Arians making the most of his opportunities

Some things in sports are inexplicable.
Like, what made it seem like a good idea for the NCAA to keep the ridiculous Bowl Championship Series (BCS) system for 15 years?
Like, how can Major League Baseball continue to have its leagues play under two different sets of rules? (Can we just adopt the designated hitter in the National League already? I’d prefer to get rid of it from the American League instead, but that’s never going to happen.)
And like, why did it take Bruce Arians so long to get his first head coaching job in the NFL?
For those who may not have been looking west during the Colts’ current four-game winning streak, let’s point out a few things:
•The Arizona Cardinals are 4-1, despite having played 60 percent of their games without starting quarterback Carson Palmer.
•They currently lead the NFC West, which includes the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. (It also includes a San Francisco squad that has been to three straight NFC championship games.)
•They have the second-best record in the NFC, trailing only the Philadelphia Eagles.
Many thought Arizona’s 10-6 record under Arians a year ago was a fluke.
But look again.
The Cardinals went 6-2 down the stretch in 2013, clobbering the Colts at home and beating the Seahawks in Seattle in the process. They were and are a good team, and a lot of it has to do with Arians.
So why did it take so long?
It’s not as if Arians didn’t have the resume.
He got his first coaching job in the NFL in 1989 after 14 years in college (including five as head coach at Temple). He was Peyton Manning’s first quarterback coach in the pros, helping him lead the Colts to a combined 23 wins in his second and third seasons. He was the offensive coordinator in Cleveland in 2002, when the Browns made their lone playoff appearance in the last two decades. He was on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ staff as receivers coach for their 2006 Super Bowl win and offensive coordinator for the Super Bowl appearances in 2009 (a win) and 2011 (a loss).
But it wasn’t until Chuck Pagano’s diagnosis with leukemia in 2012 thrust Arians into the spotlight as interim head coach in Indianapolis that the NFL really took notice.
He led the Colts, who had been a disastrous 2-14 a year earlier, to 10 wins and a playoff berth. For his efforts, he was honored with the NFL Coach of the Year Award and offered his first head coaching job at age 60.
He went to Arizona, brought in a quarterback (Carson Palmer) who most considered to be washed up and went to work. Asked about his rebuilding project prior to the first offseason workouts with his new team, he let his personality shine through.
“I never use that word,” he told ESPN. “We’re reloading, not rebuilding. We refused to use that word in Indianapolis last year with 37 players turned over on the roster. Robert Mathis said, ‘I ain’t got time to rebuild.’ We were in the playoffs. There is no rebuilding going on. We are just plugging in new faces and different faces. This team is not very far off.”
As it turns out, he was right.
After the Cardinals went 10-6 last season — they missed the playoffs thanks to their brutal division while Green Bay got in at 8-7-1 — they are off to a roaring start again this year. They already have wins over a pair of 2013 playoff teams — San Diego and San Francisco — and their lone loss came at defending AFC champion Denver in a game in which they trailed by just four heading into the final quarter despite being without Palmer.
For the majority of local fans, the Colts will remain the top rooting interest, as they should be. And many will hope for Peyton Manning’s continued success.
But they should also keep a place in their hearts for Arians and his Cardinals. He was a rock for Indianapolis when the franchise needed him, and he has continued to prove he knows how to lead a team.
It’s too bad it took the league so long to open its eyes to Arians’ coaching ability. But it’s nice to see him, again, making the most of the opportunity.