Posted by: Chris Vannini on January 22, 2013

Bruce Arians' reaction to getting the Arizona Cardinals head coaching job probably wasn't what you'd expect.

Arians has been praised as being one of the nicest guys in the NFL, and when he realized he was getting the job, his first thoughts were the guys on the Cardinals staff that he knew would not be returning.

"I was very concerned because I had some very dear friends here," Arians told KTAR in Phoenix. "I knew, at one point in time, that I was not probably going to keep some of them on staff. I had always said that if I had gotten this opportunity that I had a group of guys ready to go that I wanted to be with.

"I had some great, great moments with (defensive coordinator) Ray (Horton), (linebackers coach) Matt Raich, (special teams coach) Kevin Spencer and (offensive line coach) Russ Grimm. Obviously (former head coach) Kenny Whisenhunt is one of my best friends in the world. Hopefully we will have dinner soon. We've talked already twice today.

"But when the opportunity came, and Kenny (Whisenhunt) said, 'You need to do it,' and I said I appreciate that. So I took the trip out. I wanted to come with an open mind. I had said all along it was going to take a special, special place for me to leave Indianapolis and the things we went through and did this year. It wasn't 30 minutes that I knew this team they put together and this vision they have right now is the same one I share."

Because Arians is viewed as a nice guy, KTAR asked him if he can get in a player's face when the time comes. Arians had no doubt.

"Yeah, I really can't say the things I say on-air," he said. "I have a different way of communicating with each position. I grew up in the streets of York, Pa. I went to college with the hillbillies at Virginia Tech. I've coached down South, I've recruited New York City.

"So I think I know everybody and can communicate the way they want to be communicated to. It's all about respect. And, hey, if you do it right, I'm not going to call you something ugly."

You can listen to the interview by clicking here.

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Chris Vannini is the lead writer for CoachingSearch.com and has covered Michigan State sports for The State News, The Oakland Press and MLive.com. He writes a weekly column for the Detroit Free Press on behalf of SB Nation. Vannini lives in Big Ten country, so his foot speed is far from SEC caliber, but his pulse on coaches is hard to match. Be sure to follow @CoachingBuzz on twitter and send your feedback to chris@coachingsearch.com