How are you feeling about Monti Ossenfort conducting the new HC search?
Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
By Walter Mitchell
Michael Bidwill surprised Cardinals fans yesterday by letting go of head coach Jonathan Gannon and the entire coaching staff.
Bidwill's best messages from the press conference were "it comes down to wins and losses" and "we want to win."
Moments later when Monti Ossenfort gave his description of what the Cardinals are looking for a new head coach, the optics were not particularly good. Ossenfort looked as wound up as a top. He rambled his way through the criteria as, all the while, Bidwill was sitting there with REM (rapid eye movement) trying to gauge the facial expressions and body language of the media members in the room with each word the GM was uttering.
The mood was tense.
And it got even worse when Ossenfort was asked about Kyler Murray's status heading into the off-season and the GM said, "all options are open at quarterback."
I am not sure what the media members were feeling about that answer from Ossenfort, but I sure know what I was feeling:
https://x.com/WBJMItch/status/2008278789646684463
Transcript of tweet:
Cut the BS, Monti. This one of the reasons you should be gone with Gannon. You silent benched Kyler, claimed it was his foot injury, but then paraded him around the practice field for three weeks to suggest how good he looked in order to try to get a trade offer for him. The very second 4 PM ET came with no trade, you put him on the IR, reclaiming the foot injury, when in reality it was likely to save Kyler the chagrin of becoming QB2 or trying to keep on giving other teams the impression that Kyler would still be your starter. Then with Jacoby Brissett getting hot with Wilson and McBride, you shut down Kyler for the season. Why? The lucrative injury clause in his contract. That's why. And where has Kyler, the team captain, been the past few weeks? Kicking his feet up on a boat and dreaming about which team he will play for next year. That boat has sailed for Kyler and has sailed away from the Cardinals. For you, Monti, to make it sound like Kyler is still a viable option at QB for the Cardinals in 2026 is a freaking c-tease (especially for diehard Kyler fans who are clinging to their hopes of him staying in AZ) and it's an agonizing perpetuation of the never-ending dramatic uncertainty that has been an albatross around the Cardinals' necks for the last 4 years --- a suffocation that has attributed the firing of two coaching staffs in Kyler's wake. Just tell the eff-ing truth Monti. Everyone in the NFL world by now knows what you are going to do --- because guess what, if you retain Kyler for the next 2 years (which is what it will ensure if he's on the roster after March 7th) and it's deja vu all over again, you're gone as GM, perhaps even with your 2nd appointed HC in tow. Get things right by telling the truth, because these easily decipherable deceptions are not working in your or the Cardinals' favor. They are just adding to the general distrust of you as GM and of the organization itself.
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Do you trust in Monti Ossenfort to do a great job this time around in hiring the new head coach?
Please cast your vote on this X poll:
The Cardinals need a new QB and a new HC. Ossenfort is the main reason why the Cardinals are in this mess --- he and his grossly underqualified HC and coaching staff botched every QB decision they made regarding Colt McCoy, Josh Dobbs, Desmond Ridder, Clayton Tune and Kyler Murray. Jacoby Brissett did a good job of proving the Cardinals did actually have competent and productive passing schemes and the requisite personnel to make it click. However, ideally, the Cardinals need to find their version of Drake Maye, C.J. Stroud, Bo Nix or Tyler Shough.
Things potentially to worry about:
1. An exhaustive number of interviews.
2. Delays in the process.
3. Waffling, wishy-washy assessments of the candidates.
4, Dragging the search out.
5. Taking too long to conduct second interviews (as he did with Brian Flores).
6. Being one of the last teams to make a decision.
7. Carrying out Bidwill's agenda for getting the candidate to agree some sort of quid pro quo.
8. Asking the candidates to accept a modest salary and a limited budget for assistant coaches.
What can Bidwill do to allay these worries?
He can let go of Monti as GM and try to do what the Jaguars did by matching Liam Coen with the compatible GM of his choice.
He can do what the Falcons are doing buy hiring a consultant firm to prescribe their course of action.
