How Tom Brady And A Bartender Saved Tampa Bay's Super Bowl Voyage

It was week 13 of the NFL season and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had seemingly hit rock bottom. Three losses in a four-week span jettisoned many fans from the bandwagon, leaving six-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady alone to drown his post-Belichick sorrows at a bar in Tampa. As the once confident 6-foot-4 veteran raised his glass above his cleft chin and swallowed his woes, another drink was poured without him asking for more. Across the counter, a gray-bearded bartender stared back at him—eyes just below a distinct Kangol hat. In an effort to switch things up, he offered a different cocktail. Wired by the new mix, Brady left that bar and hasn’t lost a game since.

Okay, the bar scene probably didn’t happen…but it is a good visual for this season’s top storyline. A Hall of Fame quarterback leaves his fairytale dynasty with the New England Patriots and takes command of a talented team in Tampa, led by a head coach named Bruce Arians who is equal parts brash and innovative. Then that duo goes from Super Bowl favorites to a dysfunctional chemistry experiment. Then comes the bar scene, the ideal illustration of how the Bucs reversed course and are now winners of their last seven games. And as in most bar scenes, it’s all about the bartender.

“Bruce Arians at his core is a bartender,” said Lars Anderson, who authored the book by Bruce Arians titled The Quarterback Whisperer. “And what is the hallmark of a good bartender? He listens.”

After Tampa earned a Super Bowl berth, I called my longtime friend Anderson and peppered him with questions about his relationship with and knowledge of Arians, gaining so much insight on why things turned around so quickly during Tampa’s bye-week. That bartender charm that picks up on body language and reads the mood of a person isn’t surprising to those who know Arians—he actually served beer while in college.

“He was a bartender when he played quarterback at Virginia Tech,” Anderson told me. “I remember a story where he’d be starting quarterback on Saturday at noon, and then on Saturday night, he’s slinging drinks at the local watering hole. Bruce’s best gift is his ability to read nonverbal cues in his quarterbacks and to make sure they are focused. That goes back to bartending—a good bartender can read the nonverbal stuff.”

Obviously, the mood in Tampa by late November was filled with doubt and second-guessing. Soundbites from weekly press conferences indicated a disconnect between Brady and Arians. But during that bye-week Arians switched it up. Arians listened and formed a game plan that would make his best leader more comfortable.

His trademark coaching playbook always favored big plays and throwing the ball deep down the field—Tampa Bay led the NFL in passing yardage for the 2019 season with former quarterback Jameis Winston. But when the Bucs stepped on the field for their Week 14 matchup against Minnesota, they tailored the game plan to include a wider range of passes, more control for Brady, and an emphasis on the running game…and they won. The confidence shifted because rather than continuing to pour drinks from the same well, Arians and his offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich began crafting their offensive schemes to what would serve his star quarterback best. And the quarterback’s body language changed.

“Bruce always wants to throw the ball—gun it deep, right? His favorite saying is ‘No risk it, no biscuit.’ But it was obvious with Brady that it just wasn’t working. And then suddenly something clicked in the offense and I think it was Bruce,” said Anderson. “Bruce has zero ego at this point. All he cares about is one thing—winning. So, they just started tailoring their offense around Tom. What he liked and what he didn’t like.”

The results can’t be overlooked as a true leadership lesson. Arians took a little step back to read the situation and finetune the direction of the team. In fact, to a certain extent, he moved out of the way and let TB12 navigate the ship. This was a team that had one of the top offenses last year but failed to make the playoffs—now they’re the only team in NFL history to play in a Super Bowl hosted in their home stadium. The most glaring difference is leadership.

How many of us would be willing to hand the reins over to another leader in our organization? We’ve all seen situations where pride and job titles stifled potential and sustainable success.

That type of downward spiral appeared to be the signature blend for the Bucs after the first 12 weeks of the season, but a willing adjustment by Arians—the bartender—extended the “Last Call” and poured up another round fit for the Super Bowl stage.

If things keep progressing, a future post might open: The day after a championship, a quarterback and a coach walk into a bar…