Bruce Arians' handoff to Todd Bowles is fitting capstone for coach who pushed NFL to think differently | Opinion

Talk about walking the walk.

Bruce Arians, an undeniable straight shooter who for years has championed diversity for the NFL coaching ranks more passionately than any other white coach in the league, stepped down as Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach and passed the torch to Todd Bowles, a Black man ready for another shot.

This succession, another stunner in this offseason of major surprises, is so fitting in that it reflects the progressiveness that Arians, 69, has been so unselfish in pushing for. Bowles, the Bucs defensive coordinator the past three seasons, just became the sixth minority coach in a league that has a shameful track record in providing opportunity for people of color.

Arians led the effort, combining with GM Jason Licht, for the Glazer family to promote Bowles.

Yet to view this transaction primarily at the intersection of benevolence and racial progressiveness would be such an injustice.

“This isn’t a diversity hire,” Tony Dungy told USA TODAY Sports. “This is the other side of the coin. This is, ‘I’ve seen this guy develop. This is the best person for the job.’ This is not a diversity move. This is a result to show what diversity can do. This is the fruit of doing the right thing.”

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As Arians noted during the Bucs news conference on Thursday, his hope was that Bowles wouldn’t be the one to succeed him because his pupil would have landed a head coaching job elsewhere before now. Yet like Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and several other notable Black assistants across the league, that opportunity never materialized for Bowles.

“Sometimes, the timing isn’t right,” Bowles said diplomatically on Thursday.

Well, the timing is certainly in his favor now. Bowles, who was 24-40 with one winning season during a four-year stint as New York Jets coach from 2015-18, takes over a team that has Tom Brady returning and is positioned again as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

Arians, who stays aboard as senior football consultant – “Cool title, whatever the hell that means,” he said – has been thinking about stepping aside since the end of the season. And for years, he envisioned his successor would come from his staff.

Yet it’s the timing that has produced shockwaves as the Bucs’ chances were rejuvenated after Brady decided to come back after a 40-day retirement. It was natural to think that Arians would be eager to win another title with TB12 back as his triggerman. I mean, who wouldn’t take that shot?

Arians, whom Bucs owner Joel Glazer announced will be inducted into the Bucs Ring of Honor, fooled us all with this one.

“When Tom came back, it was, ‘Now it’s easy,' " Arians said of finalizing a decision that Bowles didn’t find out about until Monday. “There’s no better time to pass the torch than now.”

Dungy knows. When he retired as the Indianapolis Colts' coach after the 2008 season, with Peyton Manning in his prime, he left successor Jim Caldwell with a team primed to make a Super Bowl run. Caldwell took the Colts to Super Bowl 44 in his first season.

“This is something that I think Bruce always wanted to do,” said Dungy, who incidentally became the Bucs' first Black coach in 1996 before winning Super Bowl 41 with the Colts. “I can relate to it. I wanted to turn it over to Jim when the team was still good and had a chance to compete for the Super Bowl, which is what they did. I think that’s all going through Bruce’s mind.”

Bowles, 58, a classy leader lauded for his football smarts, has essentially grown up in football with Arians. He played defensive back for Arians at Temple and the two remained close over the decades, as Bowles had a 10-year playing career before starting his climb up the coaching ladder.

“I’ve gone from son to nephew to cousin to brother with him,” Bowles said of Arians.

Arians called Bowles “the brightest guy I ever coached” and recalled telling his former player he should pursue coaching.

“He goes on to play 10 years and win a couple of Super Bowl rings,” Arians said. “Shows you what I know as a talent evaluator.”

That it’s come full circle also says something about the loyalty that Arians has exhibited to his “guys,” as he has often described the several coaches on his staff who once played for him in college or in the NFL. Arians has made no bones about intentionally creating opportunities for coaches with untapped potential, which includes the classic case of recruiting Leftwich, one of his former backup quarterbacks with the Pittsburgh Steelers, to join his staff with the Arizona Cardinals. It took several years for Arians to convince Leftwich, who had retired from playing, to come off the golf course and embark on a coaching career.

Of course, Arians has also worn his disgust with NFL opportunities for minority coaches on his sleeves. He was incensed during the hiring cycle this year when Bowles and Leftwich were passed over for head coaching jobs, just as he was steamed the previous year with the same result.

Now that Bowles, who built the Bucs defense into a championship-caliber unit, has landed another head coaching shot, it’s not hard to grasp how the significance of the hire goes over with Arians and others who have pushed for opportunities for minority coaches.

As Dungy put it, Arians undoubtedly was motivated to reward a worthy candidate while leaving the team in good hands. Yet it’s also a win for diversity. Bowles will hardly downplay that victory.

“It means a lot,” Bowles said. “Being a person of color, you want to get hired off of your ability. But as a kid, to see some people like us in these places and in these jobs, it gives hope to a lot of people. You don’t coach for that reason, but being a kid growing up and going around neighborhoods and speaking to people, you understand the impact that it has on their lives.

“We’re just trying to be the best coaches we can be. You’ve got to credit Bruce for giving everyone a chance. Everyone on this staff understands the difference in diversity and how to be a good coach, but you’d better be a good coach first. I think he did a good job creating both and getting both in this building.”

Now Arians leaves on his own terms in more ways than one – able to proudly walk the walk.

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bruce Arians' handoff to Todd Bowles is fitting capstone to career