Sunday could be Arizona Cardinals coach’s last hurrah

Losing to the hapless San Francisco 49ers this weekend could quite possibly prompt the Arizona Cardinals to fire Steve Wilks

Behind the scenes reports are indicating that the Arizona Cardinals have faith in their head coach. Steve Wilks, despite a one and six start to the current season, will apparently be given time to turn this mess around. Whether he’s deserving of such a luxury or not is certainly up for debate.

Which brings us to this weekend. The San Francisco 49ers, who have also won just once this year, will be the Cards’ opponent on Sunday. Even with the vote of confidence he’s allegedly been given from his superiors, a loss to this hapless division rival could put Wilks’ tenure in jeopardy.

San Francisco, much to their fans’ chagrin, are the only squad that the Cardinals have defeated in 2018. Head coach Kyle Shanahan’s club won their final five contests of 2017, but have been ravaged by injuries ever since. The 49ers’ offense in particular took a hit by losing both quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and running back Jerick McKinnon to torn ACLs.

It’s hard to imagine Wilks being granted a pass for losing to such a decimated group. If Arizona was to succumb to their division rival, could team President Michael Bidwill consider moving on from the head man? Having patience with Wilks is one thing, but falling to a C.J. Beathard-led bunch at State Farm Stadium would be almost inexcusable.

If the Cards were to fire Wilks next week, a week-nine bye would give them two weeks off. That’s more than enough time for an interim coach to get organized, and to start preparing for the high-powered Kansas City Chiefs. An experienced assistant like linebackers’ coach Bob Sanders, or even cornerbacks’ coach Kevin Ross, could hold down the fort until this nightmare campaign ends.

Wilks’ job could very well be on the line versus San Francisco. Anything short of a victory would be a disaster. The Cardinals’ brass should be sick of the excuses by now.