The Big Lead

Tom Brady and Bruce Arians Play PR Clean Up But Not Golf

By Brian Giuffra

Bruce Arians and Tom Brady.
Bruce Arians and Tom Brady. / Jamie Squire/Getty Images
facebooktwitter

The last month or so has been a bit of a public relations disaster for Tom Brady, Bruce Arians and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After Arians publicly called out Brady for costing the Bucs chances to win multiple times in a few weeks, something Bill Belichick never did in 20 years as Brady's coach, rumors of discord between the duo began to leak.

Have no fear Bucs fans. A feel-good golf story is here to save the day.

According to a things-are-just-rosy-between-Brady-and-Arians story from Adam Schefter today, Brady and Arians were scheduled to play golf on Dec. 2 but the NFL said they couldn't. Insert sad emoji face here.

BUUUUT, a source told Schefter that the beef between the coach and quarterback, "is just way overdone," and Schefter writes, "Evidence is in the form of the free time the two were planning to spend together until the league stepped in."

If that wasn't enough to convince you, Schefter also got a quote from Bucs GM Jason Licht, who said, "They really get along great. There's a deep respect there for each other."

So there you have it. Case closed. Brady and Arians get along great and the proof is the fact that they wanted to play golf together and their boss said they're friends too. If it wasn't for the NFL, who knows how close the two would be right now.

On the flip side, where there's smoke there's fire. Arians did place blame on Brady for at least three of the Bucs five losses this year. There is basis for Arians blame, highlighted by Brady's 11 interceptions this season, only three off his career-high from 2005, and consistently inconsistent accuracy. But still, you know Brady doesn't want to hear that from his coach, which is why his side leaked their frustration a few weeks ago.

The 7-5 Bucs currently hold the sixth seed in the NFC playoffs. With the 10-2 Saints leading the division by three games, Tampa Bay will need to make any playoff run on the road as a wild card. For a team with as much talent on offense as they have stockpiled, anything less than a substantial playoff push would be a disappointment. Thankfully the relationship between Brady and Arians is perfectly fine now. At least if you believe the PR fodder.