Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians was named the AP NFL Coach of the Year at the NFL Honors show on Saturday. Arians was the favorite for much of the year for the award, leading Arizona to an 11-5 record in the rugged NFC West despite having to start three different quarterbacks. This is his second such award, having won it with the Indianapolis Colts in 2012 while filling in for Chuck Pagano.
Bruce Arians named AP Coach of the Year
Arians did a tremendous job in Arizona this season, fighting through injuries in the league’s toughest division.
Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
In his second year with the Cardinals, Arians led them to the playoffs behind Carson Palmer, Drew Stanton and Ryan Lindley. Arians also fielded a defense that ranked fifth in points allowed, despite not having Daryl Washington and Darnell Dockett for the season because of suspension and injury. On offense, Arizona played an aggressive style even with the quarterback upheaval, throwing downfield to Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown and Michael Floyd.
Palmer began the season as the starter, but was injured after the first week with a shoulder ailment. Stanton stepped in and played well for four games before Palmer returned. Unfortunately, Palmer would only play five more contests before tearing his ACL against the St. Louis Rams, and was consequently placed on injured reserve. Stanton returned to play the following five weeks before he went down with a sprained MCL. While Stanton was recovering, he suffered an infection, putting him on the shelf for the season. Lindley started the final two regular-season games and the playoff affair against the Carolina Panthers, losing 27-16.
Arians was a strong candidate for the award last year after leading the Cardinals to a 10-6 mark, but ultimately fell short to Ron Rivera of the Panthers. Arians is only the 11th coach to ever win the award twice, which has been given out since 1957. The record is held by Don Shula, who took home the hardware four times.
See More:
