Something felt off to the masses when Bruce Arians abruptly announced his retirement following the return of Tom Brady.
The duo reportedly had tension and speculation spread that Brady’s retirement was related to it. After a month away from the game, the 44-year-old said he was coming back and then boom — Arians is getting ready to play golf and enjoy life after football.
The timing just felt odd.
Both Brady and Arians have come out publicly and denied any strained relationship between the two. Longtime NFL general manager Mike Lombardi spoke on his podcast “The GM Shuffle” about the situation and he doesn’t believe Brady forced Arians out.
“This one shocked me, only in the sense of the timing,” Lombardi said, transcribed by WEEI. “Bruce was at the combine talking about Brady’s not coming back and was extolling the virtues of Blaine Gabbert. And at the owners meeting he wasn’t in the team coaching picture, he left early, it just doesn’t make sense why – and it’s going to add to a bunch of conspiracy theories.
“I just don’t think Brady was on the sixth floor of the depository waiting for Bruce to turn around on Elm Street to come down and be in a triangular configuration. I think that’s a lot of nonsense.I just think Bruce probably felt like it was time to play more golf, if that’s even possible.”
Brady will now play under Todd Bowles with a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that keeps getting stronger.
