NFL World Reacts To Bruce Arians 'Unhappy' Report

When Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians stepped down last offseason, he did so with the idea that his successor, Todd Bowles, and Arians' other assistant coaches would be left in a good place.

Fast forward one year and several of those assistants, including offensive coordinator Byron Lefwitch, wide receivers coach Kevin Garver and running backs coach Todd McNair, have been let go by Bowles after an 8-9 season and NFC Wild Card loss.

All of that upheaval has reportedly left Arians "extremely unhappy," according to Rick Stroud of TampaBay.com. 

“Having had some interaction with him about it … he’s disappointed. You know, he’s disappointed. I guess that’s the biggest thing," Stroud told WDAE News this week, via JoeBucsFan.com. "You know, he wanted Todd to have this opportunity. He wanted to keep this staff together. He wanted these [coaching] families to be together; many of them have another year on their contracts. Many of them thought they would be here as long as Todd is the head coach, were told as much, and that’s not the case. And so he’s hurt by it. I don’t know if you’re going to see him around much next year.”

Reports of Arians' unhappiness have led to some interesting commentary from fans.

"BA left him all the key pieces to a championship team, players and coaches, and a team much better than their record indicated. Bowles totally screwed it up," one fan said. "The team played with no urgency. Brady can't coach the team and play QB at the same time. Brady deserves better."

"They didn’t get the job done. Bowles was lost as a head coach (again) and the Bucs offense play calling was pitiful at best while having a cupboard full of weapons," said another fan.

"I love everything BA has done for the Bucs. But Bruce Arians stepped down. He isn’t the HC anymore and he’s not the one who has to make these decisions," a third Bucs fan chimed in. "In my opinion, his feelings don’t matter. And if they do, maybe he should bear some responsibility."

"Why did you leave us with Bowles Bruce?" a fourth Bucs fan asked. "We loved you, and you did this to us!"

Arians spent the 2022 season as a senior football consultant for the Bucs. It will be interesting to see if he remains in that role moving forward.