Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Did Tom Brady play a role in Bruce Arians' retirement?

Updated Mar. 31, 2022 5:25 p.m. ET

This wasn't the Buccaneers' retirement that we were expecting.

Shortly after Tom Brady announced that he'd be unretiring and returning to football after a brief pause from action, his coach Bruce Arians revealed that his own time on the sidelines had come to an end.

"I have accomplished more than I ever dreamed I could during this incredible coaching journey," Arians said in his departing statement released by the team.

"Winning Super Bowl LV at our home stadium, with my mom and family in attendance, was really the last item I wanted to check off my career bucket list. For me, this is about more than just trying to add more wins to my coaching record."

Arians isn't finished with football in full, as he'll transition to a new front office role that the team titled "Front Office Consultant."

The Bucs' former defensive coordinator Todd Bowles will now slide into the head coaching role.

Arians mentioned age and family as reasons for his abrupt exit, but also told Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times that Brady's reemergence with the team factored into his decision as well.

"The organization is probably in the best shape in its history," Arians told Farmer, adding that Brady's return made him feel comfortable handing the keys to his successors.

"[I don’t need to] win another 15 games for me to be happy," Arians added. "I’d rather see Todd in position to be successful and not have to take some [bad] job. I [probably would've] retired next year anyway, in February. So I control the narrative right now. I don’t control it in February because [if] Brady gets hurt and we go 10-7, it’s an open interview for the job."

However, some are speculating that Brady might have played a role in Arians' retirement, citing the rocky relationship the two shared throughout their tenure together.

Skip Bayless believes it's a possibility.

"As soon as the shocking announcement came down that Tom Brady was retiring from football I said, ‘That’s impossible,'" Bayless said Thursday on "Undisputed."

"He was about as healthy as you can get at the end of an NFL season. He was happy with the way he was performing because it was at the highest level. You could argue it was one of his greatest seasons ever. How many times during the first year in Tampa did I say, ‘What are you doing Bruce Arians? You publicly chastise Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr.? The GOAT of your game?'

"I believe Brady turned on Arians."

Shannon Sharpe believes Brady was the chief culprit behind Arians' exit.

"Brady had 99.9% of the responsibility," Sharpe said.

"We had no indication that this was happening. We heard him talk at the combine about how excited he was that, ‘We got Tom back and have a chance to compete for a title.' And all of a sudden, he steps down to be a senior consultant? He got demoted-promoted. This notion that Tom doesn't have an ego and just wants to be one of the guys has never been true."

Did Tom Brady have a hand in Bruce Arians' move to front office? I UNDISPUTED

Just a few weeks after Tom Brady announced he was returning, Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians has decided to walk away from coaching. Shannon Sharpe explains why this move had '99.9%' to do with TB12.

Chris Broussard's train of thought was on track with Bayless and Sharpe's.

"All of the evidence points to Tom Brady either saying, ‘Look, him or me,’ or at the very least telling the Glazers, ‘Bruce and I just weren’t working in the end.' End of the day, he's forcing him out."

Despite the rumors, Arians denied that any rift between he and Brady led to his decision.

"I had conflicts with every player I coached because I cussed them all out, including him," Arians said of Brady. "[But we had a] great relationship off the field."

And for what it's worth, Brady's salute to Arians reeked of nothing but respect.

Brady now has a chance to win a Super Bowl with a third coach.

What a difference a few weeks makes.