Bruce Arians revealed this week that he was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma back in December and had a cancerous piece of his kidney removed, but the 64-year-old coach does not sound like a man who plans on slowing down.
Despite dealing with a variety of health issues during the 2016 season, Arians says he has given no thought to retiring. In fact, he is hoping to coach the Arizona Cardinals beyond the upcoming season.
“We’ll re-evaluate it at the end of next year, and hopefully we’ll be ready for another one,” Arians told Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com Thursday.
When asked if 2017 could possibly be his last year coaching in the NFL, Arians said he would only retire if doctors told him he should.
“I hope not,” he replied. “That’s going to mean I’m not healthy.”
Arians’ current contract with the Cardinals runs through 2018, with a team option for 2019. He said he feels “great” after undergoing surgery five months ago. Arians is also recovering from rotator cuff surgery. While it’s fair to wonder how he kept his focus on the team, the longtime coach said football helped him cope with his diagnosis toward the end of the season.
“Football kind of gave me a chance to get rid of the thoughts, and I poured myself into those last three games,” Arians said. “We had the date set, and I just had to get there.”
We certainly hope Arians is able to coach for many more years, as long as he doesn’t try to do anything extreme like he tried when playing neighborhood football as a kid. The Cardinals coach is one of the most underrated in football.
