The Cardinals have locked up their coach and general manager for the near future.
Arizona announced both Bruce Arians and Steve Keim will be under team control through the 2018 season, a brilliant move for a franchise that hasn't been afraid to take chances. Arians will make an average of $6 million per year -- a raise -- with a team option for 2019, NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per a source informed of the deal.
Financial details for Keim's contract were not disclosed.
"Two years ago we hired Steve and Bruce a few days apart and believed we had something really special," team president Michael Bidwill said in a statement. "Every day since then they have done nothing but validate that belief.
"The team's performance over the last two seasons certainly reflects how talented they are in their respective roles and it was important that we reward them for their accomplishments. I speak not only for myself but for all Cardinals fans when I say how thrilled we all are that Steve and Bruce are now under contract through 2018."
Arians has been a revelation in Arizona, and buoyed by a strong support staff led by Keim, shows no signs of slowing in an NFC West that could be shifting drastically over the next few years.
The pair were hired nine days apart in 2013 and have won 21 games since. Arians, according to the Cardinals, was the only coach in NFL history to be named Coach of the Year twice in a three-year span with two different teams.
Like quarterbacks, proven coaches and executives are extremely hard to find in the current market, which makes these contracts a necessity. Arizona is not in a place to spend lightly on coaching talent.
Keim handled the Larry Fitzgerald situation quietly and swiftly while Arians continues to put out a vibe that is bringing more attention -- and fanfare -- to a club that could easily sink into irrelevancy out in Arizona.
The near future is looking bright in The Valley of the Sun.
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