Arizona Cardinals should not pursue a first-time head coach…mostly
By Sion Fawkes
The Arizona Cardinals are 4-8, and if they lose the majority of these final five games, Kliff Kingsbury could be shown the door.
The Arizona Cardinals could see their first coaching change since 2018-19 if they rightfully give up on Kliff Kingsbury. And while they can go multiple routes here, one route they should, in most cases, avoid is to once again go with a first time NFL head coach….for the most part.
They made the mistake with Steve Wilks, who is currently the interim head coach for the Carolina Panthers. And as his fourth season continues, Kingsbury, a rookie coach when he came to the desert in 2019, also looks like a mistake. This should tell Steve Keim or whoever the future general manager is, not to pursue another rookie coach and risk having someone else learn on the job….primarily.
Sure, fortunes could shine upon a rook, and the Arizona Cardinals could find themselves on top of the league. But most likely, they won’t. So for the sake of a frustrated fanbase, Cardinals brass, just kindly avoid taking a chance on another rookie….in most cases, that is.
One rookie head coach the Arizona Cardinals should consider
Last week, I wrote about three coaches besides Sean Payton I’d like to see the Cardinals pursuing. One name I mentioned was Byron Leftwich, who would be a rookie head coach. However, Leftwich coached under former Cardinals boss Bruce Arians, so I have faith he would bring in a similar system at Arians ran.
This tells me Leftwich would be ahead of the curve as opposed to other would-be rookie coaches in the desert. Other names on that list included Jason Garrett and Frank Reich. Garrett and Reich have experience leading teams to the playoffs. And given their respective resumes, quarterback Kyler Murray could enjoy a breakout campaign working with this pair should the Cardinals decide to keep him.
Another name thrown around lately? Jim Harbaugh. We know how effective Harbaugh is as a head coach, given his stint with the San Francisco 49ers. If Harbaugh coaches the Cardinals, he, like Payton, may only come if he gets full control. And if that’s the case, give it to him.
Overall, unless the name is Byron Leftwich, the Cardinals need to go with someone with sound experience. The last great Arizona Cardinals team stemmed from a man who had head coaching experience in the NFL, albeit 12 games of it with what was supposed to be an awful Indianapolis Colts team. Arians went 9-3 in that tenure.
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Therefore, go with someone who has been there, done that, and will give the Redbirds a legit chance to make a deep playoff run, if not more.
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