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Bruce Arians: 'The Work Is Not Going Anywhere, Don't Miss Your Family'

Ryan Mayer

A new NFL season is upon us with teams returning to the field starting Thursday and running through Monday. While the return of football brings excitement for fans, players and coaching staffs alike, one thing that can often go neglected this time of the year, particularly for coaches, is family. The pressure to be successful can cause coaching staffs to work long hours every day throughout the course of the season, in order to try and achieve the requisite level of success.

Former NFL head coach and current CBS NFL analyst Bruce Arians had a poignant response when asked about finding that balance between success and family life when we talked to him at NFL on CBS media day last week.

"The work's not going to go anywhere. There's hours late at night or in the morning, don't miss your family, because the family is gone," said Arians. "When my son turned 40 it hit me like I turned 40. It didn't bother me when I turned 40, but when he turned 40 it knocked me out. I just felt that I missed too much time. For our coaching staff [in Arizona], I didn't feel you had to be there past 10 o'clock unless you didn't want to go home."

Arians, who retired from the coaching ranks earlier this year, cited that exact reason as to why he decided to hang it up. Asked now what he misses most about the game, Arians response is similarly heartfelt.

"The relationships with the players," said Arians. "Putting that team together and watching it grow and go through training camp. But, mostly, the relationships with the players."

Arians weighed in on a wide variety of topics during the course of our time with him, you can check out the full interview above. He'll be on the call this weekend alongside Greg Gumbel and Trent Green, with sideline reporter Melanie Collins as two of his former teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns, renew their AFC North rivalry on CBS. The game is scheduled to kick off at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time, check your local listings for more information.

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