Arians comfortable during pandemic

Bucs coach moving ahead with working with Brady this year

TAMPA, Fla. — Bruce Arians didn’t give much thought to the prospect of opting out of trying to help Tom Brady win a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers.

The 67-year-old whose aggressive offensive philosophy is dubbed “no risk it, no biscuit” is one of the oldest head coaches in the NFL, as well as a cancer survivor who once retired because of health concerns.

He’s among millions in a category considered vulnerable to the novel coronavirus, yet he’s eager to work through the pandemic. With a goal of helping Brady and a mostly young Buccaneers roster end the league’s secondlongest playoff drought and hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

At 68, the Seahawks’ Pete Carroll and the Patriots’ Bill Belichick are the only head coaches who are older.

“There was never a doubt I was going to coach, especially once I’d seen the protocols in place,” Arians said Tuesday, adding he plans to wear a mask and shield on the field and “coach like I’ve always coached.”

“Whether it was Tom or whoever the quarterback would be, I’m going to get excited. I really like our ballclub and hope — knock on wood — we can stay healthy and do the things we want to do,” Arians added. “Having Tom adds to the excitement, obviously, but I would have been all in either way.”

The Bucs as an organization have the second-worst winning percentage of any franchise among the four major professional sports. They haven’t made the playoffs for 12 consecutive seasons and haven’t won a postseason game since their 2002 Super Bowlwinning run.

With Brady replacing talented but mistake-prone Jameis Winston at quarterback, expectations are soaring.

There’s a lot of work to be done, especially with teams unable to conduct OTAs and offseason conditioning programs due to the pandemic.

“You would hope we would have had spring practice, so all of them — especially the younger players — could get over the awe of Tom Brady walking into the locker. But we’ll get through that, I think, within a week,” Arians said.

Brady, who turns 43 next Monday, signed a two-year, fully guaranteed $50 million contract in free agency after appearing in nine Super Bowls — winning six — over 20 seasons with the Patriots.

The Buccaneers also added the quarterback’s favorite target, Rob Gronkowski, to an already exceptional group of receivers and tight ends.

The Bucs reinforced a commitment to help Brady be successful by drafting offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs and retaining three key members of an emerging defense.