Bidwill and Monti can get right on top of the search by bringing in Klayton Adams, the most promising and dynamic coach Monti hired in 2023 (who checks the HC leadership criteria that Monti outlined during the presser) and see what choices Klayton Adams would have in mind for OC and DC.
Two candidates that come to mind are Ken Dorsey (QB coach in DAL) who is a very good with QBs (and has 3 years of OC experience with Bills and Browns). Adams and Dorsey could bring the Cowboys' Schottenheimer-style of offense to Arizona.
As for DC, a superb candidate imo is Titans' up-and-coming DC Dennard Wilson, who by virtue of the stellar job he did with the Ravens as defensive back coach in 2023, is considered one of the top cornerback and safety developers in the NFL.
Wilson pioneered the #9 rushing defense this season with the Titans. Overall, they were #19 which is good considering the inexperience of his personnel. Wilson believes that because of the strong job he did with the defense this year that he deserves to be a candidate for the Titans' head coaching job. While the odds of him getting a HC job at this point in his career obviously are slim, one has to admire the confidence he has in himself.
Sometimes the best candidate is the one you already know best.
How do you think the Cardinals' players would react to having Klayton Adams back as head coach?
I think they would be stoked to know that an ultra-physical, slobber knocking style of ball would be coming back to the organization. That the kind of tone setter that can make the players feel like they can play with a competitive edge.
The other thing is --- Klayton Adams would leave no ambiguity about whether the team should pay Kyler more money to stay for the next two seasons. He told the Cowboys coaches that there were games where Kyler Murray would come right out and declare that he didn't want to run the ball that day.
Now, you might be wishing for a sexier head coaching hire --- but realistically, what kind of a shot would Bidwill and Ossenfort have with the top candidates?
My instinct tells me that for the Cardinals to drag the search out late into the process or until after the Super Bowl again would likely be a mistake.
How about giving Monti a boost?
I think the best chance the Cardinals might have to create a buzz in these interviews is to include a group of four of the Cardinals' most talented young players (preferrable ones still on rookie contracts) to serve as a panel during the interviews. That's the kind of charisma and player buy-in that could make a huge difference in making the job all the more attractive.
if I had the chance to pick that 4 player panel, here are the young Cardinals I would choose:
* Paris Johnson Jr.
* Michael Wilson
* Will Johnson
* Cody Simon
Alternates:
* Jon Gaines II
* Isaiah Adams
* Walter Nolen
* Dadrion Taylor-Demerson
I think Monti would feel especially proud having his prized draft picks by his side.
Here's the Rap on the Cardinals' HC Situation :
I think:
Now we have the chance to see what Monti learned regarding coaching priorities and, perhaps most importantly, just how talented and deep his roster really is. I am betting that it is a lot stronger than people think. And I just hope the new HC comes in with no preconceived notions and gives every player on the roster an equal chance to shine.
What do you think?
I wonder how many draft picks he'll lose on us this time around?
ReplyDeleteI would probably put JB in the room as well. He might be the best option we have for a year or two depending on how things play out.
Never easy for this franchise to hire solid coaches. Should be an open checkbook.
ReplyDeleteI think the question to ask, is what QB will Flores and Brady want in Vegas.
It’s time for Monti to absolve all of his past GM sins and rent a hotel in Vegas for as long as it takes and to cash in on any relationship he may have with Mr.Brady from his Pats days. He needs to sell and remind Tom how he likes K Murray and could have KM at a reduced price (after AZ eats salary)
Plus an additional 1 and 3rd pick with KM in order to move back to 3 in the draft. Flores will want to win in 26 for their starved fan base. If Monti could pull this off and get a Franchise QB after hiring a good staff, then he will be here as long as R.Graves.
Klayton Adams is an interesting option but if going with another young, first time HC, the OC/DC must absolutely be experienced.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Klayton Adams would want to come back. While the Cowboys have their own issues and disfunctions, it was probably a breath of fresh air to go to a franchise still viewed as relevant (and to have the visibility of major success vs. what the Cardinals offer).
ReplyDeleteKlayton Adams consideration of coming back will depend on how he was treated when he left and valued when here
ReplyDeleteI want to say that this is a professional organization that doesn't burn bridges, but we know that's far from a given.
