12:58pm: Arians’ new contract pays him an average of $6MM per season, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).
12:43pm: The new contracts for Arians and Keim include team options for a fifth year, so the Cardinals essentially have both of them locked up through 2019, reports Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter).
11:59am: The Cardinals have reached agreements with head coach Bruce Arians and general manager Steve Keim to extend their respective contracts through the 2018 season, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (via Twitter). While details of the new deals aren’t yet known, Urban notes that they’ll “presumably” involve big raises for both the coach and the GM.
Both Arians and Keim had been under contract for at least two more years, so locking them up to new extensions wasn’t something the Cardinals necessarily needed to prioritize. However, team president Michael Bidwill suggested last month that the club would try to get something done with its two primary decision-makers this offseason, to reward them for their impressive performances since they assumed their current roles within the organization.
Since taking over as Arizona’s head coach prior to the 2013 season, Arians has led the team to a 21-11 record, earning a playoff berth in 2014. While the Cardinals ultimately couldn’t withstand all their health problems – including injuries that sidelined quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton – Keim provided a roster deep enough that the team was able to win 11 games despite losing multiple QBs and defensive contributors.
Arians, who was named the PFWA’s Coach of the Year for 2014, was believed to earning between $3-4MM a year on his old contract — his new deal will likely bump him up into the salary range of coaches like Rex Ryan and Jason Garrett, who signed contracts last month reportedly worth $5.5-6MM annually.
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