Pittsburgh Steelers Announce OC Bruce Arians Retiring

When the Pittsburgh Steelers begin their 2012 season, they will do so without a familiar face. 

Through the team's official website, head coach Mike Tomlin has announced that offensive coordinator Bruce Arians will retire from the team.

"

Bruce Arians has informed me that he will retire from coaching. I appreciate his efforts over the past five years as the team’s offensive coordinator and for helping lead our offense to new heights during his time with the Steelers. I am grateful to Bruce for contributing to our success and wish him nothing but the best in his retirement.

"

Arians had been the team's offensive coordinator since 2007, when Ken Whisenhunt became the head coach in Arizona.

Prior to being the offensive coordinator, Arians was the Steelers' wide receivers coach from 2003-2006. 

What it means?

Any time that someone in such an important position leaves, there is going to be a little bit of an adjustment for those he works closest with. Still, the Steelers will be fine. 

They are a veteran team, so won't hire any offensive coordinator whose game plan doesn't mesh well with the skills of Ben Roethlisberger, Rashard Mendenhall, Mike Wallace and so on.

When Whisenhunt left the team, Arians stepped in and helped the Steelers win a Super Bowl in his second year. He then helped to lead them back to the big game two years later. They had similar success when Bill Cowher retired after 2006 and Mike Tomlin came in. 

Pittsburgh has done a phenomenal job of maintaining continuity and not letting the loss of one or two guys hurt the success of the team. It will be an adjustment, but there are no reasons to believe that the Steelers will struggle in any serious way. 

What's next?

At this point, any specific names would be purely speculative. It wouldn't be at all surprising if the Steelers did the same thing that they did when hiring Arians, which is to promote someone from within. 

The man the Steelers bring in will certainly have a degree of familiarity and comfort with the team's offensive stars, notably Roethlisberger. He threw for over 4,000 yards in 2011, so there is no reason to deviate from the plan that Arians had put in place. 

Follow @mdixon1985