NFL Black Friday: Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals and its dysfunctional tendencies.
This week was Black Friday in the NFL where the front office cleans house and starts its offseason. This year, there are five franchises that need to find someone to lead their team into the new season: Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans and the Arizona Cardinals. We will be plunging into these franchises and figure out what went wrong. As bad as some of head coaches were this year, its the front offices that are also to blame. The leadership for some of these franchises is in disarray. Building a winning team must start from the front office down to the players. The Arizona Cardinals’ front office from the owner all the way down to the scouts are in shambles and and have decided to start over. Let’s jump into it.
Arizona Cardinals (#3 draft pick)
We need to start with the most dysfunctional franchise at the moment, although, its a close race: the Arizona Cardinals. They began the season with the most drama by trying to sign QB Kyler Murray to a contract extension. Except, it was leaked to the media that there were special obligations written into the contract. Murray was on his rookie deal, which means the Cardinals did not need to try and re-sign him until the end of the season. Based on past performances of Kyler Murray one would think that the Cardinals should wait for the season to play out before making a decision. Fast forward and they signed him to a 5 year $230.5 million deal BEFORE the season. The language that was originally incorporated mandated Murray to “complete at least 4 hours of independent study”. The terms were leaked and social media blew it up. Its since been confirmed that the mandates were retracted from the contract. Murray was not the only one who earned a new contract. General Manager Steve Keim and Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury were now signed through the 2027 season. Cardinals ownership had a plan to have everyone married for 5 more years. The Owner Michael Bidwill doubled down. He kept the GM who chose Kingsbury and the HC that drafted QB Murray. He had a plan and now it was time to see how the next 5 years play out. An Arizona Cardinals 4-13 season, Kyler Murray torn ACL and a Steve Keim lawsuit later … QB Kyler Murray is the only one remaining in his same position. Steve Keim has accepted a lesser role with he team and is taking a leave of absence due to “health reasons”. HC Kingsbury was fired on Black Monday. Bidwill doubled down on his 9 card but his next card was a 2. Dealer wins.
Now, how do the Arizona Cardinals get things back on track? First, ownership will need to find a competent GM that will work with Kyler Murray and make the marriage work. The franchise QB will need to be protected. The Arizona Cardinals were aware of Kyler Murray’s lack of film and study habits. Why else would they have to mandate such necessities for an NFL starting QB of his caliber? Imagine having to mandate Peyton Manning at least 4 hours of film sessions a day. He would laugh in your face and make sure you knew he was spending more time in the film room than any other personnel in the league. Manning didn’t just magically know NFL defenses better than they knew themselves. Murray desperately needs an offensive line to work with and help him. Let’s not forget Kyler will more than likely be out all of next season due to a torn ACL. Cardinals will basically have 2 off-season's to fix the protection issues.
The new GM has to be willing to build from the trenches outwards. Meaning the Cardinals problems start from the interior: offensive and defensive lines. The Cardinals two leading sack leaders will be gone. JJ Watt retired (12.5 sacks) and Zach Allen (5.5 sacks) is now a free agent. Allen had a great season playing opposite of Watt so I would not be surprised to see a team open up the check book for him. Pass rush will desperately need to be addressed. Who will be the head coach? Who will coach the defense? What scheme will they run? This is why Arizona needs to find its new GM and head coach soon to start preparing for the draft. The draft, which the Cardinals have obviously botched the past 3 years (at least) will be crucial. If I’m Cardinals ownership I will want a head coach with experience who is proven. Someone that can get this franchise back on track. Its last two head coaches were first timers: Steve Wilks (lasted 1 season) and Kliff Kingsbury (lasted 4 seasons). There is a ton of work for the Cardinals’ ownership to figure out so they can begin on building towards the future. Tick tock.
We will revisit the Arizona Cardinals once they fill some these positions this offseason so stay tuned. Maybe, they finally figure it out.
