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The Arizona Cardinals announced former Colts and Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians has been hired as the team's head coach, replacing Ken Whisenhunt.
It's the second consecutive coach the Cardinals have hired from the Steelers' coaching ranks. Offensive coordinators in particular. The Steelers fired/chose not to renew his contract after a spotty 2011 season, and Arians filed retirement paperwork with the NFL.
New Colts coach Chuck Pagano gave Arians a call not long after that, and he was hired in the same position for the Colts.
He just didn't act in that position for most of the season.
Pagano was diagnosed with Leukemia in September, and Arians was tabbed as the team's interim head coach. Arians led the Colts through an amazing regular season, finishing 10-6 and earning a wild card in the AFC playoffs.
They lost their wild card game to the Baltimore Ravens - Arians' former nemesis and Pagano's former employer.
Meanwhile, in the desert, the shine created by Whisenhunt having led the Cardinals to a surprise Super Bowl appearance in just his second year as head coach finally wore off after a 4-0 start turned into a nightmare of a 2012 season. The Cardinals won just one of their final 12 games, leading to Whisenhunt's ouster.
Arians replaced Whisenhunt in Pittsburgh, and now again, in Arizona.
Completing the triangle of odd, incestuous connections, Steelers current offensive coordinator, Todd Haley, interviewed for the Cardinals position.
Whisenhunt was hired today as the offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers, giving him a fresh start with an actual NFL-level quarterback in a division that doesn't prey on pocket passers the way the NFC West does.