USA Today via Reuters
Nov 29, 2020; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians speaks with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Nov 29, 2020; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians speaks with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have revived their lifeline after Tom Brady retired for 40 days. It was surely a difficult time for the franchise to fill in the massive void. However, fuelling all the rumors from time to time, Brady did make a surprising return from retirement this March.
One of the most talked-about rumors was the rift between the GOAT and the head coach Bruce Arians. Although Arians negated the rumors, there was no such response from Tom Brady. In a report, it was revealed that the two had a poor relationship and that the HC “undermined” the game plans of the quarterback and the OC Byron Leftwich.
USA Today via Reuters
Nov 14, 2021; Landover, Maryland, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) looks on against the Washington Football Team during the second half at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports | Credit-Reuters
“It seems like there’s one [story] every day now,” Arians told the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud. “Everybody is speculating he’s going somewhere else. That don’t bother me. This other bulls—, the relationship thing, that’s so far-fetched.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jason Licht on friction between Tom Brady and Bruce Arians
The rumors got shunned once Tom Brady returned to the gridiron. Even Bruce Arians released an official statement on Brady’s return. However, the general manager Jason Licht might have just spilled the beans on their rumored rift to be true.
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“I mean probably you’d be surprised we didn’t talk about it much,” Jason Licht told Bucs reporter Jenna Laine. “You can’t believe everything you hear and see and read. There’s always going to be some friction between people on a staff and players and a coach. It’s just normal. And like you said, it can be healthy. We didn’t really think much about it.”
I asked Bucs GM Jason Licht about the reports of friction between Bruce Arians and Tom Brady. He said they didn't really think or talk much about it inside the building. "There's always gonna be some friction between people on a staff and players and a coach. It's just normal."
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) March 21, 2022
Licht also stated that there is always some friction inside a team and that the friction could be healthy in some ways. However, it is not known how healthy was the friction between Brady and Arians. Even if it was healthy, the brief retirement of the GOAT conveys a different story.
Will the friction between the two get in the way of Tampa Bay once again? Or will the player-coach duo work their way to another Super Bowl?
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