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For his entire NFL career, Tom Brady has played for the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick. When the 2020 season begins, however, things will be quite different. Brady will be suiting up for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and working with a new head coach, Bruce Arians.

While it might take some time to adjust to the legendary quarterback wearing something other than blue and talking to a head coach who doesn’t wear a hoodie, the move could pay off. Brady seems like he might be a perfect fit for Arians and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tom Brady is on his way to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Normally, most of the news around the New England Patriots centers on their on-field success. During the 2019 NFL season, however, Tom Brady’s impending free agency became a central storyline.

Early in the season, both the veteran quarterback and his trainer have put their Massachusetts homes up for sale. After the season wrapped up, Brady and Gisele Bundchen reportedly cleared out their suite in Gillette Stadium. Those acts, combined with some on-field frustration, seemed to suggest that Brady was ready to try his luck somewhere else.

On Tuesday, he confirmed that reality on social media. While there hasn’t been any official confirmation yet, Brady is apparently hammering out the final details of a contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Come fall, he’ll be playing for Bruce Arians in Florida.

Why Bruce Arians will love working with Tom Brady

Throughout his coaching career, Bruce Arians has worked with Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck, Carson Palmer, and, most recently, Jameis Winston. The veteran coach, however, will still be excited to work with Tom Brady.

Arians has previously written that an ideal quarterback needs “the heart, the grit, the smarts, the ability to lead, to throw accurately, and to have just enough athleticism.” Brady possesses five of those traits; while he might not be too athletic at this point in his career, the head coach probably won’t mind.

While Arians’ love of pushing the envelope and taking shots downfield doesn’t mesh well with Brady’s skill set, the veteran quarterback still shouldn’t have a problem fitting into the offense. “My quarterback operates on a read-rotation system,” the head coach explained in January 2019. “At the line of scrimmage, he’ll diagnose the defense, and, based on what he sees, he’ll decide who will be his number one option receiver.” If you’re entrusting a quarterback with reading defenses and making a smart decision, it’s hard to get someone better than Brady.

Will the Buccaneers be running something a bit different than the standard Bruce Arians offense? Yes, but you don’t specifically target a big-money player if you’re not willing to play to his strengths.

Things are looking up for Bruce Arians and his Buccaneers

In recent years, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers haven’t exactly been the NFL’s most successful franchise. While no one player is a guarantee of success, Bruce Arians has to be feeling pretty good about his team’s chances.

Last year, the Buccaneers lived and died with Jameis Winston. While the quarterback threw 30 touchdowns, he also gave the ball away with shocking regularity; if nothing else, you know Tom Brady isn’t going to gift the opposition the game. The veteran quarterback will also be throwing to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, which won’t hurt anything, either.

Although Tampa needs some help on the offensive line, they’re probably the second-best team in their division by merely showing up; that’s not a bad baseline for a team who hasn’t made the playoffs in over a decade. If history has shown us anything, though, it’s that Bruce Arians can get the best out of any quarterback. Pairing him with Tom Brady could be what pushed the Buccaneers to the next level.

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Senior Writer, Programmer

Joe Kozlowski

Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sportscasting, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he’s a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie.

Growing up loving Shaquille O’Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he’s continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives.

As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He’s barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe’s big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level.

Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.