TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
COACHing staff
BRUCE ARIANS
HEAD COACH
Bruce Arians was named the 12th head coach in franchise history on January
8, 2019.
Arians is a two-time Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year, earning the
award in 2012 (Indianapolis Colts) and in 2014 (Arizona Cardinals). He is the only
coach in NFL history to earn the award multiple times in a three-year span with
different teams and is one of only 12 coaches in NFL history to win the award
multiple times.
In his first season with the Buccaneers in 2019, Arians led Tampa Bay to
a two-win improvement over the previous season, guiding the team to a 5-3
record over the last eight games to finish 7-9. The team’s seven wins were its
most since 2016. In addition, the Buccaneers 5-3 record on the road matched
the third-best road mark in team history.
Under Arians’ direction, Tampa Bay’s offense set franchise records for both
points scored (458) and touchdowns (54), while leading the league in passing
offense at 302.8 yards per game and ranking third in the NFL in total offense
at 397.9 yards per game. On the defensive side of the ball, the Buccaneers
boasted the NFL’s best run defense, limiting opponents to 1,181 rushing yards
over 16 games (73.8 avg.), the lowest total allowed in a 16-game season in
franchise history.
Shaquil Barrett, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin all earned trips to the 2020
Pro Bowl in their first season under Arians, with Barrett and Godwin also
earning AP Second-Team All-Pro honors. Barrett led the NFL with 19.5 sacks,
surpassing Warren Sapp (16.5 in 2000) for the single-season franchise record.
Evans and Godwin were the best receiving duo in the NFL, combining for 2,490
yards and 17 touchdowns on 153 receptions, while becoming just the second
pair of Tampa Bay teammates to each go over 1,000 yards receiving in the
same season and the first to each top 1,100 yards. Godwin set career-best
marks across the board with his 86 receptions, 1,333 receiving yards and nine
touchdowns, finishing third in the NFL in receiving yards and tied for fourth in
receiving touchdowns, despite missing the final two games of the season due
to injury.
In his first season with Jameis Winston, Arians helped the fifth-year
quarterback to the first 5,000-yard passing season in team history. Winston
led league with a team record 5,109 passing yards and finished second in the
NFL with a team-record 33 passing touchdowns, while maintaining 8.16 yards
per attempts, which was the second-highest single-season mark in franchise
history and ranked sixth in the NFL this season.
Upon being hired by Tampa Bay, Arians quickly built a staff of qualified
assistant coaches, bringing on a collection of coaches with decades of NFL
experience. In building his staff, Arians also put together one of the most
diverse coaching groups in the NFL. The Buccaneers are the only team in the
league to have three coordinator positions, as well as the role of assistant head
coach, filled by minority coaches. In addition, Arians’ staff made NFL history
by becoming the first to have two female coaches in full-time assistant roles.
18 2020 OFFICIAL YEARBOOK
Prior to arriving in Tampa, Arians spent five seasons as the head coach of
the Arizona Cardinals (2013-17) in addition to a 12-game stint as interim head
coach for the Indianapolis Colts (2012), compiling a regular season record of
58-33-1. During that 92-game stretch Arians was a head coach, his 58 wins
ranked fourth in the NFL, trailing only Bill Belichick (73), Pete Carroll (63) and
Mike Tomlin (59).
Throughout his 26-year NFL career, Arians has worked closely with some
of the league’s top passers including Pro Bowlers Peyton Manning, Ben
Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck and Carson Palmer. As an offensive play-caller,
Arians has directed top-10 offenses with three different teams (Arizona,
Indianapolis and Pittsburgh) over the last nine seasons of his coaching career.
During his time in Arizona, the York, Pennsylvania native compiled a 49-30-1
regular season record (.619 winning percentage). The Cardinals’ 49 wins during
that span were the seventh-most in the NFL and the third-most in the NFC.
Arians won 50 total games in Arizona (49 regular season, one postseason),
finishing his time there as the winningest coach in franchise history. His 49
regular season wins are also the most by any coach in Cardinals history.
Arians posted three seasons with double-digit wins as the head coach of the
Cardinals, including tying the then-franchise best with 11 in 2014. The following
season, Arizona established a new franchise record with 13 wins, which also
featured the team’s first-ever postseason bye and second-ever appearance in
the NFC Championship Game.
Under Arians, the Cardinals offense set several single-season team records,
including points scored (489 in 2015), total touchdowns (59 in 2015), total net
yards (6,533 in 2015) and first downs (373 in 2015). Arians also helped coach
individual players to some of the best seasons of their careers. In 2015,
Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer set franchise records for passing yards
(4,671), passing touchdowns (35), yards per attempt (8.70) and passer rating
(104.6) en route to a Pro Bowl selection. In 2016, running back David Johnson
established new team records for rushing touchdowns (16), total touchdowns
(20) and yards from scrimmage (2,118), while leading the NFL in total touchdowns
and yards from scrimmage. Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald posted the top three
seasons for receptions in Cardinals history under Arians and ranked third in the
NFL in catches during that span.
Arians came to Arizona after spending the 2012 season with Indianapolis.
Hired as the team’s offensive coordinator, he also served as the team’s interim
coach for 12 games while head coach Chuck Pagano was treated for leukemia.
He led the Colts to a 9-3 record and was selected as the 2012 AP NFL Coach of
the Year. Indianapolis’ nine-win improvement (2-14 to 11-5) matched the thirdlargest
single-season turnaround in NFL history.
Arians helped the Colts’ offense rank 10th in the NFL in yards (362.4 ypg)
and seventh in passing yards (258.0 ypg). Rookie quarterback Andrew Luck –
the first overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft – made the Pro Bowl and set rookie
records for passing yards (4,374) and 300-yard passing games (six). He also