Bruce Arians announced his retirement on Monday. The announcement follows his 50th win, which is the most of any coach in franchise history.
Arians, age 65, was teary during the announcement. “The tears you see are really tears of joy and peace,” Arians said. “I’ll miss the players. I’ll miss coming out of the locker room and hearing the national anthem because it still gets me. But somehow, someway, I’m going to stay in touch with the game.”
The announcement was a surprise of sorts even to Arians, who said he “probably didn’t truly know” he was going to retire. He said it was only after Phil Dawson’s field goal, that secured a win for the Cardinals, that he made his decision to exit.
“We built this program on three words: Trust, loyalty and respect,” Arians said, choking up. “I told our team last night I was done, and they lied to (the media). There is no greater feeling in the world than to know your players have your back.”
Arians said he will be spending time in the Valley working with the Bruce Arians Foundation.
“It’s been a great ride,” Arians said.