Bickley: Bruce Arians' star shining brighter than ever
It’s a long way from lake-house retirement in Georgia to a billboard in Times Square.
The journey took Bruce Arians four years.
That’s what it takes to turn an anonymous assistant and football lifer into the most celebrated coach in the NFL.
This week, the Cardinals’ boss shines brighter than ever. His football team is featured on the streets of Manhattan, in a giant advertisement for “All or Nothing,” the upcoming series on Amazon.
The eight-episode extravaganza comes after his appearance on HBO, an interview that raised the stakes between Arians and Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
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It comes before the Cardinals play a minimum of four nationally televised games in 2016, confirming Arians’ burgeoning status:
He is not the NFL’s greatest coach, a distinction that belongs to the dour Bill Belichick. But Arians is the most popular coach, one of the league’s most marketable personalities, and about to become a television star.
The upcoming series on Amazon will have a powerful effect on Cardinals fans. The episode dedicated to the playoff win over Green Bay is extraordinary, turning one of the greatest football games in history into visual art. If you don’t shed a tear, you are just pretending to be involved.
The episode chronicles the organization’s growing concerns over Carson Palmer, the greatness of Larry Fitzgerald and the hysterical soundtrack of Arians’ wife, Christine, who seems to be getting physically ill during the Packers’ fourth-quarter comeback.
And after Fitzgerald’s magical romp on the first playoff of overtime, she delivers the most powerful line of the series:
“Call the right play, Brucey,” she says from the edge of her seat, followed by a long, dramatic pause. “One perfect play.”
Of course, that’s exactly what happens.
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The series goes a long way in unlocking the secret touch of Arians, a former offensive coordinator who was retired by the Steelers; thrown a life preserver by the Colts; cast into the role of unlikely head coach when Chuck Pagano was stricken with leukemia; and has merely won 43 of 60 NFL games since.
His 9-3 record at the helm of the Colts does not count in his official total, which is absolutely ridiculous, marginalizing his historic impact.
This much is certain: His mega-success makes the Steelers look callous and stupid and Arians’ recent appearance on HBO put Tomlin in the crosshairs.
Arians’ tale has Tomlin vowing to get a raise for his offensive coordinator, only to come back with no contract at all, thereby bringing Arians’ wife to tears. The Steelers and their head coach have consistently insisted that it was Tomlin’s decision to part ways with Arians.
In other words, somebody is lying, and imagine the ratings if these two teams meet in next year’s Super Bowl.
The Amazon series will have a different effect, as Arians became just the second coach to wear a microphone for an entire season (joining Belichick, who relented for “A Football Life”). It starts with Arians addressing the team from floor level, choosing not to stand on the giant auditorium stage nearby.
He makes it implicitly clear that players are partners, and that he is not above them. He’s just the guy calling the shots.
RELATED: Cardinals treated like stars at Amazon series premiere
Arians drops 13 F-bombs in the first episode alone, only five fewer than another B.A. (Ben Affleck) uttered on the debut episode of Bill Simmons’ new television show.
That’s why the Amazon series also comes with a family-friendly, swearing-free option.
By the end of it all, the Cardinals head coach comes off just as you’d hope: funny, friendly, foul, fiery, real, a head coach free of fear and doubt, and a great leader of men.
“I think America will agree, and not just because he’s funny or because he’s got a colorful mouth,” NFL Films producer Keith Cossrow said in a recent podcast. “Like I said, it’s the way he operates and the way he connects with people. And it’s the way he speaks and it’s the 40 years of experience of being a coach and being fired multiple times and having every job you can possibly have …you just get to see Bruce Arians do his job for an entire football season, and it’s a real treat to watch.”
There is a dangerous precedent here. When an NFL coach becomes too popular, it can alienate the locker room. The 1985 Bears never won another Super Bowl, and partly because their head coach, Mike Ditka, became ubiquitous, a television star, endorsing every product he could find.
He became too big. The football team became too much about him, causing a level of resentment among players.
RELATED: Arizona Cardinals ready for stardom via Amazon series
At the moment, that doesn’t seem to be a concern for Arians, who has found the perfect mix of hugs and curses and distributing credit to others.
We’ll see what happens if the NFL’s most popular head coach wins another Super Bowl.
Reach Bickley at dan.bickley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8253. Follow him at twitter.com/danbickley. Listen to “Bickley and Marotta” weekdays from 12-2 p.m. on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.
