Buccaneers' Bruce Arians admits to Todd Bowles fear during 2023 season

Tampa Bay Buccaneers senior advisor Bruce Arians spoke with team insider Ira Kaufman of the JoeBucsFan website this week and admitted he feared head coach Todd Bowles and the rest of the staff were on the hot seat when the club went from 3-1 to 4-7 this season. 

"When we were 4-7, I was really worried for them," Arians explained. "Then they kind of righted the ship." 

Bowles' Buccaneers ultimately won five of their final six games to claim the NFC South division title and earn a home wild-card playoff matchup versus the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Some were convinced at the time that Buccaneers ownership could move on from Bowles depending on the result of the Philadelphia game, but Tampa Bay then thrashed the Eagles by a score of 32-9. 

"In getting to what they accomplished, beating the crap out of Philly, that was a hell of a job by Todd and the staff," Arians said. "I think there was some stuff going on in the locker room that Todd controlled really well. I was really, really happy for him and all the guys because back in October, I thought they were all getting fired." 

Arians didn't expand on the alleged "stuff going on in the locker room" that may or may not have impacted the club during its fall swoon. 

Similar to how Buccaneers veteran center Ryan Jensen credited then-offensive coordinator Dave Canales for being "the same person every day" amid the club's woes, Arians praised Bowles for ensuring players didn't give up on what quickly could've become a lost season. 

"Todd never changes, that’s what I love about him," Arians noted. "He’s not going to go up and down and he’s not going to panic. He’s going to stay steady because he believes in what he does." 

Even though six-time Super Bowl champion head coach Bill Belichick seemingly will remain a free agent through this offseason, there's no indication that Bowles is in danger of losing his job. Bowles thus far has gone 18-19 (playoffs included) as Tampa Bay head coach.