The Arizona Cardinals’ search for their new head coach has reportedly been a very slow process because it seems that some candidates for the job are worried about the idea of being tied to franchise quarterback Kyler Murray for the next few seasons.
Heading into the 2022 season things seemed to be looking up for young star Kyler Murray and his head coach Kliff Kingsbury. The team’s record improved every season under Kingsbury. As they went from 5-10-1 bottom feeder in his debut campaign, to 11-6 last year. No to mention, Murray entered the 2022 season off back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons.
Then it all fell apart over the last six months. The Arizona Cardinals finished with a horrendous 4-13 record in ’22-’23, and Murray only started in 11 games during a disappointing and injury-filled performance. The team’s play and the QB’s apparent regression led to Kliff Kingsbury being fired in January, and general manager Steve Keim stepping down from his post. It was a disaster.
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On the surface it would seem like the Cardinals opening is a position aspiring NFL head coaches would be very much interested in since the team has a Pro Bowl QB to work with. However, that is reportedly the opposite of reality in what has been a longer-than-expected process for Arizona.
Arizona Cardinals gave Kyler Murray a 5-year, $230 million extension in 2022
Pro Football Network reported from the Senior Bowl on Thursday of rumors among NFL evaluators that “Many of the desired candidates [for the Cardinals position] don’t want to take the job knowing they’ll be tied to the hip of Murray for the next four seasons. Murray signed a five-year, $230 million contract in late August, and anyone who takes the Cardinals job will have no options in the foreseeable future at quarterback.”
That is a damning revelation in a sport where if you don’t have a good QB you don’t have much. However, that is the situation Murray’s career is at currently after having his worse season since his rookie year, recovering from ACL surgery, and being owed a contract that is among the highest at his position.
Other teams in need of a new head coach, like the Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, and Houston Texans have already come to terms over the last week with several of the top talents on the coach market.
The Arizona Cardinals have had interviews thus far with talented coordinators Dan Quinn, Mike Kafka, and Aaron Glen in recent weeks.