Buccaneers: Why Bruce Arians is on the hot seat in 2020

Bruce Arians has helped construct one of the most talented teams in Buccaneer history, but that doesn’t mean that his seat won’t be warm in 2020.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are primed to pull themselves out of the abyss in the 2020 NFL season. After years of mediocrity or worse, the team is on pace to become a playoff favorite next season. One of the biggest reasons behind this improvement is head coach Bruce Arians. Arians was a phenomenal coaching hire, and the positive impacts of his hiring have already become evident with the roster.

There may have been bright spots, but the Bucs fell short of expectations during the 2019 season. Still, Arians is confident that this is a playoff-caliber team, as evidenced by his return from retirement to coach.

Arians and general manager Jason Licht have managed to put together two great draft classes and have handled free agency almost flawlessly during that same time. Despite the positive track that the team is on, Bruce Arians will be under the microscope consistently next season.

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Unfortunately for Arians, high expectations are a gift and a curse. Where the positives are concerned, the NFL clearly has high hopes for the Bucs due to the decision to give five prime time games to Tampa Bay.

This move has immediately made the Buccaneers relevant, free agents are willing to come to play with a contender for cheaper, and Arians has a greater opportunity to grow his legacy.

On the other hand, high expectations can be a difficult burden to bear. If the Bucs lose any games against inferior opponents, the first person to blame will be Arians.

Arians is the one that pushed heavily for Tom Brady. That in and of itself is a gamble. If Brady comes in and struggles in a new system, Arians will bear a large portion of the blame for moving on from Jameis Winston.

If Winston earns the starting job in New Orleans for any reason and Brady struggles, it will be difficult for Arians to retain his credibility.

The Buccaneers’ expectations are well-deserved, but this will only make the head coach’s job that much harder. Smart money is still on the Bucs doing well due to the impressive talent on both sides of the ball, but Bruce Arians has to hope that his game plan will work with this new roster if he hopes to stay with the team during the upcoming resurgence.