Everything hasn’t gone to plan as much as Arizona Cardinals GM Steve Keim would’ve liked.
Taking over a team that got blown out 58-0 in the dreadful 2012 season, Steve Keim vowed, “Never Again.” To his credit, that hasn’t happened; but the wildcard loss to the Rams this past season sure felt pretty close to it.
Keim has always done better in free agency than drafting, as seen in trades for Carson Palmer, Chandler Jones, and most notably, DeAndre Hopkins. But, alas, Keim has only one playoff win and three playoff appearances in roughly ten years of being the Arizona Cardinals’ GM.
So when a recent ranking of the NFL’s GMs came out, It wasn’t surprising to see Keim ranked pretty low. Keim came in 21st on the list. That’s pretty acceptable when just looking at his ranking alone. But the person he was ranked ahead of didn’t seem to make much sense.
Arizona Cardinals see Steve Keim ranked as 21st-best GM in the NFL.
What really makes one ponder the thought process is the general manager, who is ranked one spot behind Keim at number 23. That belongs to Seattle Seahawks GM John Schneider, a GM so oblivious to his star quarterback’s demands that he ran him out of town.
Not to mention that Schneider has made questionable trades (Jadeveon Clowney and Jamal Adams) and hasn’t spent draft capital well (not like Keim has done that either).
Now armed with Kyler Murray, Keim and the Cardinals need to start producing postseason success. The fanbase is dying for it, especially after how the 2015 playoff run ended in an excruciatingly bad fashion.
It’s where the rubber meets the road, and even an NFC Championship game appearance would help boost Keim’s ranking. Of course, a Super Bowl title would cause a night and day switch, but we’re still a long way from that.