Bucs' Bruce Arians Says He'll Coach On Field This Season in Face Shield, Mask

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians is determined to coach on the field this season and not from an elevated box during the COVID-19 pandemic, though he does plan to wear both a mask and face shield. 

"There's no chance of me coaching from a box," he told Jenna Laine of ESPN. "Once we get a shield that I like, I'll have my mask and shield on and I won't be able to spit on 'em anyway."

Arians, 67, has survived several diagnoses of cancer in the past and is considered an at-risk individual. But he said Tuesday that he trusts the NFL's plan to limit the exposure players and coaches will have to the coronavirus. 

"I'm very confident. I think the protocols that are in place are extremely safe and it's gonna be coaches, players and staff being smart outside the building. Nobody's gonna get sick over here because everybody's got a negative test that's in the building, so you're gonna get sick somewhere else. We've just got to have a lot of discipline this year, and I have a lot of confidence we'll get it done."

He also said he never questioned whether he could take part in the 2020 season during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"There was never a doubt that I was gonna coach. Especially once I'd seen the protocols and everything that's in place. Whether it was Tom [Brady] or whoever the quarterback would be—I'm gonna get excited, I really like our ball club. Knock on wood, we can stay healthy this year and do the things we want to do, to get to the playoffs. Having Tom adds to the excitement obviously, but I would have been all-in either way."

Few teams have had a more exciting offseason than Tampa Bay, which added Brady and his longtime running mate in New England, tight end Rob Gronkowski. The team also bolstered its offensive line by signing Joe Haeg and drafting Tristan Wirfs in the first round of the 2020 draft. The Bucs spent a third-round pick on running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn, too. 

Suddenly, a team that hasn't made the postseason since 2007 is a real threat in the NFC. And it will have its head coach on the sideline calling the shots.