John DeFilippo should be Arizona Cardinals 2019 priority
By Jim Koch
The Arizona Cardinals need to dismiss their current coaching staff and make John DeFilippo their number-one priority in 2019
The Arizona Cardinals were barking up the right tree last January. Someone they were targeting for their vacant head-coaching position, John DeFilippo, was already set to interview with the Cardinals’ brass for a second time. The quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles was busy however, preparing Nick Foles for the NFC Championship game.
Unfortunately for Arizona, the follow-up meeting with DeFilippo never took place. The Eagles got to the Super Bowl, which basically prevented the offensive guru from getting a head job. The Cards ended up hiring the defensive-minded Steve Wilks for the position, and we all know how that has turned out.
DeFilippo did wind up getting a promotion, when he accepted an offer from the Minnesota Vikings to be their offensive coordinator. The 40-year old should once again be one of the hottest names on the market in 2019, when a whole new set of clubs will be in need of a head coach. Could the Cardinals succeed in landing DeFilippo if another opportunity presents itself?
Arizona would be better off with an offensive-oriented leader running the show. The new face of the franchise, quarterback Josh Rosen, could use a bright young mind to guide him. The rookie was getting little help from Wilks appointee Mike McCoy, the Cards’ outdated play-caller who was finally given his walking papers this past Friday.
Being able to work with a talented 21-year old passer like Rosen should make the job more attractive for DeFilippo. Pairing the two could turn out to be a match made in heaven. DeFilippo was praised for the work he did in Philadelphia with Foles and Carson Wentz, and is the brain behind the success that Kirk Cousins is now having with the Vikings.
The Cardinals should pull out all of the stops to land DeFilippo next offseason. It’s obvious that management liked what they heard from him last winter, considering the fact that they had planned to get together with him again. Arizona is currently spiralling downward, and could use an up and coming candidate like DeFilippo to get the organization turned around.