Top 3 candidates to be the Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator
By Sion Fawkes
With Jonathan Gannon in charge to lead the Arizona Cardinals, it’s now time to hire a few assistants. Namely, an offensive coordinator.
The Arizona Cardinals are slated to interview coordinators on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Drew Petzing, who spent time with the Cleveland Browns since 2020, is one prime candidate. Initially the tight ends coach, Petzing coached the quarterbacks this past season, and now he has opportunity to lead an entire unit.
But Petzing isn’t the only candidate who will be hot on the Arizona Cardinals radar. Below, you will find three more top candidates hoping to snag the gig.
1 – Troy Walters
Walters only has three seasons of experience coaching at the NFL level, starting his career in 2020 as the assistant wide receivers coach before he moved into the main role a year later. Before 2020, Walters spent 11 seasons in the college ranks, starting off at Indiana State in 2009 where he saw time as the Sycamores offensive coordinator.
He wouldn’t serve as an offensive coordinator again until he joined the staff at UCF in 2016. Here Walters helped lead the Knights to a perfect record just one season later in 2017. In 2018, he followed head coach Scott Frost to the University of Nebraska, where he split time as the offensive coordinator and receivers coach.
Walters also played in the NFL from 2000 to 2007. He was a member of the Arizona Cardinals in 2006.
2 – Drew Terrell
Terrell burst onto the scene with the Carolina Panthers in 2018, serving as the offensive quality control coach until 2019. He then moved to the Washington Commanders staff in 2020, where he became the assistant wide receivers coach.
In 2021, the Commanders removed the assistant label, and Terrell has remained with the team ever since. Before jumping to the NFL, he spent time in the college ranks, serving as a graduate assistant at Virginia Tech in 2014 and the University of Michigan between 2015 and 2017.
3 – Joel Thomas
An older candidate, Thomas started off his coaching career in 2000 as a graduate assistant at the University of Purdue. He moved on to Louisville in 2002, where he was the program’s running backs coach before he became the co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach at Idaho in 2004.
In 2006, Thomas returned to Purdue as the running backs coach, before he moved on to the University of Washington in 2009. In 2012, he was also Washington’s assistant head coach for the offense.
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Thomas then went to Arkansas in 2013, where he once gain took over duties with the running backs. In 2015, he jumped to the NFL, coaching under Sean Payton with the New Orleans Saints. Thomas has remained in the Big Easy ever since.
Source: Cardinals reportedly request 3 interviews for offensive coordinator by Arizona Sports
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