Get your popcorn ready, because Bruce Arians is going to spill the beans about his supposed retirement as Steelers offensive coordinator.
A profile on Arians will appear on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” Tuesday night, according to Pro Football Talk.
Arians was not retained as the Steelers’ offensive coordinator after the 2011 season. The team tried to spin it as a retirement. The problem with that was that Arians was hired as Colts offensive coordinator on Jan. 31, 2012. That made it apparent that Arians was essentially fired as Steelers offensive coordinator.
The Steelers infamously were eliminated by Tim Tebow and the Broncos in the 2011 AFC wild-card game. Their offense ranked 12th in yards but 21st in points scored that season. They didn’t make the playoffs in Todd Haley’s first two seasons as offensive coordinator, but they’ve made the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, ranking second in yards and seventh in points in 2014 and third in yards and fourth in points last year.
Arians, meanwhile, was named Coach of the Year as interim head coach of the Colts in 2012 and again as head coach of the Cardinals in 2014. He brought the Cardinals to the NFC championship game last season.
The Steelers’ decision to let Arians go seems to have worked out well for both parties, but it seems Arians still has a lot to say about it.
