The Cardinals completed their third assistant coach hiring, as they have officially brought in former University of Miami running backs coach Matt Merritt.
Merritt, 38, will be taking on the same role of running backs coach with the Cardinals. After making it to the National Championship game against the Indiana Hoosiers, which was largely due to the excellent running game that was established by Mark Fletcher. Merritt joins an NFL club that is looking to establish its ground game a little better than it has in the past.
Arizona saw plenty of injuries at the running back position in 2025, and it started with James Conner going down with a foot injury in Week 3 that required him to miss the remainder of the season. The team’s lead back, losing Conner, really threw the offense off. But as they say at this level…next man up.
MORE: Mike LaFleur Makes First Big Splash As Head Coach
Trey Benson took the reins as the Cardinals' new No. 1 running back, but he suffered a knee injury in Week 4 against the Seattle Seahawks that saw him placed on injured reserve and forced to miss four games. When his stint on the list concluded, former head coach Jonathan Gannon said that he was unable to play due to the way he looked in practices.
Bam Knight and Michael Carter split the backfield for the remainder of the season until Knight suffered an injury of his own.
The goal for Arizona is to rejuvenate the running back room and make it effective again. Whether that is drafting someone out of college or signing one of the top guys available, it is one of the biggest needs at the moment.
The hiring of Mike Merritt is a great way to start, as the Miami Hurricanes’ run game was one of the best in college. If he can bring that same energy to Arizona’s, then that offense may finally look up for once.