Cardinals coach Bruce Arians retired Monday, the team announced.

Arians was understandably emotional with the decision as he addressed the media on Monday.

The development wasn't unexpected, even as Arians said Sunday following the team's Week 17 win over the Seahawks that he had yet to make a decision on his future.

"Nothing's changed, nothing's been decided," the coach said, via AZCentral.com. "I'm not going to drag it out because it's not fair to people if I do decide (to retire)."

But on Sunday evening, CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora wrote that the organization suspected that Arians might chose to leave on his terms.

The Cardinals have been preparing for a coaching search, believing head coach Bruce Arians is ready to retire. It remains to be seen if Arians merely steps aside or if there are some contractual gymnastics that end up going on there, given he has multiple years left on his deal, before Arizona begins a search for a new head coach. Several other general managers have heard rumblings of the Cardinals perhaps making wholesale changes as well, beyond just the coaching staff, and the process could become a little complicated there.

"[Arians'] mentality from Day 1, he held everybody accountable, including Larry (Fitzgerald) at times," said quarterback Drew Stanton. "He kicked Larry off the practice field, we were joking about it the other day, for not having the proper practice attire on. That's the beauty of B.A., what you see is what you get. That's refreshing in this business. You don't get that sometimes."

Arians spent five seasons in Arizona and amassed a 49-30-1 record, including a 1-2 mark in the playoffs. He arrived in the Valley of the Sun as the NFL's 2012 coach of the year, an honor he won as Chuck Pagano's interim replacement in Indianapolis. He won the award again in 2014 after leading the Cardinals to an 11-5 record.  

Prior to becoming an NFL head coach, Arians was a successful offensive coordinator; he helped the Steelers to three AFC Championship Games and was on Mike Tomlin's staff when Pittsburgh beat Arizona in the Super Bowl following the 2008 season.