Usually, this type of talk is premature as we’re still in the midpoint of the season. However, it’s still fun to do and look ahead anyway. I’ve gone over some candidates tailored for the Colts and Browns, and we’ll keep that rolling here with Arizona.
The Cardinals aren’t getting much attention around the league right now (especially on the heels of a thrilling trade deadline), but they could be quietly entering a turning point for their franchise. They’re 4-6, but the prospects look worse than that. David Johnson is hurt. Carson Palmer is hurt. That, coupled with an ugly point differential (-72) suggest that it’s going to be an ugly end to the season for the team. I wouldn’t be shocked if they end the year at 5-11 or 6-10.
Going forward, the Cardinals may have to rebuild without Carson Palmer, who may retire or even be cut next season. In theory, Bruce Arians is a great coach to develop the QB of the future, but his future is in doubt as well. He’s squashed any talk of retirement so far, but it’s still buzzing under the surface.
If Arians wants to stay, he should stay. But to have a fallback plan in mind here’s an abbreviated list of candidates that I believe fit the franchise.
Strong candidates who didn’t crack the top 5
Dave Toub may not be a perfect fit here.
DAVE TOUB, ST, Kansas City: Dave Toub is one of my top three coaching candidates in general, but I’m not sure he’s a perfect fit here. I’d rather see him go to a team with a QB already in place (like Indianapolis).
JOSH McDANIELS, OC, New England: There has been more chatter lately that Josh McDaniels is ready to move on. While he struggled outside of Bill Belichick’s shadow in the past, he’ll certainly get another chance somewhere.
MIKE VRABEL, DC, Houston: The Texans’ defense is coming off an atrocious week, but Vrabel is still considered a rising star in the coaching ranks.
JIM SCHWARTZ, DC, Philadelphia: A strong candidate for other posts, he doesn’t appear to be a good scheme fit here.
MATT LaFLEUR, OC, L.A. Rams: On my last coaching post, redditor /u/ChiefNjoku raised the name of young Rams’ OC Matt LaFleur as a viable candidate for teams, and that was a smart call. He’s still green, but he’s a rising star himself.
The top 5
(5) Harold Goodwin, OC, Arizona
The Arizona Cardinals have a bad team right now, but they don’t have a dysfunctional team. If they want to keep some semblance of continuity in place, promoting OC Harold Goodwin would be an easy transition to make.
Goodwin has very limited playcalling experience, less than DC James Bettcher. Effectively, Goodwin’s a line coach that serves a lieutenant for Bruce Arians. However, being a head coach is a different job than being a coordinator and those skills don’t directly translate. Goodwin’s an affable coach who can focus on running the team and allow an experienced OC (maybe Hue Jackson, post-Cleveland firing?) come in and run the X’s and O’s of the passing game.
(4) Steve Wilks, DC, Carolina
Despite losing DC Sean McDermott to Buffalo, the Panthers’ defense hasn’t lost a beat. In fact, they’ve actually improved in 2017. A lot of that credit should go to DC Steve Wilks, a charismatic leader who has ramped up the pressure packages. While the 3-4/4-3 match doesn’t line up perfectly, he’d fit in with the Cardinals’ defense in terms of their aggressive mentality.
On the surface, Wilks (as a first-year coordinator) is too green for a head coaching job, but he’s served as an assistant head coach for the two years prior. He’s closer to being “ready” than not.
(3) Teryl Austin, DC, Detroit
Teryl Austin is similar to Steve Wilks in terms of projecting leadership, charisma, and milking the most out of his personnel. The reason I’d have Austin ranked a spot higher is because he’s more experienced of the two, having been the DC in Detroit for over three full seasons now.
Austin will be a candidate for most openings in the NFL this offseason; I’d be surprised if he doesn’t finally land one.
(2) Todd Haley, OC, Pittsburgh
Get your rants ready, because Todd Haley is one of the most polarizing candidates in the league. Believe me, I understand the pros and cons of the man.
The downside: he’s apparently an asshole who continually rubs people the wrong way. He flamed out as the head coach in Kansas City in the middle of year three. His Steelers offense now had huge expectations, but haven’t brought the best out of old Ben Roethlisberger so far.
On the plus side: Haley runs a strong offense that takes advantage of lateral movement and open spaces across the field (albeit one that struggles in the red zone). He’s a master of developing wide receivers; he’s perhaps the best in the league at that. He also has a reasonable excuse for his struggles in KC: his GM bought into the Matt Cassel hype, hook line, and sinker. Perhaps he was doomed as a result there.
The elephant in the room with his viability in Arizona is the fact that he was in Arizona, making his reputation as the OC for the Kurt Warner Super Bowl team. Now depending on whom you ask, that could be good or bad. Perhaps the franchise respects his skill and would love a reunion. Or perhaps they all hate him and never want to see his face again.
(1) Matt Nagy, OC, Kansas City
Ideally, the Arizona Cardinals would want an offensive minded coach in a post-Bruce Arians, post-Carson Palmer world. Todd Haley has extreme pros and cons in that regard.
Kansas City’s Matt Nagy may be all “pros” and no “cons” right now. He’s the hottest name in the head coaching game. The former Arena League QB has helped Andy Reid open up the offense and take more chances, which has worked splendidly so far in 2017.
Although Nagy is still inexperienced, he projects as an ideal QB mentor. He’s young (39) and a former quarterback himself. He also comes from a coaching tree in Andy Reid University that specializes in developing quarterbacks in a smart and pragmatic way (as we can see from Doug Pederson in Philadelphia) — managing them at first, then slowly giving them more and more responsibility. If you can criticize Bruce Arians’ offensive philosophies, it would be a predilection to allow his QBs to take a lot of hits and punishment. Nagy’s offense would be more quick-hitting and safer than that.
