As Indianapolis' interim head coach for 12 weeks, he guided a team that went 2–14 the previous season to a 9–3 record, earning them a playoff berth.

A native of Paterson, New Jersey,[1] Arians graduated from William Penn Senior High School in York, Pennsylvania.

However, all of the 1986 wins were later forfeited after it emerged that running back Paul Palmer, who was the runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1986,[16] had signed with a sports agent before the season.

[12][19] At the end of the college football season in 1988, Arians was hired in the NFL as a running backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs.

[23] In 2002, he helped the Browns finish 9–7 (2nd in the newly aligned AFC North) and to a Wild Card Round berth where they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers (36–33).

For instance, on a 3rd & 1, instead of running the ball or making a short quick pass, he wanted to air it out downfield.

In Arians' offense the quarterback is often exposed: Ben Roethlisberger took a high number of sacks every year and it left the Steelers front office unhappy.

This led the front office to not renew Arians' contract as offensive coordinator[28] when it expired after the 2011 season.

[29] On January 28, 2012, Arians agreed to become the offensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts, replacing Clyde Christensen.

[31] Arians led the Colts to a 9–3 record, part of one of the biggest one-season turnarounds in NFL history.

[33] Arians missed the Colts' Wild Card Round loss against the Baltimore Ravens due to being hospitalized with an illness, which was described by doctors as an inner ear infection or a virus; Arians had missed practice on January 3 due to the flu.

[43] Arians led the Cardinals to a 9–1 start, best in the NFL, but injuries to starting quarterback Carson Palmer (who was 6–0 as the starter) and backup Drew Stanton, (who was 5–3 as starter) led to the eventual NFC champion Seattle Seahawks claiming the divisional title with a 12–4 record.

[48] The Cardinals defeated the Green Bay Packers 26–20 in overtime in the Divisional Round, Arians' first playoff win as a head coach.

[54] That same day, he recorded his 50th and final win with the Cardinals and surpassed Ken Whisenhunt as the franchise's winningest head coach.

[56][57] On January 8, 2019, Arians agreed to terms on a four-year contract to come out of retirement and became the 12th head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Arians also put his faith in Jameis Winston, saying: "I think with (quarterbacks coach) Clyde Christensen and (offensive coordinator) Byron Leftwich, he's in great hands.

In 2019, the Buccaneers surrendered a league worst passer rating (110.9), yards per attempt (8.2) and completion percentage (72.5).

[62][63] In Arians' second season with the team, the Buccaneers signed longtime New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to a two-year contract on March 20, 2020.

[64][65][66] In 2020, Arians led the Buccaneers to a 11–5 record, earning a Wild Card spot - their first playoff berth since 2007.

[75] On March 30, 2022, Arians informed his staff that he would be stepping down from the head coach position and would take on a new role for the team as a Senior Football Consultant.

"[28] Arians first developed this philosophy when the old-timers at the bar he worked at in college told him, "In life you must take risks."

I don't care if it's a third-and-three; if our best receiver is in single coverage and he's running a deep post route, throw him the goddamn ball.

He says the heart is exhibited when a quarterback plays through pain, when he smashes into a 320-pound defensive linemen on third down to gain six extra inches for the first down.

What he calls "grit" is a must-have ability to make the dozens of decisions that need to be made in the twenty-five seconds the quarterback walks on the line of scrimmage and scans the defense to when the play is over.

On the practice field, Arians is known to spend most of the time with his quarterbacks reviewing what transpires during the three to four seconds of a basic pass play.

Arians believes the first thing the quarterback has to understand is his protection, since the defense can always blitz one more guy than your linemen can block.

Arians writes: "If a player had a bad game, I'm going to give him a beer and a big sincere hug.

[81] The Arians Family Foundation supports the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program.

[82] A lifelong advocate for racial inclusion and against discrimination, Arians commented on the murder of George Floyd and the ensuing protests: "It's very disheartening [...] personally, you would hope that we would not be in 2020 still dealing with these issues.