Arizona Cardinals showing faith in their general manager
By Jim Koch
General manager Steve Keim needs to prove to the Arizona Cardinals that the contract extension handed to him was warranted
The Arizona Cardinals have taken a leap of faith. A few years back, giving a contract extension to Steve Keim would’ve seemed like a good idea. Two consecutive non-winning campaigns by the club have raised some doubts in the team’s general manager, however.
That apparently mattered little to the Cardinals’ ownership, who just the other day added four years onto Keim’s existing deal. Pro Football Talk’s two-time NFL Executive of the Year is now signed through the 2022 season. With Arizona basically starting at square-one with a new coaching staff, Keim’s been given time to build a roster that will suit it.
The hiring of new head coach Steve Wilks was the GM’s first big acquisition of the offseason. The Cards seemingly settled on the Carolina Panthers’ defensive coordinator, after striking out on at least three other candidates that they reportedly coveted more. Pat Shurmur, Matt Patricia and Mike Munchak all passed on becoming Bruce Arians’ replacement.
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The fact that Keim was unable to persuade any of the more-preferred coaches to take the gig raises a bit of a red flag. Apparently, his sales pitch may need some work. Keim being rewarded with an extension following what appears to be a botched head-coaching hire is a little curious to say the least.
There’s also the Cardinals’ quarterback situation, or lack thereof, that needs to be taken into consideration. Arizona is the only team in the NFL that has a roster with zero signal-callers on it. Carson Palmer was rapidly approaching retirement for the last couple of years, so for Keim not to have his successor in place is a tad inexcusable.
Despite his deficiencies, Keim has been given the organization’s stamp of approval. Team President Michael Bidwill believes in his long-time employee’s ability to deliver a Lombardi Trophy to the “Valley of the Sun”. Keim now has four more years to make that dream come true.