Report: Additional details emerge on Tom Brady and Bruce Arians retirement

After new broke Wednesday night that Bruce Arians was retiring as Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach, questions rose about when Tom Brady found out. After all, Brady came out of retirement just 17 days ago, which means it was probably a quick turnaround.

We got our answer, according to a report.

The Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud reported Brady found out about Arians’ retirement plans either the day of or the day after he announced his return. The team also told him Todd Bowles would take over as head coach as part of the succession plan the Buccaneers were putting in place.

But there’s another ripple to the plan. Brady’s return actually had an impact on Arians’ announcement, according to FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer. It turns out that was the catalyst that got Arians thinking he could step down and had the baton off to Bowles, his defensive coordinator last season.

Glazer added Arians also wanted to wait for a rule he wanted clarified. He got that this week at the NFL meetings, and that’s why he made the announcement when he did.

Bruce Arians surprisingly retires from NFL, Todd Bowles named successor

For the second time this offseason, a key member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is retiring. This time, it seems permanent.

Bruce Arians is stepping away from coaching and moving to the front office, according to multiple reports. Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles will take the reins as head coach, as well. NBC Sports’ Peter King and the Los Angeles Times’ Sam Farmer first reported the moves.

Arians is becoming the Buccaneers’ new Senior Football Consultant, the team announced shortly after the news broke.

It’s a huge move for Tampa Bay, which just got word that Tom Brady was coming back earlier this month. Now, Brady’s going to be playing for a new coach as Arians moves upstairs after a lengthy career on the sidelines.

Arians got his coaching start in 1975 as a graduate assistant at Virginia Tech and worked his way to his first full-time NFL head coaching job in 2013 with the Arizona Cardinals. In his eight full seasons on the sideline, Arians amassed an 80-48 record, including a 31-18 mark with Tampa Bay — including a Super Bowl LV title.

For Bowles, this is his first head coaching job in the NFL since he led the New York Jets from 2015-18. In those four seasons, he had a 24-40 record, including a 4-12 record in his final season at the helm.