Is Bruce Arians retiring? Buccaneers head coach confirms he will return to sidelines in 2022

Any retirement speculation on Bruce Arians can be put to rest.

The Buccaneers’ 69-year-old head coach simply said, “oh yeah” when asked about whether he’ll return to the team following Tampa Bay’s 30-27 divisional-round loss to the Rams on Saturday.

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Arians is in his third year as the head coach in Tampa Bay, and his eighth season as a head coach in the NFL. In his three seasons in Tampa Bay, he has guided the team to a 31-18 record in the regular season, with a Super Bowl 55 title, NFC South division title and a 5-1 record in the playoffs.

Arians had been the head coach of the Cardinals from 2013 to 2017, and led the team to a 49-30-1 record, including a pair of trips to the playoffs and an NFC West title. Arizona lost to the Panthers in the wild-card round in 2014 and again to Carolina in the NFC Championship Game in 2015. He remains the team’s winningest head coach.

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Had Arians decided to call it a career, it would have been the second time he announced his retirement from the NFL. Arians briefly retired after the 2017 season and was out of coaching in 2018 before signing a four-year contract with Tampa Bay in January 2019.

Before the start of the 2021 season, Arians reportedly had his contract restructured, giving him a raise after winning the Super Bowl in his first season coaching Tom Brady. He remains under contract through the 2023 campaign.

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Arians is among the oldest active head coaches in the league, tied with Bill Belichick for the second-oldest at 69 years old, though the Patriots head coach has him beat by a few months. Pete Carroll, 70, is the oldest active head coach.