Arizona Cardinals’ head coach shows off writing chops

Bruce Arians took some time off from coaching the Arizona Cardinals to co-author a book titled “The Quarterback Whisperer “

The Arizona Cardinals’ Bruce Arians knew early on in his life that he had a destiny. He wasn’t going to be a doctor, a lawyer or a school teacher. He wasn’t going to pursue a life as a construction worker, coal miner or a mechanic to pay the bills.

While all of those are noble professions, Arians knew quickly that he was put on this earth to coach football. More specifically, the head coach of the Cardinals was destined to teach quarterbacks. After decades of doing just that, the 64-year old has now decided to put his wealth of experiences down on paper.

“The Quarterback Whisperer ” is an outstanding personal account of the life of a quarterback instructor. Co-authored with Lars Anderson, Arians reveals tales from his days as a collegiate coach all the way through his many stops in the NFL. A coaching career that has spanned an incredible 40-plus years.

The author was the quarterbacks coach of the Indianapolis Colts when they made Peyton Manning the first pick of the 1998 Draft. Arians tells of the Colts’ Combine meeting with the Tennessee Volunteer, of how the future Hall of Famer basically took over the get-together. Manning was so prepared for it that he ended up asking the Colts’ brass the questions, instead of vice-versa.

The then-21 year old had obviously done his homework on the team, convincing Arians and his cohorts that he was their guy. 1998’s other top passer, Washington State’s Ryan Leaf, paled in comparison. Especially after he blew off HIS meeting with the Colts (a group that included Arians, Bill Polian, Jim Mora and Tom Moore) the very next day.

The backup quarterback has always been dear to Arians’ heart, proven by his devotion to one of his favorites, Kelly Holcomb. The book reveals that the two were together in a couple of different cities, Indy and Cleveland. The coach tells of Holcomb leading the Browns to a 2003 triumph over the San Francisco 49ers, despite playing the final drive on a broken leg.

When Arians was the wide receivers coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers (2004-06), he had to correct head coach Bill Cowher on a mistake he was making. When Cowher disagreed with offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt’s play calls, he could be heard over the headset saying something like “Here comes a fumble”. Arians made a point of letting his head coach know that he shouldn’t be doing that, that he was messing with the confidence of the young play-caller.

Arians also makes another interesting revelation in the book regarding Whisenhunt. A few years later, when he was vying for Arizona’s head coaching position, Arians was concerned. He would be replacing Whisenhunt, his good friend, who had just been fired by the Cards.

But during a phone call, Whisenhunt set his buddy’s mind at ease. “No, B,A., you need to go and do the interview,” he said. You’ve earned this. Go for it.”

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Another one of Arians’ favorite pupils was Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. He tells of the confident look in “Big Ben’s” eyes moments before he led his team on a game-winning Super Bowl drive against the Cardinals. For what it’s worth, the name of the play that killed Arizona’s Super Bowl dreams was “74 Scat Flasher Z Level.”

Ironically, Arians also got to coach another number-one overall pick of the Colts in 2012. Stanford’s Andrew Luck had a brilliant mind, sharp enough to have memorized the entire playbook by the time he showed up for his first NFL practice. An interesting fact about the talented Colt is that he’s an architectural “nerd” (Arians’ word!) who dreamed of designing sports stadiums.

Were any of you Cards’ fans out there aware that Carson Palmer is a connoisseur of fine wines? That was something Arians discovered about his new signal-caller during their first dinner together in 2013. The coach credits Palmer for being a tireless worker off the field in the publication, a trait that Arians considers just as important as his cannon for an arm.

In closing, the book is a football fans’ dream, a masterpiece that you will find difficult to put down. Would you have expected anything less from Arians? Find your way to the closest book store and purchase a copy.