Cardinals' Arians felt betrayed by Tomlin over Steelers exit

Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians does not have positive feelings about his departure from the Pittsburgh Steelers - or about head coach Mike Tomlin.

Arians served as Steelers offensive coordinator from 2007-11, previously working as the team's wide receivers coach from 2004-06. During his tenure with the club, the Steelers captured two Super Bowls, in part due to their balanced offenses.

After his contract expired, Arians was not retained by the team. In an interview with Andrea Kremer of HBO's "Real Sports," he explained the circumstances of his departure.

According to Arians, when his contract expired, Tomlin assured him, "I'll get you your bread."

"I got a call on Monday and (Tomlin) said, 'I can't get you the money,'" said Arians. "I said, 'OK.' He said, 'No, I can't get you a contract.' I said, 'Are you firing me?' He said, 'No ...' I said, 'Well, it's just a matter of words, Mike, OK? If I don't have a contract, I'm fired.' And he said, 'I'm going to fly down and talk.' (I) said, 'Why waste the money and the time?' And so that was it. Walked upstairs and told my wife. And I've never seen her cry. And she cried."

Arians' wife Chris was disappointed.

"I had admired Mike Tomlin so much," she said. "And I really thought he was a coach who really cared about his people. And for him to do this, well, I felt very disillusioned."

Arians believes he was ultimately let go due to the style of his offense - "we didn't run the ball enough" - and a relationship with Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger that was perceived as "too close." He said he felt betrayed by Tomlin.

"Because I had done a good job. Maybe not the right image, but it was a damn good job. I was pissed. But again, time heals things," Arians said.

After a brief stint with the Indianapolis Colts, Arians emerged as one of the NFL's premier head coaches with the Cardinals, winning NFL Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2014.

The Cardinals enter the 2016 season as one of the leading Super Bowl candidates, and if they end up facing the Steelers, expect Arians to command a relentless attack.