Happy in retirement, Bruce Arians reflects on Cardinals tenure

Over the past three weeks, Bruce Arians has played golf 11 times and fixed his swing with the help of an instructor.

So, yes, retirement is going well so far for the former Cardinals coach.

“I actually played golf yesterday and left my cell phone in my locker,” Arians said on Friday morning. “I haven’t had my cell phone off of me in 15 years maybe, or since they made a cell phone.”

Arians did a series of individual interviews on Friday, in part to promote his celebrity golf classic on April 13-15 at Wild Horse Pass. The golf outing raises money for his family’s foundation. (For more information, go to ariansfamilyfoundation.com.)

As the Cardinals' search for his successor continues, Arians looked and sounded comfortable with his retirement decision.

Arians sat down with azcentral sports to discuss the decision, his future and that of the Cardinals:

Question: You must feel like a chain has been cut off?

Answer: It does. To get up whenever you want to get up and to go to bed whenever you want to go bed, and not get in bed by 9, get up at 5. Not have to go the Senior Bowl. I don’t have any plans other than when’s my next tee time.

Q: So you’re not going to the Senior Bowl?

A: No, I thought about going down just to look at the quarterbacks, but, naw. I think I’ll stay here and play golf. It’s cold in Mobile (Alabama) this week.

Q: Has it sunk in that you’re retired?

A: It’s starting to. The phone calls. God, the 400 and some texts and 300 some calls I got from former players and guys I worked with. Returning them all, it really did start to sink in that week. Guys who are 58 and grandfathers tell me, "I tell my grandson the same thing you taught me as a coach." It’s probably the greatest feeling in the world when you get those things.

Q: What do they say that has hit home, that they’ve carried with them so long?

A: I don’t know if I can say it on the air, but it’s an old Coach (Bear) Bryant (saying): "I want you relaxed, I want you running, I want you bouncing on the field like you’re running on an acre of t-----s."

Q: There are no games now. Are you anxious to see what life will be like without football?

A: I have to do something. I’m exploring whether or not TV or radio is an option for me. I want to stay around the game. I want to stay around the players and the coaches. I’ve had some feelers, some interviews. I’m kind of looking forward to it.

Q: It would be interesting to see you interview a draft prospect, trying to find out what he knows.

A: That’s the part I miss this year because there are so many good ones. This might be the best year, God, in the last 20 years. That little thing that’s going to be the difference, to go try to find that out this year would have been intriguing. Who processes information the best? Who’s got the most grit?

Q: So who is at the top of Bruce Arians’ list?

A: There are so many big, tall, talented guys. I like Baker (Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield). His enthusiasm, because it’s real, not false. Got to curb it a little, maybe, but maybe not. Guys respect "real" in the locker room. If that’s who you really are, they’ll follow you. There are maybe five guys, 6-3, 6-4, 6-5 with big arms. Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State) beating my Hokies in the bowl game, dropping dimes in there. It was like, "Wow, this kid is really good, too."

Q: You mentioned a few times over your tenure that you would like to have a young quarterback in place when you left. Any regrets that didn’t happen?

A: It just never worked out. We tried it with Logan (Thomas). I thought Blaine (Gabbert) was going to be the guy, and I still think Blaine is going to be a player. He’s got so much talent.

Q: You’ve mentioned, too, that you and Steve (Keim) have had your eyes on guys in the draft only to have them taken just ahead of you. Anybody stand out?

A: Like last year, we loved Patrick Mahomes (of Texas Tech) and we loved Deshaun Watson (of Clemson). We thought we were going to get one of them, and all of a sudden, boop, somebody trades right in front of you. That’s the hardest thing in the draft: What are we going to give up to go up two spots? And he’s (probably) going fall to you anyways? That’s the beauty of the draft.

Q: You’ve got a couple guys close to you who are finalists in the Cardinals' coaching search: Keith Armstrong of the Falcons, who played for you at Temple, and James Bettcher of the Cardinals. Why would they be good head coaches?

A: I think "Bettch" is a great fit. Look at how our defense played down the stretch. They were playing for him, playing for each other. He’s been fantastic in front of the whole team for five years. Keith was a captain for me at Temple. He’s like a son, also. He’s had a great career. He’s another guy who is a great leader.

Q: If you’re in the position of Cardinals President Michael Bidwill and General Manager Steve Keim over the past few weeks, interviewing guys you don’t know well, what do you want to find out from them in an interview?

A: Can you lead men? It’s really not anything about Xs and Os because then you’re talking coordinators. You’re talking the face of your franchise, the guy who is going to lead your franchise. You’re looking for a leader, somebody who has been a leader all his life.

Q: Any regret that, maybe because of the last two seasons, there wasn’t an heir apparent in place, an obvious person to step in for you?

A: Yes and no. I thought this (2017) was our greatest coaching job. To get to 8-8, and win four of the last six, or whatever it was, with all the injuries, I thought our staff did a fantastic job.

Q: Over the last five years, who did you take particular delight in beating?

A: Oh, Seattle. They were the champs. For us to get to the top, we had to beat them. For us to win that game in Seattle the first year was huge for us to build on.

Q: What you accomplished in five years is obvious, but what was your biggest mistake?

A: Should have called a running play instead of throwing it to David Johnson in Detroit this year and kept him for the rest of the year. The injury things, you can’t control. I don’t think you live with regrets. I have nothing but great memories.

Q: If you had to leave a note for the next coach in the upper right-hand drawer of the Cardinals office with your words of advice, what would it say?

A: Be yourself and stay strong. Don’t let anybody try to make you something you’re not.

Q: Do you feel for the guy, following someone with a big personality?

A: No, Michael and Steve, they know. First of all, he’s not going to have the luxury I had. I knew it was going to be my last job. I didn’t have to be politically correct all the time, worrying about if I got fired, could I get another job? This is it, so I could say whatever the hell I felt like. (The next coach) doesn’t have that opportunity because he’s going to be a great young coach.

Q: "Politically correct all the time"? So you’re saying sometimes you were politically correct?

A: Maybe a couple.

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