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Arizona Cardinals News & Rumors

Cardinals To Interview Jim Bob Cooter

January 15th, 2019 at 10:59am CST by Zachary Links

Former Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter will interview for the Cardinals’ offensive coordinator vacancy on Tuesday, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Cooter has been on the market since Jan. 1 when the Lions informed him that his contract would not be renewed. 

Cooter recently interviewed for the Browns’ offensive coordinator position, but that gig ultimately went to former Buccaneers OC Todd Monken. The Cardinals job, in some respects, would be similar. He wouldn’t have had much in the way of play-calling responsibility under Freddie Kitchens and the same goes in Arizona where the offensively-focused Kliff Kingsbury is in charge.

Of course, the jobs differ in terms of appeal. The Browns were viewed as one of the most intriguing OC destinations in this cycle thanks in large part to Baker Mayfield‘s upside. The Cardinals have a young quarterback of their own in Josh Rosen and the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, but there are also serious holes that need to be addressed.

Under Cooter, the Lions had the NFL’s No. 7 scoring offense in 2017. This past season, however, Matthew Stafford regressed.

Cardinals To Hire James Saxon As RBs Coach

January 14th, 2019 at 9:53pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • After the Steelers let running backs coach James Saxon go, he will move to Arizona. The Cardinals are hiring Saxon to coach their running backs, Aditi Kinkabwala of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). He will replace Kirby Wilson and attempt to revive Arizona’s No. 32-ranked ground game. Saxon has 19 years’ experience coaching running backs in the NFL — the past five with the Steelers, where he oversaw Le’Veon Bell‘s rise and James Conner and Jaylen Samuels‘ quality replacement efforts — and should help rookie NFL coach Kliff Kingsbury.

Cardinals, Jaguars Interview John DeFilippo

January 14th, 2019 at 10:51am CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars interviewed former Vikings offensive coordinator John DeFilippo for their OC position, according to Mike Kaye of NJ.com (on Twitter). DeFilippo also met with the Cardinals regarding their OC vacancy, per 98.7 FM’s John Gambadoro. 

DeFilippo was a hot name in coaching circles after helping to guide the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory last year, but things fell apart for him in Minnesota. As the offense sputtered, the Vikings canned DeFilippo in December, bringing his tenure to a close after less than one season.

Apparently, the brief run in Minnesota has not damaged DeFilippo’s reputation around the league. He didn’t click with Kirk Cousins, but he did get great performances out of Carson Wentz and late season fill-in Nick Foles in 2017. Both the Cardinals and Jaguars could use a quarterback whisperer, and that was likely the basis for DeFilippo’s pitch in both interviews.

In his 13 games as the Vikings’ OC, the club went just 6-6-1. Before his dismissal, the Vikings went five straight games without topping 24 points.

2019 Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Tracker

January 13th, 2019 at 5:07pm CST by Dallas Robinson

While eight NFL teams are making a head coaching change this offseason, the number of clubs replacing offensive and/or defensive coordinators figures to be much higher than that. In addition to all those teams hiring new head coaches, who may want to bring in their own assistants, several clubs also figure to make changes on one side of the ball or the other after getting disappointing results in 2018. And, of course, the teams whose coordinators landed head coaching jobs will need to replace them.

With reports circulating on potential candidates, interview requests, and actual meetings, we’ll use the space below to keep tabs on all the latest updates on teams hiring new offensive and/or defensive coordinators. This post, which will be updated daily, can be found under the “PFR Features” menu on the right-hand side of the site.

