Stephen A. Smith questions the Buccaneers' decision to hire Bruce Arians as their head coach after he said he wanted to coach the Browns. (1:48) TAMPA, Fla. -- Bruce Arians is ending his retirement to become the next head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team announced Tuesday night. The deal is for four years with a one-year option. Arians, who retired after the 2017 season, his fifth as Arizona Cardinals coach, spent the 2018 season working as a game analyst for CBS. "Bruce Arians is one of the NFL's most well-respected coaches over the past two decades, and we are excited to have him leading our team," Buccaneers owner Bryan Glazer said in a statement. "Throughout this process, we focused on finding the right coach with a proven ability to elevate our players and lead our team forward. Bruce has played a large role in the development and career success of some of our league's best players, and we look forward to seeing him continue that work here with our franchise." Arians, 66, expressed his excitement about joining the franchise in a tweet following the announcement. Proud and honored to be named the Head Coach of the @Buccaneers!! To work for such great ownership, the Glazer Family, and with GM Jason Licht. Time to get to work!! #tampaBAy #buccobruce #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/IlZE5duEME — Bruce Arians (@BruceArians) January 9, 2019 He was technically under contract with the Cardinals through the 2019 season. The league office's original guidance to the Buccaneers was that no compensation was needed, but the Cardinals made a late argument that they should continue to hold Arians' rights. Rather than be drawn into a protracted dispute, the parties agreed to swap sixth- and seventh-round picks to resolve the matter, clearing the way for the Bucs to hire Arians. Tampa Bay receives Arians' rights and Arizona's 2019 seventh-round pick in return for the Buccaneers' 2019 sixth-round pick, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter. Former Jets coach Todd Bowles, who was fired last month after three straight losing seasons in New York, had been expected to join Arians in Tampa Bay as defensive coordinator, sources told ESPN's Dianna Russini. But Bowles is now also being considered to replace Vic Fangio as the Chicago Bears' defensive coordinator, league sources confirmed to ESPN. Fangio has reached an agreement to become the Denver Broncos' coach. No deal between Bowles and the Buccaneers has yet been signed, sources said. Bowles has ties to both the Tampa Bay and Chicago staffs. Bears coach Matt Nagy's father coached Bowles in high school. Bowles played for Arians at Temple in the mid-1980s and the two have remained close. Bowles served as Arians' defensive coordinator for the Cardinals from 2013 to 2014, a job that was a springboard to the Jets' head-coaching position. "He's like a son to me," Arians said of Bowles on "The Rich Eisen Show" on Wednesday. "I was more talking to him about his future. We all get fired. I've been fired so many times I can't count 'em all. Then it led to this. He thought hard about it. I was doing my best sell job and this happened." Bucs defensive line coach Brentson Buckner, who also was on Arians' staff in Arizona, joined Tampa Bay last offseason. Buckner is under contract through 2019. Byron Leftwich is joining the Bucs as offensive coordinator, with Arians saying Wednesday that Leftwich would handle the offensive playcalling. Harold Goodwin was announced as Tampa Bay's assistant head coach/run-game coordinator on Wednesday as well. Arians will reunite with Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht, who served as the Cardinals' vice president of player personnel in 2013, and quarterback Jameis Winston, who attended Arians' football camps in Birmingham, Alabama. "Jaboo was a Birmingham legend," Arians said prior to the Cardinals facing Winston and the Bucs in 2016. "He would be fun to coach, there's no doubt about it. He's a winner and a great leader and obviously a heckuva young quarterback." Arians played a role in shaping Licht's philosophies as a GM. When Licht traded up to select kicker Roberto Aguayo in the second round of the 2016 draft -- a move that drew leaguewide criticism -- Licht quoted Arians' famous "no risk it, no biscuit" line after the draft decision. Aguayo struggled and was cut the following season. The Bucs are counting on Arians to orchestrate a quick turnaround, much like he did in Arizona. The Bucs haven't reached the playoffs since 2007 -- the NFL's second-longest postseason drought -- and have finished with double-digit losses in seven of the past 10 seasons. Tampa Bay fired coach Dirk Koetter on Dec. 30 following consecutive 5-11 seasons. Arians served as the Cardinals' head coach from 2013 through 2017, amassing a 50-32-1 record (playoffs included), the best in Cardinals franchise history, despite inheriting a team that went 5-11 under predecessor Ken Whisenhunt the season before Arians arrived. He was twice named the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year (2012, 2014), becoming the 11th coach to earn the award two times and the first interim coach to win the award. In 2012, he stepped in for Chuck Pagano and guided the Indianapolis Colts to an 11-5 record (Arians went 9-3) and a playoff berth. In his first season with Arizona in 2013, Arians led the Cardinals to a 10-6 record, just the second time in the franchise's 37 years that it had won 10 or more games. Arians' Cardinals teams had double-digit wins in three of five seasons, and he is 1-2 in the postseason. The Bucs also interviewed Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator George Edwards and Dallas Cowboys defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator Kris Richard, but Arians was long considered the front-runner. ESPN's Rich Cimini contributed to this report.