Bruce Arians Clears Way For Buccaneers Assistants To Be Interviewed

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said he welcomes his assistant coaches to interview with teams that have head coaching vacancies.

Earlier this month, NFL owners passed a new resolution on a one-year trial basis allowing head coaching interviews in the last two weeks of the regular season, NFL Networks' Tom Pelissero reports. Previous rules prevented teams with head coaching vacancies from interview candidates until after the season concluded.

“None of the paperwork has been put in yet,” Arians told reporters on Monday when asked whether teams have requested permission to interview offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich or defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. “They have to go through channels, and I welcome it if it is.”

Part of the changes include that if a team gives permission for even one virtual interview for an assistant, it must grant permission to all teams interested in the assistant.

The Jacksonville Jaguars and Las Vegas Raiders are the only teams that currently can actively search for head coaches since their head coaches — Urban Meyer and Jon Gruden — were fired midseason.

Reports link Leftwich to the Jacksonville vacancy, and CBS Sports' Jason LaCanfora reports the Raiders have interest in speaking to Bowles.

The window for requesting permission opens at 8:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday.

While some head coaches may not want distractions with only 12 days left in the regular season — and can resist allowing the interview if asked — it seems like Arians isn't one of those coaches.

Follow Meg Turner on Twitter @Megnturner_ and Instagram @Megnturner.

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