Something brewing with the Cardinals?

What sense are making of the recent coaching hires and QB rumors?

In the recent days before and after Super Bowl LIX, there have been some curious moves and rumors involving the Arizona Cardinals.

• A series of meaningful coaching changes, particularly on the defensive front 7 side of the ball.
• On Super Bowl weekend (timing?) came the speculation that the Cardinals could be listening to trade offers for QB Kyler Murray.
• The leaking of rumors involving the Cardinals interest in signing QB Daniel Jones.
• With the hiring of new OL coach Justin Frye, the Cardinals appear to be deepening their connections to the Ohio St. program that won the 2024 college Natty.
• Kliff Kingsbury declining the Saints’ HC job to stay Commanders’ OC, and thereby staying on Bidwill’s payroll another year, most likely in the $5M range.

ESPN+ Tiers

ROTB Poll Results (138 votes)

• 2% —-Still major contenders —-(3 votes)
• 7% —-On the cusp —- (10 votes)
• 7% —- Need a postseason breakthrough (10 votes)
• 7% —-Teetering contenders —-(10 votes)
• 20% —-Headed on the right track —-(27 votes)
• 22% —- Stuck in the middle…but a move or two away (30 votes)
• 10% —- Stuck in QB purgatory —- (14 votes)
• 10% —- This could go either way —- (14 votes)
• 1% —- New coach, new direction —-(1 vote)
• 4% —- Rebuild in the works —- (5 votes)
• 10% —-Yep, still rebuilding —- (14 votes)

Where did the ESPN+ analysts place the teams in the NFC West?

• ARI —- “This could go either way” with the Bears and Dolphins —- Tier 8
• LAR —- “Heading on the right track” —- Tier 5
• SEA —- “Heading on the right track” —- Tier 5
• SF —- “Stuck in the middle…but a move or two away.” —- Tier 6

THIS COULD GO EITHER WAY

Arizona Cardinals (8-9)

Average age of roster: 25.9

Salary cap space: $62.6 million

Total 2025 draft picks (projected): 5

What’s next: Arizona is positioned for success entering the third season under coach Jonathan Gannon and GM Monti Ossenfort. This regime hasn’t spent big in free agency, relying on the draft to rebuild, but now might be the time to pounce, coming off an eight-win season. The offensive line, pass rush and cornerback positions need improvements. There’s money to spend. Quarterback Kyler Murray is the only Cardinal with a cap hit above $20 million. Extending star tight end Trey McBride will be a priority.

NFL overhaul tiers: Who’s contending, rebuilding in 2025? – ESPN

Perhaps the mixed results of the ROTB Poll are an indication of “this could go either way.”

At this point, however, are the Cardinals really “a move or two away?”

Yep, still rebuilding?

When one considers all of the moves and rumors listed above, it appears that Michael Bidwill has given assurances to Monti Ossenfort and Jonathan Gannon that this is not a make-or-break year for them.

• A series of meaningful coaching changes, particularly on the defensive front 7 side of the ball ——->

—- Monti and JG have brought in new OL and DL coaches from the college ranks, neither of whom has any NFL experience.

—- Both of the new inside and outside linebacker coaches they hired were defensive backs assistants last year.

—- Folks may not realize how much pressure these new hires are going to put on 3rd year DC Nick Rallis. He is not only going to have to teach them the intricate details of his schemes, but also, he is going to have to mentor and monitor the precise manner in which they instruct the players with regard to techniques.

—- Most dauntingly, Nick Rallis, without veteran coaches to lean on, is going to have to assume the vast majority of the game planning because none of the new coaches have had to be key cogs in NFL game planning before. Rallis indicated last year that he spent a great deal of time during the off-season drawing up specific game plans for the team’s first 8-9 opponents.

—- Drawing up initial gameplans for 8-9 opponents again, while having to get the new assistant coaches assimilated into the system and the technical aspects of their jobs is going to be extremely time consuming. To pull all of this off in one off-season would be extraordinary. In the longer run, to have all of the young coaches aligned could be of significant benefit.

