my dream for a long time for guys that know me. They knew I wanted one of my guys to take over."
Arians on deciding to walk away from a chance to go to the HOF & another SB:
"Because I don’t give a s--- about the Hall of Fame. Succession is way more important to me. This has been my dream for a long time. Guys that know me, they knew I wanted one of my guys to take over."
"And that's more important to me than anything and have a place where I could go and be welcomed back. Obviously, I have the job now and kind of love. That title is pretty good. We'll figure out what that means. But it's pretty damn good and I get the state and have the relationships that I love. And I couldn't turn it over to a better person."
Bowles played under the two-time AP NFL Coach of the Year while Arians was the head coach for Temple University for three seasons (1982-1985).
Head coach Todd Bowles checking in 👋
#GoBucs https://t.co/SBs0Vt1zjH
Arians hired the new Tampa Bay head coach to be his defensive coordinator back in 2019 with the Buccaneers.
The now-retired head coach started his coaching career in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1989 as a running backs coach under legendary head coach Marty Schottenheimer.
He spent a season with the New Orleans Saints coaching tight ends before coaching quarterbacks with the Indianapolis Colts for three seasons (1998-2000).
He was an offensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns (2001-2003), Pittsburgh Steelers (2007-2011), and the Colts (2012).
Bruce Arians as an NFL head coach
Arians was the interim head coach for Indianapolis in 2012 for 12 games when head coach Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with the blood cancer acute promyelocytic leukemia. The Colts had a record of 9-3 in those 12 games.
The Arizona Cardinals hired the then-61-year-old as their head coach the following year, making the playoffs twice. In his six seasons with the Cardinals, he had a 49-30-1 and is the winningest coach in franchise history.
In January 2019, Tampa Bay hired Arians after spending a year in broadcasting. While with the Buccaneers, he went 31-18 and made the playoffs in two of his three seasons.
He became the oldest coach to win a Super Bowl after Tampa Bay defeated the Chiefs in Super Bowl 55. He’ll be a senior football consultant with Tampa Bay, working in the front office.