Cardinals lock up coach Bruce Arians, GM Steve Keim to extensions

The Arizona Cardinals believe that good times are here to stay. So are their head coach and general manager.

The team has signed head coach Bruce Arians and GM Steve Keim to contract extensions that will last through the 2018 season, according to the Cardinals' official website.

“Two years ago we hired Steve and Bruce a few days apart and believed we had something really special,” Cardinals president Michael Bidwill said in a statement. “Every day since then they have validated 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 all Cardinals fans when I say how thrilled we all are that Steve and Bruce are now under contract though 2018.”

Bidwell had promised for months that something would get done on the Arians and Keim fronts, and now it has come to fruition. This appears to be a team on strong footing coming off an 11-5 season that — despite all kind of quarterback health issues — earned Arians the Coach of the Year award for his strong work buoying the ship.

Keim, too, earns high praise for the way the Cardinals have built their roster up from one of the league's worst to one that could sustain major setbacks on both sides of the ball to make the playoffs a season ago.

The Cardinals have drafted well and now have two franchise cornerstones, quarterback Carson Palmer and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, signed up to contract extensions in the past several months. With a healthy Palmer, a few savvy free-agent moves and another strong draft, the Cardinals could be back in contention again in the tough NFC West.

Both Keim and Arians are pleased with where they are at, but their work isn't done.

“I’m living out my dream,” Keim said last week on the subject of his impending contract extension. “Here I am, the son of a machinist, running a football team in the NFL. I’m humbled by it and appreciative of the opportunity. What makes it special is seeing where this organization started and what it has become.”

Added Arians, “You have to get better, you have to work every single day. You can’t relax in this business. Like I’ve always said, it’s a real short elevator ride back down. Enjoy [the accolades], but don’t ever believe it.”

Even with that, the Cardinals clearly believe in their team's leaders for the next several seasons.