Hokie ClubBruce Arians and the Buccaneers just keep rolling! Arians and company will become the first team in NFL history to play in a Super Bowl in their home stadium when the Buccaneers square off with the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Feb. 7. A pair of Tampa Bay assistant coaches, Cody Grimm (defensive/special teams assistant) and Nice Rapone (safeties), are also Super Bowl bound!
Tampa Bay registered a 31-26 win at Lambeau Field over the Packers to punch their ticket to the NFL's promised land. The Buccaneers will be seeking their second Super Bowl title to go with a victory over Oakland in Super Bowl XXXVII following the 2002 campaign.
"Getting to the Super Bowl wasn't what our goal is. Our goal is to win it." pic.twitter.com/XZkhYj6GAo
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) January 24, 2021
The battle for NFL supremacy between Tampa Bay and Kansas City will be a rematch of a Week 12 contest at Raymond James Stadium. The Chiefs posted a narrow 27-24 victory in that contest. Arians and the Buccaneers haven't lost since then, boasting a seven-game winning streak.
Arians, who lettered as a quarterback for Tech from 1972-74, is no stranger to professional football's biggest game. He previously earned a ring as offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII. Interestingly, that 27-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals took place at Raymond James Stadium. At 68 years, three months and 21 days, he'll become the second-oldest Super Bowl head coach in NFL history, trailing only Buffalo's Marv Levy (68 years, five months, 28 days).
Rapone played collegiately at Tech from 1974-78 before embarking on a coaching career. He previously coached with Arians at Temple and with the Arizona Cardinals. The New Castle, Pennsylvania native spent over 30 years in the collegiate ranks before joining the Cardinals in 2012. The enjoyed stints at Delaware, Pitt, East Tennessee State and Connecticut, in addition to his time at Temple.
Grimm joined the Buccaneers coaching staff after serving in various capacities on the Tech coaching staff for four seasons. He lettered four years (2006-09) as a linebacker for the Hokies after originally joining the team as a walk-on. As a senior, he led the nation with seven forced fumbles and amassed 106 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and four sacks, earning first-team All-ACC and third-team AP All-America honors. He was selected by the Buccaneers in the seventh round of the 2010 NFL Draft as a safety. He appeared in 23 games (12 starts) for the Bucs, totaling 62 tackles, three passes defensed and two interceptions with one TD.