3 potential replacements for Bruce Arians as Arizona Cardinals head coach

If the Arizona Cardinals have to find a new head coach, here are three candidates to replace Bruce Arians.

The future of Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians took a turn on Tuesday morning with a report the two sides will part ways after Sunday’s season finale. It can be expected questions about that report will be deflected by the team all week, in deference to the game against the Seattle Seahawks. That report has also quickly been dismissed, but it will not be a huge shock if Arians steps away and least takes a break from coaching.

On one hand, the head coaching job in Arizona has a lot of its appeal. But on the other hand, quarterback Carson Palmer and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald could retire, and with that, a rebuild could be coming. Competing in what looks to be a tough NFC West going forward is also a mark against taking the head coaching job with the Cardinals.

Assuming Arians indeed leaves his post, here are three candidates to be the next Arizona Cardinals head coach.

3. Marvin Lewis

It’s a foregone conclusion Lewis is done as the Cincinnati Bengals head coach after two straight seasons without a playoff berth and without a contract for next year. There is some talk about him graduating to a front office position, in Cincinnati or elsewhere, but Lewis has said he wants to “coach football.”

If there’s a head coach that could convince Palmer to keep playing next season at age 38, it may be Lewis. Palmer was the No. 1 overall pick in 2003, Lewis’ first year as Bengals’ head coach, and Palmer started 97 regular season games for Lewis from 2004-2010. Any issues Palmer had with the Bengals at the end of his time there, with threats of retirement that eventually forced a trade, probably had nothing to do with Lewis directly.