The new coaching hire will determine the Arizona Cardinals offseason
By Sion Fawkes
While the Arizona Cardinals head coaching search remains a mystery, so does their offseason. Will they rebuild? That depends on who’s on the sideline.
Nobody, not even those closest to the Arizona Cardinals, have the slightest clue of what’s going on right now. We don’t know who the next head coach will be, but names like Brian Callahan, Lou Anarumo, Aaron Glenn, Ejiro Evero, and Brian Flores have been thrown around.
Based on the above coaches, it looks as though the Redbirds are leaning defense as opposed to offense. That may be a good move, considering the debacle that was Kliff Kingsbury over the past four seasons.
It’s unlikely we will know who the next head coach will be until at least the end of the week unless the Cardinals interview one of the above (or someone else) that they really like. But until we know who that name is, we can only speculate what the offseason will entail.
Who the Arizona Cardinals hire will determine the offseason
All of the above coaches have their strengths and weaknesses. But the only way I could see the Cardinals remaining as is, like not trading DeAndre Hopkins and refusing to rebuild, would be if the hired Brian Flores. There is no way, considering is lawsuit against the NFL, that Flores would accept another head coaching job with a rebuilding team.
Suppose they roll with Ejiro Evero. If that’s the case, the Cardinals would likely focus on rebuilding the offense while Evero works his magic with the defense. We saw Evero’s unit single-handedly keep the Broncos in games last season, so his unit could easily hold things down in the desert while the offense gets a makeover.
If the Cardinals take either Lou Anarumo or Aaron Glenn, you will see more roster movement. Anarumo and Glenn did exceptional jobs in their current stops at player development, and it’s something they could carry over into the desert. If ownership is willing to be patient, expect a potential roster makeover barring a few key players.
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Finally, there’s Callahan. The Redbirds most likely wouldn’t trade Hopkins if the went with the Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator. There may be some movement on the defense, but Bidwill and Ossenfort would give Callahan plenty to work with on offense, trying to bring the team back to that high-octane unit they were in early to mid 2021.
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