Arizona Cardinals fans mixed feelings on Arians

Former Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians returned to the NFL this week

When he left the Arizona Cardinals on December 31, 2017, now former head coach Bruce Arians said he was retiring.  The retirement was two-fold.

There were recurring health issues and he wanted to spend more time with his family.  Both seemed like legitimate reasons to walk away from the game after so many years.

In 2018 Arians decided to be an analyst for CBS Sports NFL coverage.  That lasted one season.  This past week he was hired as the new head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

His relationship with Bucs general manager Jason Licht, who used to be with the Cardinals, was a big reason he took the interview in the first place.  Then he was offered the job an accepted.

There was an issue with the Cardinals still owning his rights since he retired.  The teams swapped draft picks ( a Cards seventh and Arians for a Bucs sixth).

The bigger issue though was fans reaction.  Some were not happy.  Some felt betrayed for some reason.  They felt like Arians wasn’t telling the truth when he stepped away as to the reasons why he left.

Some are genuinely happy for Arians.  You can stick me in that boat.  Arians put in a good five seasons in Arizona.  It was probably time for a change with how the last couple of seasons in Arizona went.

The interesting part is so many wanted him to leave after 2017 and now some of those same people are upset he went to the Bucs after retirement.  Why?

The Cardinals got their man in Kliff Kingsbury and many seem happy with that.  Be happy for Arians.

There may have been more to the story as to why Arians left but let’s just leave it as it was.  His time in Arizona has come and gone.  It is time to move on and embrace the new era for the Cardinals.

We wish BA the best with Tampa.  We just hope he loses to the Cardinals when the two teams meet in the 2019 season.