When you start to get into what makes a good NFL job, the first thing that comes to mind is stability.
You want something that is stable, that looks good long term and that doesn’t put the fear that in two or three years you’ll be looking for a new home, a new school for your kids and taking a huge paycut.
The Arizona Cardinals job has offered that the last two hires.
Six years of Ken Whisenhunt and five years of Bruce Arians before he stepped away on his own terms, two coaches in 11 years is stability in the NFL, maybe not great stability, but it is stability.
What makes the Arizona Cardinals job not attractive, the reason the Cardinals job is going to not garner the “name” candidates like Matt Patricia, Josh McDaniels and Pat Shurmur, the three hottest names coming into this search, is because of the roster.
Oh sure, you an rattle off the names David Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, and a top five statistical defense, but that’s not what a coach is looking for.
Matt Patricia wanted stability on offense and the chance to create his own identity on defense. The Detroit Lions offer him that.
Josh McDaniels was interested in the Tennessee Titans and allegedly will take the Indianapolis Colts job because they have Marcus Mariota and Andrew Luck to offer. The Arizona Cardinals have...
Pat Shurmur wants the limelight, Eli Manning and the second pick in the 2018 NFL Draft to create his own offense in New York. He has perhaps one of the most talented receiving corps in the NFL, if Odell Beckham Jr. is healthy. The Giants also have some talent on defense, even if they were a disaster in 2017.
When you look at the Arizona Cardinals, they have two known offensive starters coming back: David Johnson and Jermaine Gresham. They expect D.J. Humphries to be back and perform at a high level.
Ricky Seals-Jones had a nice season and is under contract.
Chad Williams is expected to make a jump.
Of course, Larry Fitzgerald could always come back, which solves, for a season, one issue.
Yet, when you look at the Arizona Cardinals offensive roster, there’s nothing that inspires confidence.
When you look at the Arizona Cardinals defense, you have a unit that has done a nice job, but there are several questions, including who is the man to call the defense?
The Arizona Cardinals position is not a bad one, but when you look at the overall make up of the team, there is one glaring issue.
There’s no quarterback.
There is no money to get a quarterback and they are not in a position where they can guarantee who they get in the draft.
That all means something simple... The positions that were most desirable, or at least filled first, had an answer or offered one at the quarterback position.
The Cardinals just don’t.