TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Buccaneers Head Coach Bruce Arians hopped on Zoom to speak to a group of reporters following the first official day of training camp on Tuesday afternoon.
Arians did not seem overly concerned about a possible outbreak similar to one the Miami Marlins organization experienced this week when 15 players tested positive for coronavirus.
“I don’t think our guys are going to get sick in the locker room,” said Arians. “I don’t think they’ll get sick in our facility. Everybody here is tested [and] they’re clean. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen outside the facility. Is it possible? Yeah, [but] I don’t see it happening. We don’t stay in cities as long as baseball does and that can be a problem [for them].”
Arians said he is comfortable with the current safety protocols at the AdventHealth Training Center, the Buccaneers’ team facility.
“I’m very comfortable with our protocols now that I’ve gotten used to the protocols,” said Arians. “We had a week of staff meetings where we went through the protocols, how to teach with a mask on, and all of the things that we are going to do differently. I’m very, very comfortable with it.”
Arians who is 67-years-old and has survived multiple bouts of cancer plans to wear a mask and a shield when he is coaching. However, he will not be coaching from the coaches’ box during the games.
“There’s no chance of me coaching from a box,” he said. “Once we get a [face] shield that I like, I’ll have my mask and shield on.”
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