Bruce Arians says report he is leaving Cardinals is false
Bruce Arians responded on Twitter Tuesday to a report saying he will leave the Arizona Cardinals after the season.
Arians phrased the report as him “retiring” and said that was false.
Hearing reports I'm retiring. News to me. Nothing could be further from truth & 100% focused on getting back on track at SF! #birdgang
— Bruce Arians (@BruceArians) October 24, 2017
The report came from ABC 15’s Craig Fouhy, who actually reported that Arians has told people close to him that he won’t return to the Cardinals next year. That’s different from saying he will retire.
Fouhy also says he’s not surprised Arians is denying the report because he wouldn’t want to be a distraction.
Arians is in his fifth season as the Cardinals’ head coach. He did a magnificent job turning the team around, leading them to double-digit win seasons in each of his first three years before slipping to 7-8-1 last season. The Cardinals are 3-4 this season and are having a rough year. They lost star David Johnson to an injury to start the season, then quarterback Carson Palmer got hurt. On top of that, Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald have been considering retirement.
It wouldn’t be a bad time for the 65-year-old coach to step away after this season. Also keep in mind that Arians has faced retirement reports for over a year due in part to health issues. A previous report also said this would be Arians’ final season.