Bucs' Arians says 'diva' Brown isn't the same player he coached as a rookie

Antonio Brown's first offensive coordinator in the NFL was Bruce Arians, and the new leader of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sees a drastic change in the Pittsburgh Steelers' disgruntled star receiver after coaching him as a rookie in 2010.

"There's too much miscommunication, too much ... diva," Arians said on The Adam Schefter Podcast. "I've heard so many stories - I like Antonio - he plays as hard as anybody on Sunday and he practices hard. He's just gotta make better decisions off the field, be on time, do some of those little things."

Brown's time with the Steelers appears to be over after he was benched for the team's crucial regular-season finale following a reported practice incident involving Ben Roethlisberger.

Steelers president Art Rooney II didn't close the door on Brown returning but said it was "hard to envision" the Pro Bowler being with the team when training camp opens in July.

While some have called Brown's work ethic into question amid the drama, Arians said the player he knew was as competitive as they come.

"He was the hardest working," he said. "He and Emmanuel Sanders, boy they went after it because Mike Tomlin used to tell them, 'two dogs, one bone.' And at that time we had Mike Wallace, Hines Ward, I mean we had a pretty good run for one of them to get on the field. By the end of the season, they were both winning for us to go to the Super Bowl."

Brown is expected to have a robust trade market if the Steelers opt to move him, with the San Francisco 49ers the apparent front-runner for his services.