Reports: Bruce Arians surprisingly retires from NFL, successor named

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.

More on Bruce Arians, Todd Bowles

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.

Bowles’ name came up in plenty of coaching circles this offseason and went through multiple interviews, including with the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings. He ultimately headed back to the Buccaneers — and now he’ll take over for Arians.

It’s been a whirlwind of an offseason for the Buccaneers. First, Brady announced his retirement from the game in February. Then, on Selection Sunday, he declared he was coming out of retirement to run it back with Tampa Bay. It’s unclear if he knew about Arians’ plans to retire when he decided to return for a third year with the Buccaneers.