No, Vance Joseph is not being set up as the Arizona Cardinals’ scapegoat

According to one podcast, Vance Joseph is going to be the Arizona Cardinals’ scapegoat.

It’s time for the next controversial thing to hit the Arizona Cardinals’ off-season. The Locked On Cardinals Podcast’s host, Alex Clancy, believes that the Cardinals could be basically having a “fall guy” if the season doesn’t go well.

Clancy’s reasoning for his bold statement is the fact that the Cardinals haven’t replaced anyone that they’ve lost on defense, specifically Chandler Jones and Jordan Hicks.

Clancy also went on to say that if the Cardinals have a bad season that, Joseph is going to be the one “shoved” out (to put a play on the saying, “When push comes to shove.”

The point was continued with the fact that Arizona wouldn’t fire Kingsbury because of the extension given to him earlier this offseason.

Thinking the Arizona Cardinals are setting up Vance Joseph is an awful take.

First off, a series of questions. How does one come to a conclusion like this? If there’s anyone whose job should be safe based on the performance of what he’s done, it’s Joseph.

Joseph elevated a team whose defense was ranked 28th in the league in 2019 to 12th in 2020 and then 11th in 2021. So how is he going to become a scapegoat if things go wrong? Joseph’s been the only one to go above expectations, and Kingsbury hasn’t done that at all.

As for losing Jones and Hicks, Clancy is only correct on Hicks and not upgrading the team (*cough, cough, cornerback*). Hicks should still be in Arizona, and if Steve Keim didn’t panic and draft Zaven Collins, this isn’t even in the conversation now.

Jones was on a downward trend, and I’m happy that the Cardinals didn’t break the bank for a player that wasn’t worth another significant extension, given the team’s direction.

Let’s hope this doesn’t come true, and the Cardinals get their first playoff win since the 2015 Divisional win over the Green Bay Packers (The Hail Larry).