The NFL has finally filled all of its head coaching vacancies as the Arizona Cardinals announced that Bruce Arians, the former offensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts, will take over the coaching duties with the team.
Arians was signed to a four-year deal with the Cardinals, having the option of a fifth year. The 60-year old handled the interim coaching duties for the Colts this season, as he went 9-3 when head coach Chuck Pagano underwent leukemia treatments. He was also interviewed by the Chicago Bears for the position, but they went with Marc Trestman instead.
Arians takes over from former coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was let go after six years in charge of the Cardinals. Whisenhunt wasn’t out of work for long though, as he was hired by the San Diego Chargers as the West Coast team’s new offensive coordinator this past Thursday.
Arians said he gained confidence in his coaching abilities when taking over from Pagano and is looking forward to improving the Cardinals offense. Arizona struggled all season long and finished the year with a 5-11 record, even though they started out the season at 4-0.
Coaching is in Arians’ blood since he got his start in 1975, when he was an assistant with Virginia Tech. He also worked as an assistant in the NFL for 20 years and tried his hand as a head coach for five years at Temple. Arians has already won a Super Bowl while working as the offensive coordinator with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He said head coaching isn’t really as hard as some people think, but it involves a lot of relationship-building with people. He said teammates need to build relationships with each other and their coaches, which are built on respect, loyalty, and trust.
Arians said anything can happen when teammates trust each other and that’s how he won a Super Bowl ring with the Steelers in 2009 by beating the team he is now coaching, Arizona. He left Pittsburgh for Indianapolis last year and filled in for Pagano, doing a good job of it.
Arians still had to impress Michael Bidwill, Arizona’s president, to get the job as Bidwill also interviewed several other candidates including Ray Horton, Arizona’s defensive coordinator; as well as Darrell Bevell, the offensive coordinator with the Seattle Seahawks; Todd Haley, the Steelers offensive coordinator and Jay Gruden, the offensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Horton is still with the Cardinals, as he has a year remaining on his current contract, but it’s unclear if Arians will keep him. The new coach said it’s too early to comment on his staff, as those things will sort themselves out down the road.
Horton and Arians worked together with Pittsburgh, where Horton was the team’s defensive backs coach. Arians realizes he needs all the help he can get as Arizona had the league’s worst offense this season.
He said he’ll need to build a solid relationship with the team’s quarterbacks as NFL clubs usually live or die at that position. The team’s best QB this season was Kevin Kolb, but he suffered an injury in the sixth week of the season and didn’t return. Arians added that he’ll be calling the plays until he can find somebody who can do it better.
