Have you guessed it by now?
That’s right, Kurt Warner.
For those of you who watched the Cardinals one and only Super Bowl run, Kurt Warner was QB1/OC.
Not only did he take command of the weekly game plans, in practices leading up to the games, Kurt worked through every route and progression step-by-step with every one of the WRs. I mean, how many QBs have had three 1,000-yard WRs in one 16-game regular season?
2008 Arizona Cardinals WR Stats
- Larry Fitzgerald —- 1,431 yds, 14.9, 12 TDs
- Anquan Boldin —- 1,038 yds, 11.7, 11 TDs
- Steve Breaston —- 1,006 yds, 13.1, 3 TDs
- Jerheme Urban —- 448 yds, 13.2, 4 TDs
Kurt’s philosophy was to exploit the opponents’ most difficult matchup in man coverage. Against zone coverage, Fitz and Q were unstoppable. How Kurt got a 1,000-yard season from Steve Breaston was a miracle. The dude came in as a blazing fast rookie for Michigan but had dinner plates for hands. Whenever little-known Jerheme Urban had a shaky CB4 on him, all Kurt needed to do was give him a wink at the line of scrimmage and they would run lever/oppos all day (if the CB is shading inside, run the out-route —- if the CB is shading outside, run the in-route —- “I’ll hit you, right where you want the ball, off your break.”
Look at Warner’s completion percentages:
- Larry Fitzgerald —- 63%
- Anquan Boldin —- 70%
- Steve Breaston —- 68%
- Jerheme Urban —- 67%
Not only did Kurt Warner synchronize every step with every WR —- he asked every one of them where they wanted the pass on every different route —-that’s how precise he was with each of them. And he was adamant to never throw a pass that would lead his WR into a big hit.
Will you ever forget the last game of the 2009 season at home versus Aaron Rodgers and the Packers? Coming into the game, the Cardinals had already clinched the NFC West title and know they would be hosting a wild card team the very next week.
Warner played briefly but Rodgers (21/26, 235, 1 TD) and the Packers were up 26-0 at halftime. From the moment Kurt was replaced by Matt Leinart, Kurt was standing on the sidelines writing copious notes about the strengths and weaknesses of the Packers’ defense, which looked unbeatable that day in their 33-6 rout of the Cardinals.
Wouldn’t you know? The wild card turned out to be a rematch with the Packers.
During the prep week, after seeing how easily the Packers handled the Cardinals, not one Arizona journalist or radio host picked the Cardinals to win, except for one —- Dan Bickley.
That Wild Card game at Glendale was an unbelievably breathtaking, see-saw football drama.
Aaron Rodgers was on fire once again, so much so that it felt like the Cardinals would have to score on every possession in order to win their game —- and with Kurt Warner hanging in the pocket and delivering dime after dime after dime after dime —- the game fittingly went into overtime where CB Michael Adams on a blitz caused Aaron Rodgers to fumble and Johnny-On-The Spot Karlos Dansby snagged the ball out of midair and a ran it to the endzone for a stunning, Red Sea erupting 51-45 OT win. Check out the 2:40 minute highlights:
Green Bay Packers vs. Arizona Cardinals | 2009 NFC Wild Card Game Highlights (youtube.com)
ARI 51 GB 45 OT —- QB stats:
- Aaron Rodgers: 28/42, 66.7%, 423 yds, 4 TDs, 1 int
- Kurt Warner: 29/33, 87.9%, 379 yds, 5 TDs, 0 int
Whatever Kurt Warner was writing on his notes during game a week previously —- had to have been pure genius. It took a near 100% perfect game from him and the offense to win that game —- and they, plus the timely turnovers that the defense created —- got it done.
To this day, I think that game was the most epic QB duel that I have ever seen in a playoff game.
Put it this way —- this performance under the bright lights from Kurt Warner and the offense was arguably the Cardinals’ BEST coordinated passing game of all time!
Kurt Warner’s Analytical Kyler Murray Videos:
Two great examples —- one is mainly a critique, the other is mainly a commendation
Click here:
Kyler Comes Up Big For Cardinals | NFL Week 2 Review | Kurt Warner Game Tape Study (youtube.com)
The thing is —- Kurt Warner has already done a ton of prep for the Cardinals passing game coordinator role.
Kurt is always drawing up and refining plays:
Mesh is always an interesting play for me bc they are obviously great vs man, but hard to have a plan vs zone… so almost feel most renditions have to be more pure progression with alerts!
So here if I get a Middle Closed D I might think the skinny post to X first and then work… https://t.co/JbZQUr6D3F
— Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) November 15, 2024
Might also consider this version so you can create some better man “rubs” with the switch releases while still having the same elements on play! It’s good to have differing release patterns with same play bc different Ds will play them different ways! https://t.co/UKVad5xKf0 pic.twitter.com/ALcR2LScvD
— Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) November 14, 2024
Would Kurt actually want the job?
I follow Kurt every day on X. He’s been clamoring about wanting a team to hire him as a part-time consultant. And while he would need his wife Brenda’s support to accept a full-time coaching position, it’s possible that Kurt could find the challenge of being the Cardinals’ passing game coordinator absolutely irresistible.
Hey, having Kurt Warner on board in any capacity would be a tremendous asset.
Who knows?
Just a thought.
Sure would love to see Kurt Warner taking copious notes on the sideline once again.