Arizona Cardinals Extend Coach Whisenhunt Through The 2013 Season
by Pyromnc on Feb 26, 2010 9:01 AM MST
in 2010 Offseason
12 comments
Hat tip to JoeCB1991 for catching this first
Before the 2010 free agency gets kicked off on March 5th, Michael Bidwell and the rest of the Arizona Cardinals brass wanted to get a few contracts taken care of, with one of them belonging to head Coach Ken Whisenhunt.
Since moving to Arizona in 1988 the Cardinals have had 8 head coaches (including Whisenhunt) and none of them had served a second contract with the team, until Thursday. On Thursday afternoon, it was announced that Cardinal's head coach Ken Whisenhunt had agreed to a new four year deal (with the fourth being a team option). According to Kent Somers at azcentral.com, it is believed that the contract will pay an average of 5.5 to 6 million a year. If true, that would make him one of the highest paid coaches in the NFL, after surprisingly being one of the lowest paid head coaches the last couple seasons.
Whisenhunt has had a very successful career in his three years with the Cardinals, sporting a 31-23 record over that time period. In two of the three seasons Whiz, as Arizonan's like to call him, lead the team to two division titles and to their first ever Super Bowl appearence - not bad for a first time head coach.
The Whisenhunt signing wasn't the only deal the Cardinals completed on Thursday. They also extended GM Rod Graves through the 2013 season, but terms are unknown right now.
That makes three key signings this offseason for the Cardinals as they also re-signed strength and conditioning coach John Lott just a few weeks ago.
With these signings, the team is looking to be in better condition once free agency starts on March 5th. It shows that the team is committed to doing what is necessary to building a winning team and should make free agents believe the Cardinals have definitely changed the culture here in Arizona. What have you thought of the Cardinals offseason so far? Are you surprised that they were able to get these contracts done?
0 recs |
12 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
I saw this on ESPN late last night and all I can say is
THANK GOD! I believe that Whiz is the type of coach who can build a perrenial contender, and it’s a breath of fresh air to finally have a head coach who gets a 2nd contract.
We all bleed Cardinal Red, but most of us don't recognize it!
Times are definitely changing for the Cardinals.
Wasn’t too long ago we were letting key players leave and firing coach after coach.
Definitely good news
What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
Revenge of the Birds
surprising isn't it, given the state of the team a few years ago
the stadium deal was so key to this. once the state invested in the cardinals, the bidwells invested in the team. even though the success has been recent, there have been signs all decade of it coming (drafting well, firing denny green with a year left on his contract, signing kurt warner and edge james as free agents)
Is his son really calling the shots now?
I sure hope so because, we can’t let key guys just walk away! But I agree with all that this had to happen. whiz is a proven commodity now
by lifelongcardfan on Feb 26, 2010 5:10 PM MST up reply actions
Let's put it this way
when you read the quotes from the ownership, in regards to signings and team direction, they are always from him nowadays. Combine that with the drastic change in decision-making and I’d have a very hard time believing that he’s not.
Hopefully he stays here for a long time.
Retire in Cardinal red long.
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
I can't stand band-wagoner fans, stick with your team, throughout the good and the bad.
Not surprised with those signings.
Happy to see them though. With the success under Whiz it would have been shocking to not be extended.
actually it's a 4 year deal with a 5th year team option
his old contract – even though it had 1 year remaining – was voided out so his current contract is from ‘10 – ’13 with a team option for ’14. this is a great move on m. bidwell’s part but i have noticed he’s been making good decisions the last few years leading up to this great one. i agree m.bidwell is becoming a good team president – sounds like whiz has convinced him to follow given whiz’s success.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
