Bruce Arians Was Surprised Eagles Cancelled Interview

Bruce Arians, a Paterson, N.J., native, was slated to interview with the Eagles during the offseason after the 2012 NFL season about the team’s head coaching job after the Eagles parted ways with Andy Reid.

Arians, who had coached Temple from 1983 to 1988 — he opened his conference call Wednesday by asking, “How about those Temple Owls, baby?” — was excited about the opportunity to interview with the Eagles. To this day, he considers Philadelphia “like home.”

So he was surprised when the Eagles called to cancel their interview when he was in Chicago to interview for the same job with the Bears.

“I had an interview set up with Chicago, because they turned the paperwork in first,” Arians said Wednesday. “While I was in Chicago, [the Eagles], Cleveland and San Diego cancelled the interviews that we had set up.”

Arians said he was never given an explanation for why his interview with the Eagles was cancelled, other than, “‘thanks, but no thanks.'”

The Eagles, of course, hired Chip Kelly that offseason, while Arians was hired by the Cardinals. In his two-plus seasons at the helm of the Cardinals, Arians has piled up a 32-13 record.

Arians rated Bradford one of “best ever” coming out of college

Earlier in the week, ESPN’s Phil Sheridan drew parallels between the career arcs of Carson Palmer and Sam Bradford, who will face each other this Sunday.

Both suffered injuries and inconsistency at the first stops of their respective careers. Palmer has reignited his career with Arizona and is having the best season of his life this year, while Bradford is starting to come on for the Eagles in the past few weeks.

Arians was asked about the idea that quarterbacks need time to acclimate to new systems and new teams, and revealed that he’s been high on Bradford since the 2010 NFL Draft, when Bradford was taken No. 1 overall.

“It’s finding your rhythm in that offense. The same thing with [Palmer] here,” Arians said.

“As you’re learning, you’re playing slower. As you get a feel for it, the game slows down, and your athletic ability can take over, and Sam is blessed with a ton of athletic ability. I had him rated as one of the best ever to come out, and he just got unlucky with injuries. He looks like he’s starting to flourish in that offense.

“You just look at Eli [Manning]; it took him a while to get into the West Coast system, and now he’s playing pretty good, and he obviously feels very comfortable in that offense.

“I think it just takes time for guys. Some it takes a little longer, but others, in the second part of the season, they should be flourishing.

“[Bradford] looks like he’s starting to flourish in that offense.”

Wednesday’s practice report

Byron Maxwell, who missed Tuesday’s practice, was sidelined once again on Wednesday.

No practice for Maxwell. He's out here but not in uniform

— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) December 16, 2015

Jordan Matthews returned to practice Wednesday after missing Tuesday with a back injury. Matt Tobin and Allen Barbre were also both back at practice.