Former NFL head coach Bruce Arians, who won Super Bowl LV with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, revealed this week that he will undergo open heart surgery on Friday.
Arians, 73, disclosed the news at the end of an appearance on the “Today” show with Rob Gronkowski to promote a Super Bowl ad for a prostate cancer screening test. The veteran NFL coach is a prostate cancer survivor.
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The news about Arians’ procedure came at the end of the segment (the 6:38 mark of the video below) when “Today” host Craig Melvin wished the coach good luck, saying he would be watching the Super Bowl from a hospital room. Arians then disclosed he would be having an open heart procedure in Philadelphia.
Arians was a head coach in the NFL for eight seasons, leading the Arizona Cardinals for five seasons (2013-17) before three with the Buccaneers (2019-21). Gronkowski played for him during his final two seasons in Tampa Bay.
When the Bucs won Super Bowl LV to finish the 2020-21 season, he was the oldest coach to win a championship at 68 years old.
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Additionally, Arians was the interim head coach for the Indianapolis Colts during the 2012 season while Chuck Pagano underwent treatment for leukemia. In between those head-coaching stints, he spent a year as a game analyst for Fox Sports.
Prior to becoming a head coach, Arians was a successful offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Colts. He won two Super Bowl championships while on the Steelers’ staff under Bill Cowher (2005) and Mike Tomlin (2008).
