Bruce Arians on Ben Roethlisberger: 'He's like a son to me'
Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger have formed a very special bond over the years. Arians met Roethlisberger when he was on the Steelers coaching staff and Roethlisberger was just starting out as a young quarterback.
“He’s like a son to me,” Arians said this past week at his annual Georgia Celebrity Golf Classic, via The Macon Telegraph.
Arians likes to look back on one specific memory he has between the two of them that happened in one of Roethlisberger's first days of training camp.
“The beginning of our relationship, I was the receivers coach, and he said, ‘Coach, you’re not going to yell at me like those receivers?’ ” Arians said. “I said, ‘Heck no. You’re a quarterback. I don’t have to yell at quarterbacks.’ ”
Sure enough, Arians had to start yelling at his quarterback when he became the offensive coordinator. Under Arians, Roethlisberger won two Super Bowls and broke numerous single season records.
“I think he and I got close,” Arians said. “We were together so much, especially during the young part of his career.”
Arians eventually left for the Indianapolis Colts for an offensive coordinator position, but soon became the interim head coach for Chuck Pagano. He then accepted the head coaching position for the Cardinals, where he has since thrived.
Through the years, Arians remains very close to Roethlisberger and whenever the two have time to reconnect, they love to do it on the golf course.
“We’ve had a good time down here, and we always look forward to getting down and playing some golf,” Arians said.
Roethlisberge will face his former coach when the Steelers host the Cardinals in Week 6.
(h/t Macon Telegraph)