<doc-sep>It took one year for the Arizona Cardinals winningest coach in franchise history to get back into the game. Although, it is with a new team, with no compensation coming the Cardinals way, Bruce Arians is likely to be named the new head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This is an interesting development. A year after citing health issues and a need to spend more time with his family, after two hospital stays during his time as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, Arians is taking another shot at head coach. He is going to a situation that most would describe as as bad if not worse off than the Arizona Cardinals, but here he is. It begs the question, what is your reaction as an Arizona Cardinals fan? For me, it is not really that much of an issue. Arians tenure in Arizona seemed to have gone as far as it would, especially with his hesitation to make changes to his coaching staff. Add to the fact he would have been grooming a new quarterback for the first time in six season and it made sense that the marriage would amicably end. However, the way it happened, the reasons involved, are tough to understand, as well as his decision to choose Tampa. Sure, it is close to his forever home, about a seven hour drive, but is the situation good enough? That is the thing that Cardinals fans have seemed to struggle with in Arians decision, that the Bucs aren’t exactly the Cleveland Browns. However, as far as this fan goes, I wish nothing but luck to Arians and hope he has as much success, except against the Cardinals, as he did in his time in Arizona.<doc-sep>The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a new captain, as former Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians has been lured out of retirement to help return the Bucs to being perennial playoff contenders. Despite what feels like a league-wide trend toward younger head-coaching hires, Arians is the oldest head coach to be hired for a new job in NFL history. But that being the case, he brings a proven track record of success, including a pair of NFL Coach of the Year awards. Arians has wasted little time building an impressive, experienced coaching staff, from former New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles (defensive coordinator) to two more talented assistants from his days in Arizona, Harold Goodwin (assistant head coach/run game coordinator) and Byron Leftwich (offensive coordinator/pass game coordinator). What grade would you give Tampa Bay’s choice for their new head coach?<doc-sep>
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made their choice in their head coaching search. The team hired former Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians for the job, the Bucs announced in a statement Tuesday night. Arians, 66, retired after last season, finishing with a 49-30-1 record in five years with the Cardinals. While with the team, he had several health-related issues, including two trips to the hospital during the 2016 season. He also later revealed in his book that he had a cancerous spot removed from his liver in 2016. His deal with the Buccaneers is a four-year contract with a fifth-year option for 2023, the team said in its release. "Bruce Arians is one of the NFL’s most well-respected coaches over the past two decades and we are excited to have him leading our team," Buccaneers owner and co-chairman Bryan Glazer said in the team's statement. "Throughout this process, we focused on finding the right coach with a proven ability to elevate our players and lead our team forward. Bruce has played a large role in the development and career success of some of our league’s best players and we look forward to seeing him continue that work here with our franchise." In November, Arians told The Canton Repository that the Cleveland Browns' head coaching opening would be "the only job I would consider." But he previously worked with Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht, who served as the Cardinals' director and vice president of player personnel from 2012-13. Arians will already have his quarterback in the fold, as general manager Jason Licht said Jameis Winston will return for the 2019 season. Winston is scheduled to earn $20.9 million in his fifth-year option. Follow Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz on Twitter @MikeMSchwartz.