Bruce Arians Reportedly Lost Influence Over The Bucs In Final Year As HC

Bruce Arians can't shake the speculation surrounding his abrupt decision to step down as head coach of the Bucs.

Among those storylines is a reported beef with Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.

While NFL insider Ian Rapoport argued on The Rich Eisen Show that Arians and Brady shared a strong bond, he added an interesting tidbit hinting that Arians' influence on the team had reduced well before his announcement.

“With all due respect to Bruce Arians, who I really, really like, I’m not so sure how much he did the last year,” Rapoport said. “I mean, he was the guy. He made all the decisions in the end, but Brady did the offense with Byron Leftwich.”

He added, “That’s from several people who were there even before any of the stories came out. There would be no reason for Brady to want Bruce Arians out because he wasn’t that involved.”

Fans were also stunned that defensive coordinator Todd Bowles received the promotion over Leftwich, a name frequently lauded for the Bucs' success on offense.

But no matter the coach or coordinator, most of the credit for the Bucs' recent triumph went to Tom Brady.

Brady won the Lombardi his first season with the Bucs and led an improved regular-season campaign his second year. He threw for 5,316 yards, 43 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

A divide between the two has been noted along Arians' 'retire' timeline, with the media questioning if the former HC stepped away as a reaction to Brady's un-retiring in early March.

The two continue to swat those reports and share their professional bond as Arians remains on deck as a Senior Football Consultant for Tampa Bay.

Follow along on Twitter: @AlejandroAveela