Arians opens up about being "ReFired" by the Steelers

Bruce Arians has some words about his departure from Pittsburgh, and they are pretty interesting, considering he "retired".

Here is an excerpt from Arians interview with Andrea Kremer that will air on Real Sports:

[Tomlin] said, ‘I can't get you the money,'" Arians tells Kremer. I said, ‘Okay.' He said, ‘No, I can't get you a contract.' I said, ‘Are you firing me?' He said, ‘No. . . .'

"‘Well . . . it's just a matter of words, Mike,'" Arians said. "‘Okay. If I don't have a contract, I'm fired.'

"And he said, ‘I'm going to fly down and talk.' [I] said, ‘Why waste the money and the time?' And so that was it. Walked upstairs and told my wife. And I've never seen her cry. And she cried."

The idea was always bandied about that the Steelers and their organization were not keen on the relationship Bruce Arians and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had developed.  Whether this is accurate, I doubt we will ever find out.

The story has a happy ending, as Arians landed in Indianapolis, filled in for Chuck Pagano, won Coach of the Year and became the Arizona Cardinals head coach, it just wasn't the way Bruce Arians had envisioned it happening.