It did not take a lot of time for the Arizona Cardinals to determine that Steve Wilks was not the answer to their head coaching needs as they fired Wilks after his only season on the job after the team finished 3-13, which was the worst record in the league. Retired coach Bruce Arians certainly left big shoes to fill and Wilks was not up to the task. New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels remains the favorite to become head coach of several NFL teams including the Cards. It is a near lock that McDaniels will again be a head coach somewhere next season and he can afford to be picky. And while Arizona finished dead last in all major offensive categories, they do offer Josh Rosen as their quarterback of the future.
Head Coach of the Arizona Cardinals for Week 1 of the 2019-2020 Regular Season
(Odds at Bookmaker.eu as of 1-6-19)
Zac Taylor +1200
Kliff Kingsbury +1100
Eric Bieniemy +1500
Kris Richard +850
Josh McDaniels +500
Dan Campbell +900
Jim Caldwell +1200
Todd Bowls +1400
Matt LaFleur +900
Field +250
Adam Gase +800
Mike McCarthy +2200
Chuck Pagano +1100
Pete Carmichael +900
Does McDaniels Have Better Options?
Josh McDaniels is the betting favorite for several NFL teams including the Green Bay Packers and Miami Dolphins, two teams that would seem to have more going for them than the Cardinals. Would McDaniels see Rosen as a potentially new Tom Brady or not? How much power would the Cardinals offer McDaniels to sway him to come to the desert? It would seem that McDaniels could be an overlay for this job and has more appealing choices.
Kris Richard Offers Defensive Fortress
Dallas Cowboys defensive backs coach Kris Richard was a previous defensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks and has served as an NFL assistant since the 2010 season. Richard has been a major contributor to the Cowboys defense that rates among the best in the league. Problematic is that Richard may not sell as far as a franchise in desperate need of fixing its putrid offense.
LaFleur Brings Offensive Experience
Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur may be a more appealing choice for the Cardinals. Last year LaFleur coordinated the high-octane offense of the Los Angeles Rams. Additionally, he has experience as a quarterbacks coach with Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons while also working closely with young signal callers Jared Goff of the Rams and Marcus Mariota of the Titans. Of concern is that LaFleur did not improve the Tennessee offense this year. In fact, the Titans regressed to rank 27th for scoring offense and 29th for passing.
Campbell Associates with Winner
New Orleans Saints assistant head coach Dan Campbell would bring the credibility of spending three seasons with Sean Payton, Drew Brees, and the explosive New Orleans Saints. Campbell also has the experience of running a team after serving as interim head coach of the Miami Dolphins for 12 games in the 2015 season in which he went 5-7. Of concern is that Campbell has never coordinated an offense.
King Kliff
USC offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury is certainly associated with high octane offenses from his time as head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. That half of his resume makes for a great sell in Arizona. Balanced against that was the fact that Kingsbury was fired at Texas Tech last November for not improving the program. Some insiders also see Kingsbury as not well organized and his teams struggled defensively. Kingsbury caught on with USC after getting canned and the school is not happy about him interviewing for NFL jobs.
The Retreads
Jim Caldwell and Chuck Pagano may make sense for this mess of a franchise. NFL head coaching experience may be more important at Arizona than at other teams. Caldwell and Pagano both have produced NFL playoff seasons.
The Arizona search will need to evolve before a true favorite emerges. The field could be a decent value here as a clear-cut chalk is yet to emerge.
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