Why did Cardinals permit Cowboys to poach a shining star in Klayton Adams?

To the Cowboy’s benefit and the Cardinals’ detriment?

Note: here is what I was writing yesterday before the news came in that the Cardinals hired Ohio State’s associate head coach/offensive line guru Justin Frye. Rather than just let this work go to waste, I’d like to put my confusions about the loss of Klayton Adams on record. Near the end of this article, I will draw a line at the spot where I ended and then add some of the lingering questions I have about how and why Michael Bidwill, Monti Ossenfort and Jonathan Gannon elected to let go of Klayton Adams in favor of hiring Justin Frye.

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The only position coach that Michael Bidwill and Monti Ossenfort hired in 2023 to have produced two years of top 10 excellence was offensive line coach Klayton Adams. Today we have to say “was” because Jerry Jones and his new head coach Brian Schottenheimer identified Klayton Adams as one of the premium offensive line coaches in the NFL. They swept into the desert like tumbleweed and managed to sign Adams to be their offensive coordinator —- seemingly without any significanr resistance from the Cardinals.

Yesterday, fearing that Michael Bidwill and Monte Ossenfort would help accommodate Klayton Adams’ move to the Cowboys, I wrote this:

Therefore, from the football side of things, the question moving forward is —- can and will Michael Bidwill be more accommodating for his current GM, head coach, coordinators, coaching staff and players?

For example, word today is that Cardinals OL coach Klayton Adams, whom some like me believe is the best and most valuable coach on the Cardinals’ staff, is now being called in for a 2nd interview with the Cowboys for their OC position. If Michael Bidwill sits by and allows this to happen, it will feel like it did in Minnesota when JG opted to play prevent defense with a 6-point lead and allowed Justin Jefferson to run wide open, even on 4th and 7 with the game on the line.

Michael Bidwill’s letting go of Klayton Adams would be an extremely generous accommodation to Jerry Jones and the Cowboys, all to the detriment of his own team.

Voila!

This savvy team-strengthening move by the Cowboys, who fully expect Brian Schottenheimer to call the plays, is akin to what Bruce Arians did when he hired Harold Goodwin to be his OC. A more recent example is Mike McDaniel’s hiring of Frank Smith to be the Dolphins’ OC, run game coordinator and offensive line overseer.

Here’s the gist —- Klayton Adams is being hired to do exactly what he was responsible for in Arizona.

I have been calling Klayton Adams the Kliff Kingsbury of offensive line coaches for his remarkable ability to get more out of less. Just as Kingsbury generated four different 4th quarter leads in games down the stretch in 2022 with 4 different QBs playing behind makeshift offensive lines that were missing 4 starters (only Kelvin Beachum remaining), look at how successful Klayton Adams was this season in adjusting to losing Will Hernandez and Jonah Williams (the whole right side of his line) to where the offense remained highly productive. As in —- top 10 in the NFL productive in the running game. As in —- #1 in the NFC West in rushing yards, yards per carry, TDs and 1st downs.

Take a look at Adams’ last two games with the Cardinals:

• at the Rams in 13-9 loss with a starting OL of LT Kelvin Beachum, LG Evan Brown, C Hjalte Froholt, RG Isaiah Adams, and RT Jackson Barton —- Cardinals outgain Rams to the tune of 396 yards to 257.
• at home versus the 49ers in a 47-24 win —- this time with rookie Christian Jones playing RT in place of an injured Jackson Barton —- the offense generates 242 yards passing, 151 yards rushing and 6 TDs.

Reasons why Klayton Adams should have been retained:

1. Continuity
2. Players balling with a whoop ass physicality and mentality in ways we have not ever seen in Arizona —- behold this!

