Donovan McNabb says the Arizona Cardinals should go defense

Former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb offered his two cents for the Arizona Cardinals head coaching search, stressing the need to hire a defensive coach. 

The Arizona Cardinals are seemingly down to a pair of finalists in Lou Anarumo and Mike Kafka. And while Patrick Mahomes is a big fan of Kafka taking the job, former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb disagrees.

McNabb stressed that Kafka could easily wind up in a Matt Nagy type of situation in the desert. Here is what he said about the situation in a conversation with Jody Oehler of Fox Sports 910:

"“Absolutely not. I say that with all kindness to Mike Kafka. I don’t think it’s the right move for him. Because now it goes to the position where [Matt] Nagy was going into Chicago with Mitch Trubisky, where he’s not able to implement his offense, his style of play with a guy that he brought in.” via SI.com."

This reminds me a lot of what I said a few months back about the Arizona Cardinals being foolish to have drafted Kyler Murray in 2019. Former head coach Kliff Kingsbury was an “Air Raid” guy, but Murray was best-suited to run an offense based on his dual-threat ability, quite the opposite from an “Air Raid” offense.

With Murray throwing the ball just 377 times in 2018, yet racking up 1,001 rushing yards, he was a bad fit from the beginning with Kingsbury. The good news? Kafka isn’t an “Air Raid” guy, with quarterback Daniel Jones averaging just 29.5 passing attempts per game last season while he rushed 120 times for 708 yards and seven touchdowns.

However, McNabb wasn’t done just yet. He also said this:

"“You have a quarterback you have to make a decision with. Kyler Murray’s coming off an injury, so it makes it tough for a guy like Mike Kafka.” – via SI.com."

This is the scary part when it comes to hiring Kafka or really, any offensive-minded coach. The Cardinals have a quarterback in Murray, but how healthy will he be when he returns? Will the 25-year-old have the same burst and speed when running the ball, or will his career tail off much in the way Robert Griffin III’s did?

McNabb believes the Arizona Cardinals should go defense

Of course, there is a solution: Go defense, and that’s exactly what McNabb believes the Arizona Cardinals should go. Here is the final piece in his quote from SI.com.

"“Now as far as the position they should look for, I think they should go defensive-minded … Which I think now you start to bring into the effect of, we’re going to build from the big guys and out, so the offensive line/d-line. We’re gonna go out and get pass-rushers, we’re gonna get run-stuffers, we’re gonna get blockers … I think those are things they have to look at coming into free agency and the draft, but it has to start with a defensive-minded head coach.” – via SI.com."

I love how he outlined the need to find a pass rusher, or better yet, pass rushers. McNabb also stressed the need to build from the inside and outward, and the Cardinals luckily have one man to anchor both the offensive line (D.J. Humphries) and defensive line (Zach Allen, assuming he re-signs). Sure, they need more than that, but it’s a good start.

If the Cardinals roll with Lou Anarumo, much of what you see in the above quotes would lay a good blueprint of how the Redbirds should go about this thing. We will see very soon what the Cardinals decide to do, and whether they will heed McNabb’s advice.

Article Source: Former NFL QB Says Mike Kafka Wouldn’t Fit With Cardinals by Donnie Druin

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