The Facts: Following up on the ongoing story. ... Arians' tenure as Steelers OC has come to a sudden if not strange end, with the team announcing his retirement in a one-paragraph statement that was as frosty as the final days of his sometimes stormy five-year career. Less than a week after Arians told people he intended to return for the 2012 season, the Steelers said Friday that he has decided to retire -- a bizarre turn of events that began with the team's decision to not renew his contract, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has learned.

Diehards Line:According to Post-Gazette staffer Gerry Dulac, the decision appears to have come from team president Art Rooney II, even though HC Mike Tomlin told Arians several times since the playoff loss in Denver that he wanted him to return next season. Now Tomlin, who inherited Arians and DC Dick LeBeau when he replaced Bill Cowher in 2007, will have to make his most significant coaching hire since becoming head coach. RBs coach Kirby Wilson would have been a likely candidate for the position, but his health, after suffering severe burns over 45 percent of his body in a fire at his home Jan. 6, precludes that possibility. No matter which coordinator is hired, his most important job will be to work with -- and, perhaps more important, co-exist with -- Ben Roethlisberger, who was very close to Arians and is said to be upset that he will not be back.