DeleteBruce Arians says today, “Raiders Oline so bad one rookie QB isn’t going to fix that team”
ReplyDeleteWalt, reacting to your first sentence, are we sure the entire coaching staff was let go? I thought it was only Gannon so far.
ReplyDeleteThe assistant coaches' contracts just expired (assistants are on 3-year contracts). Maybe a couple of the coaches might be retained by the new HC. Then, they would get new 3-year contracts.
DeleteWhat do I think?
ReplyDeleteNow that is a loaded question if ever there was one!
(1) Cardinals & Monti Ossenfort will struggle to get the coach they need/want due to being worst coaching opportunity in NFL, and one the worst NFL owners in league.
(2) Cardinals Roster is generally under-developed and under-appreciated by NFL as whole due to our under-performing coaches. We have had a tremendous influx of young guys with promise (Nolan, D-Rob, WJ, Simon, etc, etc.) who have flashed but just not been developed. There is NO REASON we should not be more competitive in year one if we get right coaches.
(3) QB "Kyler" Situation makes it tricky for any head coach coming in. Cardinals should dump Kyler before trade deadline, if they do not and they saddle another coach to Kyler, it will be waste of coaching hire. I am not too enamored with QB draft class this year, FA like Cousins are there but do you really want them? All have they're downsides.
(4) Cap Space available is not great to have to get any additional pieces. I'm hoping they sign another FA QB to fill in and wait to draft a QB (in later rounds or next year).
(5) 2026 Draft - pundits have us going OT, I prefer drafting the best edge player @#3 and impactful edge player would help out the Defense immensely and immediately. We NEED OL help (RT & another Guard) with 17wk season its impossible to keep OL healthy all 17-games, we need sufficient depth (quality) to pitch in. (Rnd 2 & 3?)
(6789, 10) - votes for new staff....HC Kubiak, OC B Dabol, DC R Morris - and I' not qualified for Pres Football Operations, but I sure wish Bidwill would have listened to Since on this matter. Instead we still get Bidwill making the decisions. I am of opinion MO should have been let go too. He was responsible for hiring coaches, and his Free Agent signings were weak to poor at best. I'm still upset at choosing Melton in draft too. Hoping both D-Rob & Nolan workout this off-season so they can hold down the DL of future.
Agree, although I think Mendoza will be a franchise guy, but the others at QB are more than one year projects.
DeleteGreat post, Redrun! I too want the Cardinals to draft edge rushing phenoms Bailey or Bain if the top QBs are off the board. They imo are the BPAs of the top 3 picks.
DeleteMendoza or Bain jr.
DeleteI doubt MO instills confidence to any HC candidates. If history repeats itself which it seems to do with this team, they will either get a HC on his way out of the league who doesn't care if taking the HC job is career suicide because he just wants another paycheck before he heads off into the sunset OR they will get a young coach looking to be one of 32 head coaches in the NFL thinking that he will just take a coordinators position if it doesn't pan out.
ReplyDeleteI see Vance Joseph is coming to town. Why is he so much better in Denver? If it was because of MB and SK he's not going to do much better with MB and MO.
Jim Leonhard was hired to fix Vance's subpar pass coverage schemes as defensive passing game coordinator. Leonhard is a star in the making. Since61 brought him to my and Kyle's attention months ago on the Red Rain Podcast.
DeleteAhh yes I remember now. What are your thoughts on VJ as HC? He does have the experience which is the direction I think MB will go this time around.
DeleteNot a Vance fan. In 4 years his defense in AZ was never ranked above 16 overall (26, 25, 17, 26), in run defense (17, 29, 19, 27) and pass coverage (31, 24, 17, 23).
DeleteYeah I agree. I just saw K2 got canned in Wash. Since we are already paying him OC ? LOL
DeleteJohnny Harbaugh ...priority number one. Vance Joseph and everybody else not named Kubiac can wait.
ReplyDeleteVance Joseph is coming in for an interview? Kingsbury is available after agreeing to depart his OC position with the Commanders? Kyler is still here? Are we getting the band back together!?!?
ReplyDelete