[Updated: 2/21/19, 4:58pm CT]

Offensive Coordinators

Arizona Cardinals (Out: Byron Leftwich)

Atlanta Falcons (Out: Steve Sarkisian)

Baltimore Ravens (Out: Marty Mornhinweg)

  • Greg Roman, assistant head coach/tight ends (Ravens): Promoted

Cincinnati Bengals (Out: Bill Lazor)

Cleveland Browns (Out: Freddie Kitchens)

  • Todd Monken, former offensive coordinator (Buccaneers): Hired
    • Head coach Freddie Kitchens will call plays.
  • Jim Bob Cooter, former offensive coordinator (Lions): Interviewed

Dallas Cowboys (Out: Scott Linehan)

Denver Broncos (Out: Bill Musgrave)

  • Rich Scangarello, quarterbacks coach (49ers): Hired
  • Gary Kubiak, former head coach (Broncos): Will not be hired

Detroit Lions (Out: Jim Bob Cooter)

  • Darrell Bevell, former offensive coordinator (Seahawks): Hired
  • Nathaniel Hackett, former offensive coordinator (Jaguars): Interviewed
  • Todd Monken, former offensive coordinator (Buccaneers): Interviewed
  • Steve Sarkisian, former offensive coordinator (Falcons): Mentioned as candidate

Green Bay Packers (Out: Joe Philbin)

  • Nathaniel Hackett, former offensive coordinator (Jaguars): Hired
    • Head coach Matt LaFleur will call plays.
  • Mike McDaniel, run game coordinator (49ers): Mentioned as candidate
  • Todd Monken, former offensive coordinator (Buccaneers): Interviewed

Houston Texans 

  • Tim Kelly, tight ends coach (Texans): Promoted

Jacksonville Jaguars (Out: Scott Milanovich)

Miami Dolphins (Out: Dowell Loggains)

  • Chad O’Shea, wide receivers coach (Patriots): Hired

Minnesota Vikings

New York Jets (Out: Jeremy Bates)

  • Dowell Loggains, former offensive coordinator (Dolphins): Hired
    • Head coach Adam Gase will call plays.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Out: Todd Monken)

Tennessee Titans (Out: Matt LaFleur)

  • Arthur Smith, tight ends coach (Titans): Promoted

Washington Redskins (Out: Matt Cavanaugh)

  • Kevin O’Connell, quarterbacks coach (Redskins): Promoted
    • Cavanaugh re-assigned as senior offensive assistant.

Defensive Coordinators

Arizona Cardinals (Out: Al Holcomb)

Atlanta Falcons (Out: Marquand Manuel)

Chicago Bears (Out: Vic Fangio)

Cincinnati Bengals (Out: Marvin Lewis)

Cleveland Browns (Out: Gregg Williams)

Denver Broncos (Out: Joe Woods)

  • Ed Donatell, secondary coach (Bears): Hired

Kansas City Chiefs (Out: Bob Sutton)

Miami Dolphins (Out: Matt Burke)

  • Patrick Graham, linebacker coach/run game coordinator (Packers): Hired
  • Bret Bielema, consultant to the head coach (Patriots): Mentioned as candidate

New England Patriots (Out: Brian Flores)

  • Greg Schiano, former defensive coordinator (Ohio State): To be hired

New York Jets (Out: Kacy Rodgers)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Out: Mark Duffner)

  • Todd Bowles, former head coach (Jets): Hired

Cardinals Announce Staff Additions

January 13th, 2019 at 4:12pm CST by Dallas Robinson
  • Former Broncos offensive line coach Sean Kugler drew plenty of interest around the NFL after being released from his contract, but the Cardinals were able to lock him down. Arizona announced that’s it hired Kugler as OL coach, Brian Natkin as his assistant, David Raih as receivers coach, and retained Steve Heiden as tight ends coach. Kugler received an early look from the Buccaneers (and early reports even indicated he joined Tampa’s staff), while the Bills, Vikings, Browns, and Jets also checked in, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
  • The Buccaneers have hired Todd McNair as their new running backs coach, reports Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times. McNair hadn’t coached since 2010, when USC opted not to renew his contract, perhaps due to his involvement in the Reggie Bush scandal. He nearly became the Cardinals’ RBs coach under Bruce Arians in 2013, and he’ll now have the chance to work under Arians in Tampa Bay. Meanwhile, the Bucs named ex-Cardinals linebackers coach Larry Foote to the same position, per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link).

