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Joe Maddon uncorks with Bruce Arians on his YouTube show

The Angels and former Rays coach talks Tom Brady with the Bucs head coach.
Bucs head coach Bruce Arians said he felt pressure to win in only two games during his career.
Bucs head coach Bruce Arians said he felt pressure to win in only two games during his career. [ CHRIS O'MEARA | Associated Press ]
Published May 26, 2020|Updated May 26, 2020

Joe Maddon and Bruce Arians have a lot in common. Both obviously have coached in Tampa Bay.

Maddon believes “fortune favors the bold.” Arians is a “no risk it, no biscuit” guy.

So it was only natural the Angels and former Rays manager and Bucs head coach would get together on Maddon’s new YouTube Show, Uncorked with Joe Maddon. Sipping on a glass of 2015 Gran Cabernet Franc from Argentina, Maddon was in his element as a host and interviewer.

Where did Arians learn to adopt an aggressive personality as a head coach and play-caller?

“I was a bartender in college,” Arians said. "I was tending bar and talking to an older guy and he asked, ‘What do you really want to do?’ I said, ‘I really want to coach. But I might have to move my family a few times.’ He said, ‘There really are no guarantees in life. Things won’t happen for you unless you take a chance. You can sit back and tend bar for the rest of your life and be bored as (expletive).' You’ve got to take chances in life. There’s risk and rewards.''

Maddon asked Arians what it was like having a quarterback like Tom Brady.

Related: Joe Maddon, Bob Costas to discuss Cubs’ 2016 World Series win

''I mean, we’ve got a great locker room,'' Arians said. "But to now get a guy who has been there and done it (won a Super Bowl) six times, the GOAT, you know, when he talks, they listen. It’s so different than a coach. For us as coaches, there has to be a bond between the coach and those guys. You give them ownership because you ask them questions: ‘How do you want to do things?’ So they think they have a big hand in it, they send a message to the rest of the guys. They send your message to the rest of the guys. With Tom, it’s been fantastic.

''I was coaching receivers for the Pro Bowl with the Steelers. We had the game, and you could tell he wanted to win even in the Pro Bowl. He commands excellence on the field. There’s no relaxation on the field when he’s out there. If you’re supposed to be at a certain spot on a route, you better be there or he’s going to talk to you about it.''

Arians said he felt pressure to win in only two games during his career ― coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s last game at the Liberty Bowl when Arians was an assistant, and when he took over from Colts coach Chuck Pagano on an interim basis and owner Jim Irsay said they were going to win the game and take the game ball to Pagano, who had been diagnosed with leukemia.