Bucs' new coaching staff a family affair

TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - Bruce Arians has assembled his coaching staff with guys he truly considers family; a factor he stressed Thursday at his introductory press conference. 

These are guys he either coached or coached alongside, dating back to his days at Temple in the 1980s.

The Bucs' new coaching staff didn't fall far from the Arians family coaching tree. 

Both defensive coordinator Todd Bowles and special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong both played under Arians at Temple. Bowles later coached alongside him in Cleveland and Arizona. 

"The things I've learned from working with him and working under him as a player when we were back in school, you know, it's been a good set up for me," explained Bowles. "It's been great knowledge for me and he's helped me a great deal." 

As a freshman, Armstrong was Arians' starting tailback at Temple. He got demoted after his first season. But all was forgiven after Arians gave Armstrong his first coaching job as a graduate assistant at Temple. 

"He said, 'Look, I owe that kid one,'" Armstrong recalled. "'He did everything I asked him to do. He went to the mat for me so I got to pay him back.' He did. Big time."  

Assistant head coach and run game coordinator Harold Goodwin has been with Arians since they coached together at Pittsburgh in 2007.

"When I say he's truly like a father to me, he is," said Goodwin. "Obviously, I've got my biological father, he's my football dad. I look forward to trying to make him happy, win a lot of games for him and I'm just happy to be here." 

Goodwin and Bowles coached together in Arizona, as well. 

Incoming offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich was an intern and quarterbacks coach for Arians from 2016-2017.

The familiarity is already a win in this new staff's books. 

"That's the number one word in my vocabulary, family," said Arians.