3. Perfect fit for Drew Petzing’s run-heavy offense

4. The stellar job he’s done in developing all of his players, most notably the job he’s done with Paris Johnson Jr. (80.8) and Hjalte Froholdt (76.1). Add in Trystan Colon (71.0), Jonah Williams (when healthy 70.7), Will Hernandez (69,3) Evan Brown (65.9), Kelvin Beachum (64.1), Jackson Barton (63.9) —- these are —- by far —- the most consistently high blocking grades the Cardinals have ever posted in Ariona.

5. His outstanding ability to identify and evaluate NFL caliber offensive linemen

You just know that Paris Johnson Jr. was Klayton Adams’ GUY.

You just know that Isaiah Adams was Klayton Adams’ GUY.

You just know that Jon Gaines II was Klayton Adams’ GUY.

You just know that Christian Jones was Klayton Adams’ GUY.

With Klayton Adams now gone, much of the groundwork (literally and figuratively) that Klayton Adams has steadily built over the past two seasons is now in a precarious state of flux.

But wait, what if the Cardinals sign Mike Munchak?

First of all, are you talking this Mike Munchak? (a rumor circulating on X)

Munchak has spent the last two seasons as an offensive consultant to Sean McVay and the Rams. Last year, McVay wanted him to come on board in a full-time capacity, but Munchak turned the offer down.

Munchak’s last three years of full-time coaching was with the Broncos and here were his team’s pass and run blocking ranking:

• 2019 —- PBLK: 14th —- RBLK: 15th
• 2020 —- PBLK: 22nd —- RBLK: 28th
• 2021 —- PBLK: 9th —- RBLK: 18th

Klayton Adams in Arizona:

• 2023 —-PBLK: 17th —- RBLK: 25th
• 2024 —- PBLK: 4th —- RBLK: 14th

While the Cardinals offensive linemen will now have to adjust to the coaching style of Klayton Adams’ replacement —- which often takes some time —- building a rapport with each of the players and winning their confidence and trust can sometimes take the better part of a year or two —- that said, Mike Munchak has been a long-time proponent of the wide zone blocking scheme and would be a logical fit helping to run Drew Petzing’s offense (click here):

Mike Munchak on zone-blocking scheme (steelers.com)

What’s difficult to comprehend, however —- Why would Mike Munchak turn down a full-time coaching offer from the Rams to take one instead with the Cardinals?

Given the circumstances, why Michael Bidwill and Monti Ossenfort didn’t do all they could to retain Klayton Adams, given Adams’ highly commendable success, young age and potential longevity in the organization, at the expense of handing him over scott free to a traditional NFC rival is completely unacceptable. Good organizations don’t let their best coaches walk out the door, particularly when, as is the case here, there is a creative way to hold on to them.

What I fear is that losing Klayton Adams after two seasons could have a similar impact as the loss of Todd Bowles when he left town to become the head coach of the Jets. I can distinctly remember pleading with Michael Bidwill to get creative in that situation by promoting Bowles to assistant head coach, paying him a handsome salary and giving him the assurances that once BA retires, he would be the Cardinals’ head coach.

That Arians/Bowles “pass the baton” arrangement wound up happening.

Alas, not in Arizona, but in Tampa, where they won a Super Bowl.

When the chemistry of a coaching fit breeds noteworthy and unparalleled success —- you would like to do everything that you possibly can to preserve it. Wouldn’t you?

One of the major reasons why the Cardinals never sustain years of success is the Bidwill’s penchant for letting the best coaches and player leave the building, so often to greener pastures.

In the case of Klayton Adams’ departure, what kind of message does it send to the Cardinals’ players when their own owner and GM just sit there and permit their most successful position coach to be poached by any team, let alone the Cowboys?

