If hired, Dan Quinn may bring Darrell Bevell to the Arizona Cardinals
By Jim Koch
Darrell Bevell could be brought in to resurrect the Arizona Cardinals offense if Dan Quinn becomes the team’s next head coach.
On Tuesday, some pretty big news broke regarding the Arizona Cardinals organization’s search for a new head coach. Dan Quinn, one of the top candidates, would be interviewing with the team about their vacant position for the second time. If general manager Monti Ossenfort does elect to make the 52-year-old his first coaching hire, rumor has it that Quinn may already have his offensive coordinator picked out.
Darrell Bevell, an offensive assistant with the Miami Dolphins, could very well be coming to the desert if Quinn gets the Cardinals gig. The pair became acquainted a decade ago with the Seattle Seahawks, when both were on the staff of head coach Pete Carroll. While Bevell was designing a prolific Seahawks offense, Quinn was on the other side of the ball, presiding over a stout Seattle defensive unit.
The 53-year-old Bevell is highly-qualified to run Arizona’s scoring attack. Besides the seven campaigns he spent as Seattle’s offensive coordinator (2011-17), Bevell also held the same title with the Minnesota Vikings (2006-10), Detroit Lions (2019-20) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2021).
Of course, Bevell will always remembered for his awful play call that ended in disaster for the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX. On a second down and goal from the New England Patriots’ one-yard line, Bevell had quarterback Russell Wilson attempt an ill-fated slant pass that resulted in an interception.
Seattle lost 28-24. And many were left wondering why Pro Bowl running back Marshawn Lynch wasn’t handed the rock in that critical situation.
Arizona Cardinals need an offensive assistant who can revitalize Kyler Murray
Back in February of 2022, Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel brought Bevell on board to be the squad’s passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach. The hire by McDaniel paid huge dividends for Tua Tagovailoa this past fall. Under Bevell’s guidance, the Dolphins signal-caller completed 64.8% of his throws for 3,548 yards and 25 touchdowns, and posted an NFL-best 8.9 yards per pass attempt.
All eyes will be on what Bevell can do for Cards passer Kyler Murray, of course. Tagovailoa ranked first in the league in passer rating (105.5), and much of the success he enjoyed this past season could be attributed to the Yuma, Arizona native’s coaching. How fantastic would it be if Bevell managed to extract the exact same thing out of the floundering Murray?
Related Story. Meaning of Dan Quinn's 2nd meeting with Cardinals. light
The first step towards making that scenario with Murray a reality would be for Ossenfort to reach an agreement with Quinn. Bevell could be one heck of a fringe benefit if the Cardinals GM manages to get that accomplished.
(Statistics provided by Pro Football Reference)
Want your voice heard? Join the Raising Zona team!