The Arizona Cardinals should be paying close attention to the talk that Bruce Arians is considering a return to the NFL
Perhaps former Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians made a hasty decision back in January. Following a season-ending victory over the Seattle Seahawks, the then 65-year old tearfully told his players that he was retiring. It now appears that Arians may be willing to change his mind.
The offensive guru has let it be known that he’d be interested in the Cleveland Browns’ head-coaching position if it was offered to him. The main attraction for Arians would be the chance to work with Baker Mayfield, the quarterback who was the first-overall pick of this past April’s draft. The 23-year old rookie has apparently made the Cleveland job a much more attractive option than it’s been in the past.
It just so happens that the Cardinals, the team that Arians chose to abandon, possess a talented young signal-caller of their own. Josh Rosen, the club’s first-round pick, has held his own in the five starts he has made in his first campaign. If Arians is intrigued with the idea of tutoring Mayfield, could Arizona’s new franchise passer pique his interest as well?
Arians has worked wonders with quarterbacks over the years. Rosen could certainly use some first-class mentoring, especially after being exposed to an ineffective offensive coordinator like Mike McCoy for the early part of ’18. Current coordinator Byron Leftwich is actually a disciple of Arians, but is still woefully inexperienced when it comes to engineering a scoring attack.
Arians’ replacement with the Cards, Steve Wilks, has struggled mightily during his first stint as a head coach. His squad has won just twice in eight tries this year, with both victories coming against a pitiful San Francisco 49ers bunch. A poor second half of the season could very well result in Wilks being given his walking papers at the conclusion of the schedule.
The thought of Arians returning to the desert to once again coach the Cardinals sounds a bit far-fetched. If Wilks is sent packing next offseason, however, it’s certainly an intriguing idea. General manager Steve Keim and Arians had a close relationship when they were working together, so maybe a reunion could actually become a reality.