Will Justin Frye keep the Cardinals’ offensive line cooking?

Cardinals hired Frye in the nick of time

Fresh off helping Ohio St. win the first FBS national championship in the new 12-team playoff format —- while getting stellar play from his makeshift offensive line en route to a stunning 34-23 win over Notre Dame —- Justin Frye, 41, comes to the Cardinals with impressive credentials as an offensive line coach at the major college football level.

Coaching Experience:

• Indiana (2007–2008)

Graduate assistant

• Florida (2009–2010)

Graduate assistant

• Temple (2011–2012)

Offensive line coach

• Boston College (2013–2017)

Offensive line coach

• UCLA (2018)

Offensive line coach

• UCLA (2019–2021)

Offensive coordinator & offensive line coach

• Ohio State (2022–2024)

Offensive line coach

• Arizona Cardinals (2025–present)

Offensive line coach

Proud Eagles

I and my fellow Boston College alums are very proud of the fact that Ryan Day and Justin Frye were highly successful assistant coaches at Chestnut Hill.

NFL OL Pipeline:

Here is a list of offensive linemen whom Justin Frye helped to get drafted in the NFL:

• 2015 —- T Ian Silberman —- pick #190 (SF)
• 2015 —- C Andy Gallick —- pick #208 (TEN)
• 2019 —- G Chris Lindstrom —- pick #14 (ATL)
• 2022 —- T Sean Rhyan —- pick #91 (GB)
• 2023 —- T Paris Johnson Jr. —- pick #6 (ARI)
• 2023 —- G Jon Gaines II —- pick #122 (ARI)
• 2023 —- G Antonio Mafi —- pick #144 (NE)
• 2023 —- C Luke Wypler —- pick #190 (CLE)
• 2024 —- G Matthew Jones —- CFA (ARI)
• 2025 —- T Josh Simmons —- TBA
• 2025 —- G Donovan Jackson —- TBA
• 2025 —- C Seth McLaughlin —- TBA

Current Cardinals’ Offensive Linemen on the 2025 Roster (2024 PFF grades):

• T —- Paris Johnson Jr. —- 80.8
• T —- Jonah Williams* (could be released) —- 70.7
• T —- Christian Jones —- 53.8
• T —- Curtis McLendon —- DNP
• G —- Isaiah Adams —- 58.4
• G —- Jon Gaines II —- 63.0
• G —- Mathew Jones —- DNP
• G —- Nick Leverett —- DNP
• C —- Hjalte Froholdt —- 76.1
• C —- Sincere Haynesworth 000 DNP

Current Cardinals OL UFAs:

• T Kelvin Beachum —- 64.1
• T Jackson Barton —- 63.9
• G Will Hernandez —- 69.3
• G Evan Brown —- 65.9
• G/C Trystan Colon —- 71.0

Biggest questions for Justin Frye:

1. Does he believe that Jon Gaines II, whom he coached at UCLA, is his starting RG?
2. Which (if any) of the Cardinals’ UFAs would he want to re-sign?
3. Whom does he envision as his starters at LG, RG and RT?
4. Whom does he envision as his swing T, swing G, swing C?
5. Will he pound the table for Josh Simmons, Donovan Jackson and Seth McLaughlin?
6. Will he pound the table for Will Howard?
7. What intel does he have on Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau, Tyleik Williams? Michigan’s Kenneth Grant?

Justin Frye’s Coaching Philosophy/Style

1. Drive Blocking Techniques. Big believer in 1-man sled drive blocking techniques and blocking under chutes to perfect pad levels to avoid “pop-ups.”

• 3 Phases = Takeoff/Drive/Rebite-Glue
• Emphasis on Base, Bend, Balance & Burst
• Knees past 90
• Get feet in the ground and accelerate legs on contact
• Back plane should roll and climb as OL works to finish
• Re-bite/Glue to DL once he tries to disengage

2. Individualized Development Plans. As Paris Johnson Jr. and Josh Simmons have alluded to, Frye gives each one of his players a specific list of developmental techniques and attitude boosters to work on.

3. Double Team Leverage Techniques. Jam and Flipper (AOD —- angle of departure) —- 2-man sled “jam flipper” and “jam snap (to the LB)” combos

4. Play Action Blocks —- “hard for three, anchor away” on 1-man sled

5. Pass Pro —- Spot Progression Mechanics (Drop Back Passes)

“Set the spot —- then climb —- and glue”

Good Summary of Justin Frye’s College Experience and Level of Success

Good list of RBs (with success in the NFL) who have thrived in his systems at BC, UCLA and Ohio St.

