The 2016 season was a rough one for Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians. The team suffered through a disappointing season and the coach dealt with a number of health issues.
One of those, which was revealed in his new book, The Quarterback Whisperer, was a cancerous spot on his kidney.
The head coach had it removed after the season.
“Arians writes that he was out to dinner with his wife, Chris, in December when he got a call from his doctor,” Darren Urban of AzCardinals.com relayed. “Arians had just been to the doctor to get a hernia checked, and his ultrasound revealed a small spot on his kidney — renal cell carcinoma. Amazingly, Arians coached the remainder of the season before having surgery to remove a “small portion” of the kidney in February.”
So, what kind of an impact has this had on Arians. And how long can we expect him on the Arizona sideline?
“My energy has returned,” Arians wrote, per Urban. “I’m told I’m cancer-free again. I’m ready for at least one more season of NFL football — maybe more.”
The Cardinals were one of the NFL’s more disappointing teams in 2016. After two playoff appearances and an overall record of 34-14 over Arians’ first three seasons, Arizona stumbled to a 7-8-1 mark in 2016.
But while that’s certainly disappointing, the health issues that Arians dealt with had to put a down season into perspective.