Bruce Arians supposedly was doing Todd Bowles a favor. As favors go, this one wasn’t very favorable.
Arian, as the official story goes, decided to step down 17 days after Tom Brady’s 40-day retirement, not at the direct or indirect behest of Brady but in order to do Todd Bowles a favor.
“With the organization in probably the best shape it’s been in its history, with Tom Brady coming back,” Arians told Peter King at the time of the surprise resignation, “I’d rather see Todd in position to be successful and not have to take some [crappy] job. I’m probably retiring next year anyway, in February. So, I control the narrative right now. I don’t control it next February because [if] Brady gets hurt, we go 10-7, and it’s an open interview for the job. . . . I got 31 [coaches and their] families that depend on me. My wife is big on not letting all those families down.”
Some of those families could be let down, soon. While winning the division and making it to the playoffs will give Bowles a second year, changes could be coming.
Both JoeBucsFan.com and PewterReport.com report that the team is currently expected to fire offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich. Per the latter, serious consideration was given to firing Leftwich during the 2022 season.
If that happens, it will be a dramatic fall from grace for Leftwich, who at one point last January was the favorite to become the next head coach of the Jaguars.
Other changes could be made to the offensive coaching staff.
That’s definitely not what Arians envisioned. Bowles and Leftwich are two of the Super Bowl-winning coach’s closest coaching friends and confidants.
“I get credit and Brady gets way too much credit for what Byron does with our offense,” Arians said in April 2022. “One of the reasons I hope he gets all the credit he deserves this year is to get a coaching gig; you know, he had about four or five teams real interested last year. . . . I would anticipate him to be a head coach real fast.”
Instead, Leftwich could be out of his current job real fast. And Bowles could be one of the coaches on the hot seat when the 2023 season commences.
And Brady, if he plays in 2023, will likely be changing uniforms, again.