NFL insider insinuates Tom Brady ousted Bruce Arians despite winning legacy-altering Super Bowl with Buccaneers HC
It's been some time since Tom Brady and Bruce Arians wrapped up their time on the gridiron together. However, in almost a cold-case manner, one NFL analyst turned the era on its head. Speaking on Thursday's edition of "Get Up," insider Jeff Darlington claimed that the former New England Patriots quarterback "didn't have the respect for Arians" that he originally had at the start of 2020.
The duo won a title in their first season together, which somehow ended the debate if it was Brady or Bill Belichick's greatness that gave the Patriots six titles.
Jeff Darlington: [00:06:58] "When Tom Brady was playing for Bruce Arians, that relationship absolutely got to the point where Brady didn't have the respect for Arians that he originally did when he first got there," he said.
"Had they lost that first year and did not win the Super Bowl ... I don't think Bruce Arians is the coach the following year. Eventually, Bruce Arians was not the coach. [00:07:25]," he added. [23.3] Get Up
Based on Darlington's wording, it appears that he insinuated that Arians was forced out by Brady. Brady didn't have any official capacity to pick players or coaches. However, Darlington's claims worked under the idea that the Buccaneers quarterback had a massive amount of power in the organization.
His job wasn't to pick the coach, but his disapproval of the coach might have worked almost like a simple veto. Considering how hungry the Buccaneers were to get the quarterback situation settled after decades of struggle, Brady had all of the leverage. As such, making him unhappy risked giving him reason to walk away, leaving the Buccaneers stranded.
To avoid this, the Buccaneers needed to keep the quarterback happy. If he wasn't happy with Arians, the coach would have been the one forced out. Eventually, former New York Jets coach Todd Bowles replaced Arians in Brady's third season with the team.
Tom Brady set up with recurring opportunity to shed light on what happened with Bruce Arians
History looks fondly at what Brady and Arians were able to accomplish. No. 12 became the second starting quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with two different franchises. The win also wasn't over just any quarterback, either. Patrick Mahomes' only Super Bowl loss was at the hands of Tom Brady and Bruce Arians. They also went to the playoffs for a second time one season later.
Brady went on to play until age 45, reaching the playoffs in his final season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Todd Bowles. While Arians was out of the picture in that final season, Brady's attendance at practice became spotty in August and at times throughout the season.
Now, the quarterback is set to make a return to television as a commentator on FOX in September on a brand new team. Perhaps over the dozens of hours of commentary coming up, Tom Brady will shine some light on what went down during his time with the Buccaneers. Until then, others will continue to speculate and report kernels of information.
If any of the above quotes are used, credit "Get Up" and H/T Sportskeeda.