Super Bowl 2021: Here's how head coaches have fared in the big game for the first time like Bruce Arians
Bruce Arians will have to buck recent history to get Tampa Bay over the top
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4 min read
Legacy is a big overlying theme hovering above Super Bowl LV. For the most part, that topic has been reserved for the quarterbacks in Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. If Brady wins, he'd extend his NFL record to seven Super Bowl titles and, on the flip side, Mahomes would go back-to-back and be well on his way to chasing down TB12 if he comes out on top. While quarterback fodder is always a sexy topic as the Lombardi Trophy is being dusted off, this game also has a lot on the line from a legacy standpoint for Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians.
The 68-year-old is reaching the Super Bowl for the first time in his head coaching career and is looking to put a significant stamp on his résumé. Arians does have two Super Bowl rings courtesy of his days as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but a title with him serving as the head coach could put the two-time NFL Coach of the Year firmly in the Pro Football Hall of Fame discussion.
As we await Arians' bid at that first title as a head coach, we're going to take a look at whether or not history is on his side.
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In the previous 54 Super Bowls, there have been 57 head coaches reaching the big game for the first time in their careers. Combined, those coaches are just below .500, owning a 27-30 record. However, I was a bit skeptical when I was crunching those numbers as it related to how Arians may fare in this game. After all, the coaches taking part in Super Bowl I (Vince Lombardi and Hank Stram) were both in it for the first time, so it's sort of hard to tell by that measure if experience in this setting matters.
That said, that near-.500 mark has held true even in this more modern era. Since the 2000 season, coaches reaching the Super Bowl for the first time are 12-13. Arians' counterpart in Andy Reid falls into the baker's dozen of coaches that were on the losing end of their first trip to the Super Bowl, falling to Tom Brady's Patriots during Super Bowl XXXIX while he was leading the Philadelphia Eagles.
History of first-time Super Bowl coaches
| Super Bowl | Head coach(es) | Record |
|---|---|---|
Super Bowl I | Vince Lombardi, Packers (W), Hank Stram, Chiefs (L) | 1-1 |
Super Bowl II | John Rauch, Raiders (L) | 1-2 |
Super Bowl III | Weeb Ewbank, Jets (W), Don Shula, Colts (L) | 2-3 |
Super Bowl IV | Bud Grant, Vikings (L) | 2-4 |
Super Bowl V | Don McCafferty, Colts (W), Tom Landry, Cowboys (L) | 3-5 |
Super Bowl VII | George Allen, Washington (L) | 3-6 |
Super Bowl IX | Chuck Noll, Steelers (W) | 4-6 |
Super Bowl XI | John Madden, Raiders (W) | 5-6 |
Super Bowl XII | Red Miller, Broncos (L) | 5-7 |
Super Bowl XIV | Ray Malavasi, Rams (L) | 5-8 |
Super Bowl XV | Tom Flores, Raiders (W), Dick Vermeil, Eagles (L) | 6-9 |
Super Bowl XVI | Bill Walsh, 49ers (W), Forrest Gregg, Bengals (L) | 7-10 |
Super Bowl XVII | Joe Gibbs, Washington (W) | 8-10 |
Super Bowl XX | Mike Ditka, Bears (W), Raymond Berry, Patriots (L) | 9-11 |
| Super Bowl XXI | Bill Parcell, Giants (W), Dan Reeves, Broncos (L) | 10-12 |
| Super Bowl XXIII | Sam Wyche, Bengals (L) | 10-13 |
| Super Bowl XXIV | George Seifert, 49ers (W) | 11-13 |
| Super Bowl XXV | Marv Levy, Bills (L) | 11-14 |
| Super Bowl XXVII | Jimmy Johnson, Cowboys (W) | 12-14 |
| Super Bowl XXIX | Bobby Ross, Chargers (L) | 12-15 |
| Super Bowl XXX | Barry Switzer, Cowboys (W), Bill Cowher, Steelers (L) | 13-16 |
| Super Bowl XXXI | Mike Holmgren, Packers (W) | 14-16 |
| Super Bowl XXXII | Mike Shanahan, Broncos (W) | 15-16 |
| Super Bowl XXXIV | Jeff Fisher, Titans (L) | 15-17 |
| Super Bowl XXXV | Brian Billick, Ravens (W), Jim Fassel, Giants (L) | 16-18 |
| Super Bowl XXXVI | Bill Belichick, Patriots (W), Mike Martz, Rams (L) | 17-19 |
| Super Bowl XXXVII | Jon Gruden, Buccaneers (W), Bill Callahan, Raiders (L) | 18-20 |
| Super Bowl XXXVIII | John Fox, Panthers (L) | 18-21 |
| Super Bowl XXXIX | Andy Reid, Eagles (L) | 18-22 |
| Super Bowl XLI | Tony Dungy, Colts (W), Lovie Smith, Bears (L) | 19-23 |
| Super Bowl XLII | Tom Coughlin, Giants (W) | 20-23 |
| Super Bowl XLIII | Mike Tomlin, Steelers (W), Ken Whisenhunt, Cardinals (L) | 21-24 |
| Super Bowl XLIV | Sean Payton, Saints (W), Jim Caldwell, Colts (L) | 22-25 |
| Super Bowl XLV | Mike McCarthy, Packers (W) | 23-25 |
| Super Bowl XLVII | John Harbaugh, Ravens (W), Jim Harbaugh, 49ers (L) | 24-26 |
| Super Bowl XLVIII | Pete Carroll, Seahawks (W) | 25-26 |
| Super Bowl 50 | Gary Kubiak, Broncos (W), Ron Rivera, Panthers (L) | 26-27 |
| Super Bowl LI | Dan Quinn, Falcons (L) | 26-28 |
| Super Bowl LII | Doug Pederson, Eagles (W) | 27-28 |
| Super Bowl LIII | Sean McVay, Rams (L) | 27-29 |
| Super Bowl LIV | Kyle Shanahan, 49ers (L) | 27-30 |
Just last year, Reid was able to finally get over the hump and did so against 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, who was making his Super Bowl debut as a head coach. Over the last four Super Bowls, coaches making their first appearance against coaches who have already won a Super Bowl are 1-3 and have been outscored 111-98. Doug Pederson and the Eagles were the lone team in that group to get a win, beating Bill Belichick and the Patriots 41-33 in Super Bowl LIII.
With all this in mind, Arians will need to buck some recent history in order for his Bucs to be the last team standing when the dust settles on Super Bowl LV. One thing that they will have going for them that no other coach or club has enjoyed before is that they'll be making this bid for a second title in franchise history in their home stadium. That alone may be the more significant development than how previous coaches have done in this big game.
