Darnell Dockett 'very excited' about 2013, calls Whisenhunt the greatest Cardinals coach ever

Recently Darnell Dockett talked gave a show of support for Bruce Arians and the rest of the changes the Cardinals made this off-season. His answers were all about the present and future, but he inadvertently made a statement that made my head turn.

He expresses excitement at the prospect of working with Arians, who he views as straightforward, and saying the Cardinals need to "win the off-season" by studying and working out.

Where it gets interesting is when Dockett talks about all the changes that have occurred this off-season with the FO, coaching staff, and personnel via azcardinals.com

"...I remember a few years ago when we had a big change overall with the head coach and that following year we went to the Super Bowl...missed [the playoffs] one game and then went to the Super Bowl the following year. I’m very excited"

That head coach was Ken Whisenhunt.

Presently, he is held in low regard among many Arizona Cardinal fans. It is true the team's performance the past three years are his fault; the buck stopped with him.

However, Dockett doesn't seem to hold him in such low regard as fans. Maybe it's because Dockett was a member -- before, during, and after -- Whisenhunt's reign. Thus, he understands one simple fact.

Ken Whisenhunt is the greatest Cardinals head coach ever.

Really.

Whisenhunt finished his tenure with the most wins as head coach in Cardinals history. He took the Cardinals team to the Super Bowl. But most importantly, during his tenure, he took a perennial losing franchise and changed the culture to where the fan base considers a year under .500 to be unacceptable.

Some may argue he had superior players and personnel that carried the team, but I never saw Dennis Green take the Cardinals to the Super Bowl, much less a winning record and he had Kurt Warner too.

If Whisenhunt gets the blame for 2010-2012, he also gets the credit for 2007-2009.

Darnell Dockett seems realizes what a privilege it was to play under Ken Whisenhunt. And yes, the last three years was disappointing. But it's because of Ken Whisenhunt that Bruce Arians has some big shoes to fill.

Like Darnell said, "I'm very excited."