From Peyton Manning to Tom Brady, Bruce Arians has coached some of the greatest quarterbacks in the NFL in an amazing career that has him in the Super Bowl at the age of 68. (Yahoo Sports)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
The Browns don’t have to worry about a coaching search for the foreseeable future. Kevin Stefanski has collected two coach-of-the-year accolades so far and could add the official Associated Press award at the NFL Honors show on Saturday night.
Stefanski ended a 22-year search for the right coach in the Browns expansion era. During that time I always felt two coaches were uniquely qualified to lead them out of the abyss.
One was Bill Cowher – former Browns linebacker and special teams coach, the most famous branch of the Marty Schottenheimer coaching tree.
Trouble with Cowher was he loved his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers, and after leading them to two Super Bowl appearances in 15 seasons as head coach, he was too loyal to heed the Browns’ overtures. Former owner Randy Lerner inquired twice. By then, Cowher was too comfortable in a stress-free lifestyle living in New York and commentating inside the CBS studio on game days.
The other was Bruce Arians – Peyton Manning’s first quarterbacks coach in Indianapolis, Schottenheimer’s running backs coach in Kansas City, Butch Davis’ offensive coordinator in the only expansion-era Browns playoff season until this year, Cowher’s receivers coach in Pittsburgh, then Ben Roethlisberger’s coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Mike Tomlin.
When Arians’ contract with the Steelers was not renewed after the 2011 season, he acquired a healthy contempt for the organization – credentials alone for returning to Cleveland as Browns coach. But it was not to be.
So he picked up coach-of-the-year honors after a return to Indianapolis as interim for cancer-stricken Chuck Pagano and then with the Arizona Cardinals, with whom he was 49-30-1 in five seasons. Only 11 other coaches have won the “official” award two or more times.
During his one-year retirement from coaching in 2018, Arians disclosed to me how much he wanted to coach the Browns.
“That was the job I always wanted,” Arians said. “I felt like Cleveland deserved a winner. They have the most loyal fans in the world. I just thought it was a goal of mine. Every time that job came open, I tried to get it.”
He would try one more time after the 2018 season, when GM John Dorsey strong-armed Freddie Kitchens into the position. Arians’ public campaigning for the job may have been unbecoming to some, but he has never been one to mince words.
On to Tampa
At the time, Arians said the Browns’ job was the only one that could lure him out of retirement. Then he packed his golf clubs and accepted an offer from a friend, Tampa Bay GM Jason Licht, to coach the Buccaneers.
“I was not itching to get back in coaching,” Arians said on a Zoom call on Monday. “This job just happened. Everything lined up perfect – from ownership to general manager, great friend, to all my assistants being available. Quite frankly, I probably wouldn’t have taken the job if they had not been available.”
The Bucs went 7-9 in Arians’ first season, as quarterback James Winston set franchise records for passing yards, touchdowns – and interceptions. And then something happened that nobody expected.
When Tom Brady finally earned his freedom from Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots after 20 incredible yet emotionally taxing seasons, the GOAT chose to fly south and join Arians and the Bucs.
And now they are in Super Bowl 55 to face the Kid, or Baby GOAT, Patrick Mahomes, and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs can become the first team since Brady’s Patriots in 2003 and 2004 to win back-to-back NFL titles.
At 68, Arians is the oldest head coach to appear in a Super Bowl, while Brady is trying for his seventh Super Bowl championship in his 10th appearance. A win would tie Brady with Browns legend Otto Graham, whose seven league championships included four in the All-America Football Conference.
If you think Arians lucked into Brady, you will hear no argument from him.
His first NFL job was with Manning, the 1998 No. 1 overall NFL pick. Then Arians coached 1999 No. 1 overall pick Tim Couch with the Browns, followed by Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh, 2012 No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck in Indianapolis, and then 2003 No. 1 overall pick Carson Palmer with the Cardinals.
“How does this keep happening to you?” I asked Arians on the Zoom call.
“I only take jobs with good quarterbacks, know what I mean?” he replied with a laugh. “No, I’ve been very, very lucky. Getting Tom has been a joy after having Peyton, Ben, Carson, Andrew, Kelly Holcomb. I’ve been very, very blessed to have a bunch of great quarterbacks, great human beings. I’m really enjoying the time with Tom.”
The fact Arians mentioned Holcomb in that discussion tells how much regard he has for the NFL journeyman and successor to Couch in Cleveland. In his book released in 2017, The Quarterback Whisperer: How to Build an Elite NFL Quarterback, Arians devoted an entire chapter to Holcomb, who was touched by an angel in throwing for 429 yards and three touchdowns in the Browns’ 36-33 playoff loss to Pittsburgh after the 2002 season.
A trailblazer
Arians is a year older than Stefanski’s father, but he and the Browns’ young coach share some traits. Both are super-aggressive in attacking defenses. Both are culture-changers, immensely respected and liked by their players. And both espouse diversity and inclusion in their coaching staffs.
Arians, in fact, is the NFL’s shining star in that regard. All three of his coordinators are African-American, along with his assistant head coach. He is the only NFL head coach who employs two females in full-time coaching positions. And his assistants range from age 27 to 82.
“As far as race, that is not by design,” he said. “Those are the best coaches I know. To hear from different people, from different ages, and different ethnic groups, male and female, I think our players learn from that. I know I do. And it helps our staff.”
Arians said his interest in giving minorities opportunities stems from the fact he was denied his opportunity for so long.
“I think probably because of the fact I didn’t get a shot until I was 60, and Chuck Pagano had to get sick with leukemia for me to become a head coach,” he said. “I was a winning Super Bowl offensive coordinator and didn’t even get a phone call. So the lack of opportunities has made me want to give more opportunities to more people.”
Arians has always been a straight shooter, and that might have hindered his job prospects with conservative owners over the years. His sharp tongue targeted Brady at various points this season. He dared to criticize Brady for poor throws and poor reads on occasion. The Bucs were 7-5 the last time Arians attributed a loss partly to Brady’s errors. They haven’t lost a game since.
Brady said of Arians, “He's a great man, he's a great leader, he's a great person, he's a great friend [and] he's very loyal. He's just got a great way about communicating effectively with everybody around here. Everybody has a great affection for him, for the person he is. There's nobody that ever would say anything bad about B.A.
“He's just so endearing to everybody and I think everyone wants to win for him. I think that's what you want to do for a coach – you want to get out there and you want to win for him. He puts a lot into it, expects a lot out of it, has high expectations for us every day in practice [and I am] just really excited for him to be recognized in the way that he is. I know he's a two-time Coach of the Year, but [he has] just done an amazing job this year with the team in really adverse situations. I love playing for him.”
Yes, the Browns erred in not hiring Arians over the years. Each of the three times it could have happened, he was clearly the most qualified candidate. But it’s a case study in things happening for a reason. Arians might never have made it to the Super Bowl as a head coach. And the Browns might never have found Stefanski.