Outspoken former Cardinals coach Bruce Arians joins CBS broadcast crew
It’s a little unpredictable which former NFL coaches will work in the booth. John Madden left the Oakland Raiders sideline and became one of the most successful broadcasters ever. Rex Ryan’s transition hasn’t been as great.
That said, it’s easy to get excited about former Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians landing in the broadcast booth.
CBS officially announced Thursday that Arians will join Greg Gumbel and Trent Green in a three-man booth for game coverage. That doesn’t have the same splash effect as hiring Tony Romo, or ESPN getting Jason Witten to retire to join “Monday Night Football,” but Arians could be a superstar in the booth.
Arians didn’t get his first head-coaching job until he was 60 years old, and he made the most of it. He ended up winning NFL coach of the year twice, once as an interim with the Indianapolis Colts when Chuck Pagano was being treated for cancer, and another with the Cardinals. Also, knowing the Cardinals job would be his last, he never held back his opinion. He always provided colorful insight on his team, oftentimes being quite critical of his players (perhaps a preview of what he’ll bring to the booth is the time he told the media that Cardinals cornerback Justin Bethel was a “failure in progress”).
Arians likely won’t be the same kind of viral star that Romo was, but he has a chance to be very good in the booth if he continues to offer unfiltered commentary. If he’s anything like he was as Cardinals coach, he’ll become appointment viewing on Sundays.
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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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