:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62812873/usa_today_10510089.0.jpg)
The Sheriff is back.
Bruce Arians retired at the end of the 2017 NFL season after five years with the Arizona Cardinals, taking the team to two playoff appearances, three ten-win seasons, and an NFC Championship Game appearance. He spent 2018 in the broadcast booth with the NFL on CBS, but now he’s returning to the sidelines in 2019 as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Buccaneers now finalizing deal to make Bruce Arians their next head coach, per sources. The former Cardinals’ HC will be the Bucs next HC.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 8, 2019
The Buccaneers went 5-11 this season despite starting the year with wins over the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles, and Dirk Koetter was fired. They are quietly one of the most dysfunctional franchises over the last 15 years, with zero playoff wins since winning Super Bowl XXXVII, and they’ve not made the postseason since 2007. Jameis Winston is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and this is already his third head coach.
Of course, we must bring up that while Arians won a grand total of zero home games against the Seattle Seahawks while he coached Arizona, he went 4-1 at Seattle, and the Buccaneers are at the Seahawks next season.
Incidentally, it didn’t take long for Koetter to find a new job. The Atlanta Falcons brought him on board to (once again) be on their offensive coordinator, replacing the fired Steve Sarkisian.