The Arizona Cardinals take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this weekend and will be reunited with their former head coach. Bruce Arians, who retired after the 2017 season after five years with the team, is in his first year with the Bucs.
Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury, also in his first year with the team, spoke highly of Arians when he was asked about him on Monday.
“He’s a great offensive mind,” he told reporters. “I’ve been a big fan of his, how aggressive he is. He cuts it loose, huge personality, players love to play for him. Everybody around here speaks very highly of him. I’ve gotten to meet him a couple of times. He’s been great to me, so I’m a big fan of his.”
Kingsbury has actually taken the time to study Arians’ offense with the Cardinals. He said he studied “the way he pushed the ball down the field, the way he used David (Johnson).”
That is a big change over last year, when it appeared that offensive coordinator Mike McCoy and head coach Steve Wilks seemed determined to not use Johnson the way he had so much success in 2015 and 2016.
After last season’s forgettable season, Arians’ shadow doesn’t feel so prominent but Kingsbury appears comfortable talking about him.
“I thought he did a tremendous job when he was here,” he said.
The Cardinals face the Buccaneers on the road this Sunday at 11 a.m. Arizona time.
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