Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians reflects on his decision to retire

After reports of Bruce Arians’ decision to step away from the game following the 2017 season, the Arizona Cardinals head coach made it official on Monday.

He is retiring.

In an emotional press conference at the Arizona Cardinals practice facility in Tempe, Arians informed the media of his decision to step away from the game after five seasons with the Cardinals and a near 40-year coaching career.

“It’s been a great ride,” Arians said with tears in his eyes. “The tears you see are tears of joy and piece. I’ll miss the players.”

Arians notched his 50th win as the Cardinals head coach after defeating Seattle on Sunday, the most for any Cardinals head coach in franchise history.

He informed Cardinals’ players of his decision following the win at Seattle, which was followed by a round of applause.

"It's been my pleasure to be your head coach."@BruceArians shared this message with the team after the game last night. #BeRedSeeRed #ThanksBA pic.twitter.com/eGLT7E1vRW

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) January 1, 2018

In an article Arians wrote to TheAthletic.com, he explained his decision and thought process behind it.

Something just changed for me this year—it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what that was, hard to put into words—and I wasn’t enjoying the game as much as I had in the past. This wasn’t fair to my players, my coaches or the fans. So I informed Michael that this would be my final year of coaching. I wanted to immediately tell the media, but I needed to keep this information as quiet as possible. The last thing I wanted was for me to become a distraction for our players.

I had a heart-to-heart with my family about my future. We discussed it from every angle—returning to the Cardinals in 2018, retiring at the end of ’17 season, even the possibility of my wife moving to our “Forever Home” in Georgia for the ’18 season while I still in Arizona—but in the end I decided it was time to walk away from coaching. I need to be a husband, a dad, and a grandfather.

Arians admitted that his decision came down to his health and family.

Arians had a small section of his kidney removed in February after it was found to be cancerous. While cancer free now, Arians admitted that the stress of head coaching took a toll on his health and his family life.

Now, he said he looks forward to being able to spend time with his grandchildren all while becoming a voice for cancer research at his “forever home” in Georgia.

The Cardinals will now start their search for a new head coach, but despite his retirement, Arians said he will always remain involved in the community and with the fans that gave him support over the course of five seasons.

“In the years ahead, I’ll be involved with the fans and the game I love so much,” he said. “As I have always said:

“No risk it, no biscuit.”

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