Posted by Darren Urban on September 25, 2014 – 1:51 pm

Veteran Tommy Kelly, about whom I will be writing a story about next week, was talking about his relationship with the Cardinals’ coaching staff. The big defensive tackle didn’t feel like he had the best communication with Patriots coach Bill Belichick down the stretch of his time there. It’s been a lot different for Kelly with Bruce Arians and company.

“People get much more out out of a veteran player if you’re just up front with them,” said Kelly, who came into the league in 2004. “(Arians) don’t sell no one no dreams.”

Maybe more than anything, that’s been the biggest thing Bruce Arians has brought to the Cardinals. He’s talked many times about his “Coach ’em hard, hug ’em later” philosophy, which includes more than a couple of curse words most practices but an ability to have that tension wash away as soon as the final horn for practice sounds. More importantly, Arians is across the board doesn’t lay the manure on when he talks to his players. Arians is blunt when meeting the media and he’s the same with his roster. “Players respect the truth,” Arians said, and sometimes, that means being brutally honest. His assistants do the same.

Yes, it can sting, I am sure. But there isn’t anyone on the Cards that can can claim they are in the dark about their role. I remember at one point last year — in the summer of 2013 — when a coach let Larry Fitzgerald know that sometimes, his job was to attract the defense so the ball could go elsewhere. That (among other things) was probably hard for Fitz to hear, but he knew where he stood. When Arians let the world know — presumably after he had let Cooper know — that Jonathan Cooper wasn’t playing the way the Cardinals hoped he would, that’s the message received.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the player is always going to be happy about hearing what he’s hearing. But as long as Arians isn’t selling any dreams, the truth works more than it hurts.

Tags: Bruce Arians Posted in Blog