Why a Bruce Arians return/coaching staff changes won’t save Buccaneers

Byron Leftwich, Bruce Arians, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Byron Leftwich, Bruce Arians, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Many are already calling for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to make changes to the coaching staff. Here’s why this wouldn’t save the Buccaneers’ season.

The 2022 season has not exactly gone to plan for the 2022 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, to put it as lightly as possible. As such, the rather abrupt, and frankly still kind of weird, resignation of Bruce Arians as head coach has many Buccaneers fans feeling rather frustrated.

This frustration has led to new head honcho Todd Bowles already feeling his seat getting scalding hot, and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich is no exception given the struggles of the offense so far, which is made that much worse considering Tom Brady is the quarterback. It’s even gotten to the point where many fans are longing for the days of Arians, to the extreme level that they are calling for the Bucs to can Bowles (and even Leftwich) and re-hire Bucco Bruce.

Despite the struggles, here’s why radical coaching changes would not save the Buccaneers’ season.

The biggest problem with the Bucs so far in 2022 has been on the offensive side of the ball, and the biggest reason for this is the struggles of the offensive line. Since the dawn of time when football has been played, games have been won and lost in the trenches. Analytics and aerial assault lovers may not always like to hear that, but it’s a tale as old as time. It doesn’t matter how much talent you have at the skill positions, at quarterback, or who the coaching staff is made up of. If there’s no blocking, the offense doesn’t go.

Another issue many have with the staff is how they utilize the running game. Gone are the “Chuck and duck”, sorry, “no risk it no biscuit” approach of Arians, which leaves fans longing for a return. The thing is, the Bucs are still throwing the ball at a league-high clip, and even if an Arians-led crew runs the ball at better times, if there’s no blocking, it doesn’t matter.

The point here is, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a plethora of problems so far. Coaching may be one of them, but firing and/or re-hiring present and past coaches won’t turn the pirate ship out of the rough waters on its own.

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