Jilted Steelers assistants Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm find happiness in the desert

	The gritty Grimm (above) and brainy Whisenhunt brought Super Bowl credentials and an upbeat attitude to Arizona. Mike Moore/WireImage.com

To hear some awed Cardinals employees tell it, Russ Grimm's backyard would not look out of place on a slice of choice beachfront property in Cabo San Lucas. His spacious pool includes a swim-up bar, button-activated waterfalls and gas flames shooting out of rock formations. Grimm moved into the pimped-out pad in suburban Chandler near the team's training facility shortly after accepting Arizona's offer to become assistant head coach and offensive line coach in late January. On more than one occasion since, he and his boss, new Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, have stood together beside the abundant outdoor kitchen and clinked mugs holding fresh-from-the-tap beer in a toast to their good fortunes.

"Russ and I had a great run in Pittsburgh, but it's not hard to fall in love with this area," Whisenhunt says. "When your only decision in the morning is which short-sleeved shirt you're going to wear, you know life is sweet."

For Grimm and Whisenhunt, it's all about relocation, relocation, relocation. After six years together behind the Steel Curtain, including three AFC title game appearances and a Super Bowl victory, the friends are bringing some championship sizzle to the Valley of the Sun. "You can tell they're from a winning organization," halfback Edgerrin James says. "It's like having two head coaches. If Wiz wanted to take a couple of days off, there's no doubt that the Big Dog could step in and take over."

The Cardinals had interviewed both men among eight candidates to succeed Dennis Green, who was dismissed on Jan. 1 following his third consecutive losing season. Like most everyone else, Arizona executives assumed Grimm or Whisenhunt would be chosen to succeed Bill Cowher as coach in Pittsburgh. But it didn't play out that way. Whisenhunt was offered the Cardinals job before the Steelers had finished interviewing; and with Grimm then looking like Pittsburgh's guy, the two men went so far as to divvy up which colleagues from Cowher's staff would go with whom. On Jan. 21 the Pittsburgh Tribune Review reported that Grimm had been offered and had accepted the Steelers' job; the next morning the team announced that Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin would be the new coach. Whisenhunt's disappointment for his friend was quickly replaced by elation when Grimm agreed to join him in Arizona. There were high fives all around the Cardinals offices.

The feeling of excitement hasn't abated, with one very tangible signal of change: On Whisenhunt's recommendation, tightfisted Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill spent $200,000 to upgrade the weight room in line with strength and conditioning coach John Lott's communal, Olympic-style approach. "Great for team chemistry," James says. "It has that prison-yard feel."

There has been buzz on the practice field as well. Whisenhunt, known for his innovative play-calling when he was Cowher's offensive coordinator, can't wait to apply his wizardry to a talented set of skill players that includes second-year quarterback Matt Leinart and Pro Bowl receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. Grimm is expected to bring toughness and proficiency to a unit that was the team's glaring weakness last season -- an underachieving offensive line, which has already been bolstered by the selection of punishing Penn State tackle Levi Brown with the No. 5 pick in last month's draft.

The brainy, ultraorganized Whisenhunt, 45, and the emotive, gregarious Grimm, 48, function as a yin and yang for a long-struggling franchise seemingly on the verge of a breakthrough. And Grimm has put that backyard to good use. Last month some longtime Cardinals employees were stunned when he lured the socially awkward Bidwill to a barbecue. Says college scouting director Steve Keim, "With Russ getting passed over, you'd think there'd be some animosity, but he's more supportive than any assistant I've ever seen."