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Bruce Arians fires thinly veiled shot at Bill Belichick over Tom Brady: Patriots 'didn’t allow him to coach'

Bruce Arians advanced to a 2021 conference championship game.

Bill Belichick didn’t.

Arians, who now has Belichick’s former quarterback on this team, is taking a victory lap. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ head coach fired a not-so veiled shot at his New England Patriots counterpart on Monday, letting the world know that he thinks he’s doing a better job with Tom Brady.

‘I allow him to coach’

Arians unleashed the take in an interview with NBC’s Peter King in a discussion lauding Brady’s leadership qualities.

“Consummate leader,” Arians told King. “Has been all year. Got the air of confidence that permeates through our team every day.

“I allow him to be himself. Like, New England didn’t allow him to coach. I allow him to coach. I just sit back sometimes and watch.”

So, yeah. Much has been made about who would win the Brady-Belichick breakup after the six-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback bolted New England for Tampa Bay. If you believe in such tally-taking, then Brady is winning by a wide margin, sitting two wins away from a seventh championship in a season when Belichick missed the playoffs without him.

Brady’s not talking about it. Arians appears happy to carry the torch along with a side of look-at-me. And more power to him. These deep rides are rare in the NFL — unless you’re Belichick, of course.

Arians might as well make the most of it. And if that means extra chirping from his corner, then so be it.

Head coach Bruce Arians and Tom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrate after scoring a touchdown in the second quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on October 25, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Bruce Arianis is feeling it. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Arians takes random swipe at Chase Young too

Monday wasn’t even the first random shot of the week fired by the Tampa Bay coach. After his Bucs beat the New Orleans Saints in Sunday’s divisional-round playoff game, he took a swipe at Washington’s rookie pass rushing phenom Chase Young.

In talking up Bucs rookie safety Antoine Winfield Jr. after the win, Arians argued that he, not Young deserves to win Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. He tossed in a shot at Young’s stat line for good measure.

“Seven and a half sacks isn't anything to what he's done,” Arians said of Young’s sack tally.

Maybe Young irked Arians with his respectful back-and-forth with Brady around Tampa’s wild-card playoff win over Washington. Or maybe Arians, who’s rarely shy, is just feeling it on the precipice of the NFC championship game.

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