Bruce Arians would like to set the record straight: there’s no rift between him and Tom Brady.
The Buccaneers’ departing head coach addressed reporters Thursday following his resignation. Arians will move into a front office role, prompting reasonable speculation that Brady forced him out. But apparently, that wasn’t the case at all.
“We have a great relationship. All the players — there are a few in here — every one of them has gotten cussed out, including him. That’s just part of me,” Arians said. “That’s nothing new. We have a great relationship. As soon as he retired, I think we texted every week: where you at, what are you doing, when are you playing golf? When are you coming back down this way? People gotta write s—. It couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Brady was in attendance at the presser, along with several other Bucs players. He announced he was returning to the team March 13, just 40 days after retiring.
Arians also denied there was friction at the NFL meetings. “Somebody's got to write a story every day about something. Tom and I have a great relationship,” he said. “Even during the retirement: 'Where you at?' 'I'm in Italy.' 'How's it going?' 'Got the kids over here.' You know, just checking on him. I can't get him back on the golf course because he's traveling too much, so I can't win enough money off of him.”
While Brady and Arians may be golfing pals, that doesn’t necessarily mean Brady wanted Arians to keep coaching the Bucs. The timeline is too coincidental to ignore. Why would Arians resign after Brady came back? If he truly wanted to step away, why wasn’t it announced earlier in the offseason?
Either way, Arians seems to be keeping his sense of humor about the saga. It probably helps he’s remaining with the organization, and thus, still collecting a paycheck.
“One other thing, it's been great working with you guys in the press. You've been fantastic,” he said. “All over the country. Alright! [Mike] Florio, you can write what you want. It's OK.”
Don’t worry, Bruce. We will.