A year ago the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 13-4 before losing in the Divisional Round to the eventual Super Bowl champions by just three points. Over the offseason, Tom Brady retired and unretired, and Bruce Arians stepped into a new position as a ‘senior football consultant.’
Arians handed the head coaching keys over to longtime NFL vet Todd Bowles, who had been operating as the team’s defensive coordinator since 2019.
While going from Arians to Bowles was a big change, the Buccaneers were always expected to run away with the NFC South division crown once again. Fast forward to where we are now in Week 16, and the outlook has changed drastically, with the Bucs sitting at 6-8, only one game ahead of each of the other three teams in the division.
Technically, the NFC South is still up for grabs, with three more games to play, including two against their inner-division foes, in the Panthers in Week 17 and the Falcons in Week 18. But Arians doesn’t have any doubts about the Buccaneers staying on top, in fact, he’s sure of it.
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Bruce Arians staying confident in Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Super Bowl odds
Not only is Arians supremely confident that Brady’s Bucs can clinch the division for the second consecutive season, he still feels the Super Bowl is in sight as well, even with what currently ranks as the fifth-worst scoring offense in football.
Arians recently went on record in a wide-ranging interview with the Tampa Bay Times about the Buccaneers’ season, how Brady has performed, and much more.
Here’s the quote that has caught some attention so far.
“This is going to be one of those seasons where (fans) say, ‘I hate you! I hate you! Oh my God, ‘I love you! I love you! Todd will win the division. Whatever happens after that? I hope we get rings.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Bruce Arians on Super Bowl hopes
It’s worth noting that the last time TB12 led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl victory, they snuck in as a Wild Card team, giving them no shot at playing in front of their home crowd during postseason play in 2020.
This time around, even if the Buccaneers have a woeful record but still manage to win their division, they will already have better odds of advancing than they had two years ago. Sure, the Buccaneers are the longest of long shots, but there’s a chance.
In all, Arians feels Bowles has done an excellent job taking over on short notice.
“I think (head coach) Todd (Bowles) has done a great job. Once you win the division, then let’s go play. How many Super Bowls can you get out of it? The present isn’t as bright as the future, but the future will be real bright in a few weeks.”
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Yeah. We’ll see about all that.
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