Bruce Arians was doing the media tour Tuesday, talking with both Rich Eisen and Colin Cowherd a week after retiring and mentioning he'd like to get into the media business. I can't imagine someone won't be willing to give him a chance. During his appearance on the "Rich Eisen Show," Arians talked again about retirement, touching on familiar subjects with some more detail.
-- He admitted his 2016 health scares "were eye opening." He didn't want cancer to drive him out of the game, and he was able to return. But there was concern for both himself and his wife, Chris.
"The stress of being a coach's wife, of watching my health go up and down with wins and losses," Arians said. "I knew I was done too, I was, 'Yeah, you're right, there's too much to live for to die on the sideline."
-- He reiterated he knew he was done in the last game in Seattle when Phil Dawson made his field goal and then Blair Walsh missed. But he acknowledged the family had talked about it as far back as the weekend after the Thursday night home loss to Seattle. "My wife, she was done," Arians said. "God bless her, 47 years in this business is enough." (Arians had previously written he was considering staying one more year and renting an apartment if his wife went back to their "forever home" in Georgia.)
-- He remains bullish on the Cardinals being a contender, and that GM Steve Keim will find the right coach and make the right roster moves. "I think the Cardinals can win a championship," he said. "The talent is here."
-- That said, he admitted he was hoping defensive coordinator James Bettcher (who interviewed last week for the head coach opening) was the one who ends up with the job. Calling himself "selfish," Arians said "I want to be able to go back and be a small part of it" and apparently he feels that would be the case if Bettcher was his replacement.
-- As for Larry Fitzgerald, Arians said he thinks he will come back "with the right situation." It isn't a surprise that it would include the right coach and system, and the right quarterback.