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The quick announcement of the Cardinals hiring Justin Frye to replace Klayton Adams elicits a number of questions:

1. The old chicken or the egg? Which came first? The Cardinals’ interest in hiring Justin Frye? Or the Cowboys’ interest in hiring Klayton Adams? Most people, I can imagine, 100% believe it was the latter. That once Bidwill/Ossenfort/Gannon knew that the Cowboys might poach Adams, they went fast to work on lining up a replacement.
2. But what if, for example, MB/MO/JG were taking a special interest in Justin Frye just after Ohio State beat Notre Dame 34-23 in the Natty? That was on January 20th. Curiously, the Cowboys first interviewed Klayton Adams on January 26th and then invited him to a 2nd interview January 31st.
3. By now I think it is pretty evident that the way Michael Bidwill likes to let assistant coaches go is to encourage them and their agents to look for college coordinator jobs or other NFL openings —- because that way, the firing is disguised —- like how WR coach David Raih (who was not a Steve Keim favorite) took the Vanderbilt OC job and how this year LB coach Sam Siefkes just moved on to take the Virgina Tech DC job —- therefore, if the Cardinals were genuinely interested in hiring Justin Frye, did they suggest to Klayton Adams that he and his agent put his name in for the Cowboys’ OC job?
4. I ask this because after it was announced that the Cowboys had arranged the first time to interview Klayton Adams remotely (which often happens per request of a coach’s agent as a look-see type interview), I was expecting the Cardinals to do whatever it would take to keep Adams in Arizona.
5. Yet it appears that there was little to no resistance from the Cardinals. And when it was announced on Friday that the Cowboys were now bringing Adams to their headquarters for a second interview, it became clear that the Cardinals were letting Adams go. It just felt all along that the Cardinals were being curiously compliant with the Cowboys’ interest in poaching Adams.
6. I wonder how the idea of Justin Frye coming in as OC coach first germinated at the Cardinals facilities. For example, was Paris Johnson Jr. raving about Coach Frye to JG or MO on the eve of the Natty? Then for MOJO to discover the remarkable coincidence that Frye had coached Jon Gaines II at UCLA that could have been an “aha” moment.
7. At the same time perhaps, Dave Sears and the Cardinals scouts had been honing on the plethora of talent that Ohio St. is sending this year to the 2025 NFL Draft and in doing so were noticing all of the high praise that Justin Frye was receiving from the likes of Josh Simmons and Donovan Jackson. There is no doubting at this point that the Cardinals are locked into the program at Ohio St. just as Buckeye silver is now a mainstay on the Cardinals uniforms.
8. I still can’t figure out how and why the Cardinals would be so complicit in letting the Cowboys poach the prize rooster on the coaching staff. I mean, come on. The freaking Cowboys? Which begs the question, will Klayton Adams come back to haunt the Cardinals the way Kliff Kingsbury did? The Cardinals play at AT&T Stadium this year.
9. As for Justin Frye, as I expressed to SunDevil99, I think the hiring of Justin Frye is very exciting, but risky. Klayton Adams is a proven top 10 NFL OL coach. Wouldn’t it be realistic to expect Justin Frye to have a challenging transition period into the NFL? Building player rapport and acclimating the players to his style of coaching will take some time. NFL veterans often act toward college coaches the way high school seniors do toward rookie teachers fresh out of college. Will some players suspect Justin Frye of practicing favoritism toward his former players or new players, the way some players suspected Kliff Kingsbury of favoritism toward Kyler Murray?
10. There are a lot of moving parts here —- not even to mention how thoroughly and well Justin Frye is going to absorb and embrace Drew Petzing’s playbook.

I am excited with how Justin Frye connects with the Cardinals. But I cannot fathom why MB/MO/JG would somehow believe the offensive line heading into the critical year 3 of their tenure will be in better hands in Justin Frye’s rather than Klayton Adams’.

Here’s a novel idea — why couldn’t the Cardinals have promoted Drew Petzing to assistant head coach (still being the play caller) and Klayton Adams to OC (to be doing just what he’s doing with the Cowboys) and hire Justin Frye to be the offensive line coach?

Yet with no resistance to letting Klayton Adams go to the Cowboys and the sheer quickness with which the Cardinals announced the hiring of Justin Frye feels like this is what they had in mind, perhaps all along.

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