Cardinals’ High Bar on Offensive Line Success

Kudos to Monti Ossenfort, Jonathan Gannon, Drew Petzing and Klayton Adams for achieving what most Cardinals’ fans might think to be impossible a couple of years ago. Behold where the 2024 Cardinals wound up on this “A Tale of Two Offensive Lines” graphic:

If you had been told that in two years the Cardinals’ offensive line would be playing on a par with the Detroit Lions’ you probably would have laughed out loud. What’s astonishing about this feat is how the Cardinals managed this without nearly the on-paper kind of talent that the Lions have amassed on their star-studded offensive line.

By the way —- just to put the question to rest —- I reached out to the NFL writers at The Boston Globe to ask the question as to whether the Cardinals had any option at all to retain Klayton Adams —- they said yes —- that when Bill Belichick was fearful that a team would try to poach OLC Dante Scarnecchia to be the OC for a head coach who called the plays —- what Belichick did pre-emptively was to promote Scarnecchia to assistant head coach with a nifty pay raise so as to deter would-be suitors.

Ironically, it’s the exact same reason why Ryan Day promoted Justin Frye to assistant head coach/offensive line coach so that Frye wouldn’t be poached by another Power 5 college program.

For the trajectory of Jusin Frye’s career, taking his craft to the NFL as the Cardinals’ offensive line coach is a major coup for the former Buckeye.

Reasons why Justin Frye can and should be highly successful in Arizona

1. His track record for developing NFL caliber offensive linemen.
2. His outstanding ability to teach.
3. His meticulous sense of organization.
4. The close ways in which he works hand-in-hand with his OC and play caller.
5. The gravitas he’s always had with his players.
6. The offensive nuances that he has learned from Matt Rhule, Seve Addazio, Chip Kelly and Ryan Day —- if you have ever studied Chip Kelly’s zone blocking schemes, you are in for a treat. Try to watch the whole tape below if you have the time —- but if you want a quick peek at this video to see one clever nuance Chip Kelly uses is how the pulls and pins the TE inside the formation to block the middle linebacker in order to create a classic cutback lane for the RB. Very Sean McVay-esque.

Film Study: The Evolution of Chip Kelly’s Deceptive Run Game | Eleven Warriors

Having spent a good deal of time over the years studying Chip Kelly’s offense, Kelly, through clever formations and motions, is a master at winning what he calls “the numbers game” —- meaning the ability to create one more blocker than there are defenders to the play side of the field.

Conclusion

There are ample reasons to believe that MO, JG and DP hired Justin Frye because, in light of the outstanding offensive coaches he has worked hand-in-hand with and the high praise he receives from former blue-chip players like PJJ, the Cardinals hired him because they believe that he potentially has the most to offer at the position.

Dou you believe in miracles?

After the Buckeyes lost (again) at home to Michigan in a game where their makeshift OL had by far its worst game of the season, Ohio St, fans were so livid that they wanted Ryan Day and Justin Frye fired. In Frye’s case, it wasn’t for his coaching per se, it was for what the fans considered to be a horrible 3-years of recruiting.

• Michigan —- 13-10 L —- Will Howard: 19/33, 175 yds, 1 TD, 2 ints, 63.2 QBR, 10 pts, 252 yards total offense
• Tennessee —- 42-17 W —- Will Howard: 24/29, 311 yds, 2 TDs, 1 int, 98.9 QBR, 42 pts, 473 yards total offense
• Oregon —- 41-21 W —- Will Howard 17/26, 311 yds, 3 TDs, 0 int., 97.7 QBR, 41 pts., 500 yards total offense
• Notre Dame —- 34-23 W —- Will Howard 17/21, 231 yds, 3 TDs, 0 int, 99.1 QBR, 34 pts., 445 yards total offense

How phenomenal was that bounce-back offensive run? With a makeshift offensive line to boot?

Yet here’s the other miracle:

That the Cardinals were able to close the deal with Justin Frye just 36 hours before Chip Kelly had been offered the Raiders’ new offensive coordinator job, Undoubtedly, Kelly would have wanted to take Frye with him as his OC.

The question is —- if all goes according to plan this season —- will the Cardinals take the pre-emptive measures to ensure that Justin Frye doesn’t get poached for an OC job the way Klayton Adams did?

Ah nothing like coming full circle, eh?