Bruce Arians was announced Thursday night as the new head coach of the Arizona Cardinals after serving as offensive coordinator for our Indianapolis Colts. After filling in as interim head coach Chuck Pagano for treatment for leukemia, Arians is nominated as the NFL‘s coach of the year.
During that emotional stretch, Arians led the Colts to a 9-3 record and a wild-card playoff berth — not bad for a team that went 2-14 the previous year and was playing with a rookie quarterback.
“It has been an unbelievable 12 months for me, personally,” said Arians, who also missed the Colts’ playoff loss because he was hospitalized on game day with what has been described as an inner-ear infection.
Arians will replace fired Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt for the second time in his career. He took over as offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2007 when Whisenhunt took the Arizona job.
Before he was hired, Arians told reporters on Thursday that he learned this season that being a head coach is “not as hard as it’s supposed to be.”
“It’s really not,” Arians said. “I think it’s all about building relationships. Coaching is all about relationships. As long as it’s built on trust, loyalty, and respect, anything is possible.”
We wish all the best to Coach Bruce Arians.
