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Arizona Cardinals have difficult decisions heading into 2022 offseason

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Arizona Cardinals Introduce Kliff Kingsbury - Press Conference Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images

As we prepare for the offseason there is one big question...

Are the Arizona Cardinals going to make any moves within their leadership department?

We haven’t heard outside of the media asking for Kliff Kingsbury’s head.

While we won’t speculate on what is going to happen it is interesting to see many within the media calling for the coaches head while exonerating the general manager who would then be in charge of his fourth coaching hire.

While I wonder aloud if Kliff is the man to take the Cardinals into the future, I also understand the yoke of being an Arizona Cardinal.

The Cardinals in the 2018 coaching search is an interesting revisit:

Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak declined a request to interview with the Cardinals a second time. Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia reportedly will be the next Lions coach, and Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur has reportedly agreed to become the Giants coach.

The remaining six are Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, Patriots linebackers coach Brian Flores, Cardinals defensive coordinator James Bettcher, Armstrong and Wilks.

Patricia and Shurmur failed miserably, DeFilippo was demoted from OC to QB coach, Flores was fired after getting the Miami Dolphins job in 2019, Bettcher is a senior defensive assistant, and Keith Armstrong is still the special teams coordinator. Meanwhile Schwartz was fired in Philadelphia and is a special assistant in Tennessee.

Then the 2019 search:

Mike McCarthy turned them down, Adam Gase, Dan Campbell and Jim Caldwell were the candidates before they promptly hired Kliff. What happened to Flores? Oh that’s right he was a defensive coach so that couldn’t happen again.

Gase was an abject failure, Campbell is... We will withhold judgement and Caldwell is still relaxing at home.

The Cardinals speedily hired Kliff and that is where we stand.

What makes us think the Cardinals are in a position of power to move on from Kliff to get a high end candidate?

Brian Daboll is at the top of everyone’s list, but he seems more or less tied to Joe Schoen who is inching closer to be the GM for the New York Giants. What do the Cardinals have to offer to Daboll to persuade him from the Giants?

I think we all are big Byron Leftwich fans here, but what Tom Brady OC has ever been a good NFL head coach?

Brian Flores allegedly had issues with the management of the Dolphins, would he be comfortable allowing Steve Keim to make the personnel calls after failing the last two times?

Eric Bienemy already said thanks but no thanks.

That leaves...?