Bruce Arians Retires

Former Virginia Tech Hokies college football player and graduate coaching assistant, Bruce Arians, announced his retirement from the NFL.

Mr. Arians played as a quarterback at Virginia Tech. During the 1974 season he started when VT was running the wishbone offense. A young Bruce Arians held the program record for the most QB rushing touchdowns (11) before that mark was broken by Jerod Evans during the 2016 season (12).

Coach Arians began his career on the sidelines with VPI as a graduate assistant from 1975-1977. He held several assistant coaching positions in the NCAA, including being the head coach for the Temple Owls from 1983-1988, before becoming a fixture in the NFL. He won two Super Bowls (XL and XLIII) with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The first was when he was the wide receivers coach and the second was during his tenure as the Steelers’ offensive coordinator.

Coach Arians then moved on to the Indianapolis Colts as their offensive coordinator. When Indy head coach Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with cancer, in 2012, Arians was called up to be the interim HC while Pagano sought treatment. During his tenure as the Colts’ head coach he led them to a 9-3 record and, as an interim head coach, won the AP NFL Coach of the Year award in 2012.

For the last five years Bruce Arians has been the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. During his second season as Arizona’s HC he won another AP NFL Coach of the Year award (2014). His most successful season came in 2015 when the Cardinals had the most prolific offense in the NFL, and finished the regular season 13-3. They made it all the way to the NFC Championship before falling to the Carolina Panthers.

Coach Arians leaves the NFL with a head coaching record of 58-33-1.

It is always nice to see a Hokie do well at the professional level! Congratulation, Coach Arians, on a fantastic career!

Go Hokies!!!