TAMPA, Florida – Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady spoke enthusiastically about coach Bruce Arians on Thursday as the Bucs prepared to face Kansas City Chiefs in next week’s Super Bowl, saying “I think everyone want to win for him. “
At 68, Aryans will be the second oldest head coach in a Super Bowl. He won two as an assistant to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“He’s a great man. A great leader. A great person. A great friend,” said Brady of the Aryans, whom he met when the Aryans briefly retired and worked in broadcasting in 2018. “He is very loyal. He has a great way of communicating effectively with everyone around here. “
Brady developed an affection for Aryans after watching his documentary “A Football Life”. He highlighted Arians’ escalation to become a coach for the first time at age 60 with the Arizona Cardinals, his tough coaching style, his disdain for politics and his desire to keep things real.
“Everyone has great affection for him, for the person he is,” said Brady of the Aryans. “There is no one who would say anything bad about BA. He is so endearing to everyone. And I think everyone wants to win for him.”
Some questioned how Brady was dealing with the Aryan style, with very different behavior from Bill Belichick which sometimes includes calling players out publicly. Brett Favre and Rob Ninkovich, close friends of Brady, even publicly criticized the Aryans for this, with Ninkovich asking for his job.
But Arians always said, “It’s just honesty,” and Brady said he can handle tough training.
“He puts a lot into it, expects a lot of it,” said Brady. “He has high expectations for us every day in training. I am very excited for him to be recognized the way he is. I know he is twice [AP] Coach of the year, but he really did an incredible job this year with the team in really adverse situations. I love to play for him. “
The feeling is mutual.
Arians of Brady said during the presentation of the Halas Trophy after the Bucs won the NFC title: “The belief he gave everyone in the organization that it could be done – it only took one man.”