• On Super Bowl weekend (timing?) came the speculation that the Cardinals could be listening to trade offers for QB Kyler Murray —->
• —-It’s difficult to ignore the timing of these rumors, because typically they are planted through NFL insiders like Adam Schefter or Ian Rapoport via players’ agents or team GMs, in order to rouse teams’ interests. If Monti indeed trades Kyler, then that too would speak to a continued rebuild without the “gotta win now” pressure on the coaching staff.
• The leaking of rumors involving the Cardinals interest in signing QB Daniel Jones —->

—- As Kyle and I argued on this week’s Red Rain Podcast, paying Daniel Jones $10M or more makes the most sense if the Cardinals are going to trade Kyler. But to pay a backup QB basically one-fifth of the team’s cap space when it has so many other more pressing personnel priorities would be like drafting Trey Benson with the first pick in round 3 to be RB2 when they haven’t drafted an edge pass rusher or space-eating nose tackle for the league’s 31st ranked defense in 2023.

With the hiring of new OL coach Justin Frye, the Cardinals appear to be deepening their connections to the Ohio St. program that won the 2024 college Natty —->

—- Michael Bidwill, Monti Ossenfort , Jonathan Gannon and Drew Petzing must have been very much ok with letting the most successful assistant coach on the staff (Klayton Adams) leave the building.

—- What that appears to signify is how keen they are on their Ohio St. connections.

—- That said, as talented an offensive line coach like Justin Frye was at the college level, he’s going to have to acclimate very quickly to getting to know his new system, new coaches, new players and the NFL opponents he needs to prepare for, starting with the Cardinals’ rivals in the NFC West.

—- Learning curves of this nature typically take an ample amount of time.

• Kliff Kingsbury declining the Saints’ HC job to stay Commanders’ OC, and thereby staying on Bidwill’s payroll another year, most likely in the $5M range —->

—- One obvious reason for Michael Bidwill to give his GM and coaches the assurances that this is not a make-or-break year for them is financial. Let’s face it —- this has to be by far the most inexpensive coaching staff that Bidwill has ever put on the payroll.

Fan reactions:

Full tweet:

Yes, except look at who the 49ers hired on defense this off-season: Robert Saleh (21 years in NFL) as DC and as if that wasn’t enough, they just signed Gus Bradley (20 yrs) as veteran defensive advisor. The Seahawks on defense have Mike Macdonald (11) HC , Aiden Durde (8) as DC and Leslie Frazier (26) as assistant head coach/veteran defensive advisor. The Rams have Chris Shula (11) as DC and Sean Desai (13) as veteran defensive advisor.

Tyler Johnson and I had been talking about Sean McVay and how he hit the ground running with the woeful Rams —- but Sean McVay put his defense in the hands of Wade Phillips. Do you think McVay’s Rams get to the Super Bowl in year 2 and hold Tom Brady and the Patriots to 13 points without a savvy veteran DC like Wade Phillips?

Excellent post, per usual, Flash. It feels odd to ask this but —-> how in the world did the Cardinals’ youngest coaching staff in the NFL the past two years manage get even younger and less experienced in year three?

Each of the new hires has some exciting potential. They all look like potential fast risers —- given the time to settle into their jobs.

A Hierarchy of Organizational Control and Frugality?

A recurring thought is that the GM’s coaching decisions are structured in a way that they are supremely cost effective, yet even more so —-> the coaching decisions appear to have created a sense of complete control for Bidwill as owner —- for Monti as a GM overseeing the youngest, most inexperienced coaching staff in the NFL —- and for JG being able to preside over younger, less experienced coaches than himself to the extent of eschewing the addition of any veteran advisor or veteran assistant with proven expertise in their specific areas.

Have you ever seen a precedent for this organizational model of control and frugality?

Regardless, Cardinals fans are rightfully hoping to see Monti Ossenfort in year three with ample cap space make the splash in free agency that we have not seen yet.

Leave it to since61 to capture the emotions of so many Cardinals’ fans. This off-season we are looking at that $65M in cap space and hoping to see greatness in action —-

Yes, 61, let’s post the NFL tiers poll again after free agency and the draft.

Something is brewing with the Cardinals?

Maybe.

Or maybe not.

“Could go either way.”