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WATCH: Todd Bowles discusses Bruce Arians' job-changing phone call

Bowles was getting off an airplane when he realized he'd missed a call from Arians. The rest is history.

Dustin Lewis

The NFL world was shocked, to say the least, when news broke last week that Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach, Bruce Arians, was moving to a front-office role. In his place, veteran defensive coordinator Todd Bowles was promoted to lead the franchise.

READ MORE: Bruce Arians says Tom Brady gets way too much credit for Buccaneers offense

While it was a surprising move this deep into the offseason, there's not a ton of familiarity lost. Bowles had been the defensive coordinator in Tampa Bay for each of the last three seasons, originally joining the franchise when Arians was hired in 2019.

The league is still trying to wrap its around the change, even new head coach Todd Bowles himself. Earlier this week, Bowles appeared on the Adam Schefer Podcast for an interview with the ESPN insider. 

During the episode, Bowles described the moment when he learned that Arians was stepping down. Shortly after getting off a flight in North Carolina, he returned a phone call from Arians, who shared that he was turning over the Buccaneers to Bowles.

"I have a house in Charlotte so I flew down to check on my house. When I got off the plane and turned on my phone, I had a message from Bruce that said to call him. He asked me where I was and I said I was in Charlotte, I was going to check on my house. 

"He said he wanted to tell me in person but I guess he can't. He said he was stepping down and he was turning it over to me. I was like, what? You're kidding me right?"

"You know, it's owners week, it's the week off. You're kind of past all that stuff of when jobs change and everything else. You kind of set your sights on things that you have to do. He asked me when I was gonna be back and I told him that I was coming back on Tuesday because I had, you know, floor seats to the Nuggets and the Hornets that night. I was going to the basketball game!"

READ MORE: Bruce Arians Recruited Larry Fitzgerald in 2021

Check out the full video clip below.

Stick with BucsGameday for more coverage on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the offseason.

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Dustin Lewis
DUSTIN LEWIS

Lewis joined BucsGameday when it was founded in 2022. He's also the Editor-In-Chief of NoleGameday. A graduate of Florida State, Lewis has worked for NG since 2016.