:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62761347/usa_today_11892904.0.jpg)
For the second time in two years and the third time in his tenure as the Arizona Cardinals general manager, Steve Keim is getting ready to hire a new head coach.
The Cardinals are running an impressive Hail Mary late as they try to fix the massive hole they’ve dug themselves.
You see, it’s time again for a new Arizona Cardinals team under new leadership.
If you look at 2013, when Keim took over, the Cardinals were not the place to be.
Coming off 18 wins over three seasons, no playoff appearances and firing a head coach, the Cardinals had to make a change.
This time, Keim was a part of the problem as much as anyone else.
Except, Michael Bidwill sees him as part of the solution, and therein lies the gamble.
Bidwill keeping Keim on for a third head coach hire means he doesn’t see this as a multi year rebuild.
No, it means like last year, Bidwill sees the Arizona Cardinals as a team ready to compete.
Despite playing in maybe the best division in football, with two of the best quarterbacks in the league, the Cardinals owner doesn’t see that his team is far away from the mountain top.
Which means his good friend and employee, Keim can get the team back competing again.
You see, if the Cardinals saw this for what it was going into 2017, a team that had peaked and needed to be revamped, they’d be entering a key offseason where they would have already rebuilt most of the positions groups.
Instead, they incorrectly saw themselves as Super Bowl contenders in 2016, as NFC West contenders in 2017 and a team that could compete for a playoff spot in 2018.
Those evaluations mean that the impetus is on the coach over those making the roster and personnel decisions. They see the talent on the roster as being close enough to contend.
That’s where the disconnect seems to stem.
If the Cardinals are serious contenders, then the last three years have been unacceptable.
If the Cardinals are not contenders, then the man who built the team, is the problem.
Bidwill is betting on Keim.
We’ll see if he’s right.