Joe Woods Deciding Between Cards, Redskins

January 13th, 2019 at 3:08pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Former Broncos defensive coordinator Joe Woods will interview for the Redskins’ defensive backs coach job, and then decide between joining Washington or the Cardinals in the same role, according to Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter link).

Woods, who succeeded Wade Phillips as Denver’s defensive coordinator in 2017, doesn’t appear to be generating any DC interest around the NFL despite leading a defense that’s ranked top-10 in DVOA in each of the past two seasons (including fifth in 2018). Arizona would seem to be a natural destination for Woods, as he’d once again be working under ex-Broncos head coach Vance Joseph, who was recently hired as the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator.

Meanwhile in Denver, co-defensive backs coach Marcus Robertson is not expected to return as a member of new head coach Vic Fangio‘s staff, and he’s also drawing interest from the Cardinals, tweets Klis. The Broncos’ other secondary coach — Greg Williams — won’t be back either, and he’s been linked to the Panthers and the Lions, per Klis.

Latest On Larry Fitzgerald, Kyler Murray

January 13th, 2019 at 10:00am CST by Rory Parks

Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald did not announce that he would return for the 2018 season until mid-February of 2018, and it appears that we could have a similar wait in 2019. Fitz told ESPN’s Adam Schefter earlier this week that he would take some time to collect his thoughts after a difficult 3-13 season, but that the team’s recent hiring of new head coach Kliff Kingsbury would not sway him one way or another. If Fitz does decide to play, he would technically be eligible for free agency, but it is impossible to imagine him playing for a team other than Arizona.

  • This probably doesn’t mean much, especially in light of last week’s reports on the matter, but Kingsbury has said that he would consider drafting Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray with the Cardinals‘ No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft, per ESPN’s Sam Ponder (via Twitter).

Steve Sarkisian Won’t Be Joining Cardinals As OC

January 12th, 2019 at 7:15pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

UPDATE 8:07 PM: Sarkisian was in fact offered the job by the Cardinals, but turned it down to go back to coach under Nick Saban at Alabama, according to Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

7:15PM: We heard yesterday that the Cardinals were “closing in on” Steve Sarkisian to be their new offensive coordinator, but that’s apparently no longer the case. Sarkisian is now “unlikely to be joining Kliff Kingsbury’s staff”, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link).

It’s unclear what made the talks break down, but it looks like Sark won’t be headed to the desert. Kingsbury was hired earlier this week in one of the biggest surprise coaching hires of the cycle. The team hired Vance Joseph to be their defensive coordinator yesterday. Sarkisian was fired as the Falcons’ offensive coordinator after Atlanta had a disappointing 7-9 season.

Before that, Sarkisian was the offensive coordinator at Alabama and head coach at USC. He’s also been linked to the Lions’ OC opening, so it’s highly possible he’ll still land a gig. Matt Ryan still put up good numbers in Sarkisian’s offense, but red zone efficiency was always a problem, and the team struggled to run the ball.

Things just never looked the same for Atlanta’s offense after Kyle Shanahan left, and Sarkisian quickly drew the ire of fans. It’ll be interesting to see who Kingsbury hires instead, as they’ve also been linked to Texas State coach Jake Spavital, as well as former Giants coach Ben McAdoo.

Coaching Notes: Kugler, Mitchell

January 12th, 2019 at 11:07am CST by Ben Levine
  • Speaking of the Broncos, offensive line coach Sean Kugler interviewed with the Vikings and is set to meet with the Cardinals, reports Mike Klis of 9News (via Twitter). Klis notes that there’s some optimism that he’d ultimately be hired for the Cardinals gig. Kugler’s tenure in Denver could be over, as the team is reportedly eyeing Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak for the position.
  • Some assorted coaching hirings and firings: running backs coach Stump Mitchell is returning to the Cardinals (via Alex Marvez of SiriusXM on Twitter), the Packers have fired passing game coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. (via Schefter on Twitter), and the Buccaneers have hired University of Arizona offensive line coach Joe Gilbert for the same position (via TampaBay.com’s Rick Stroud on Twitter).

    [SOURCE LINK]

Cardinals To Hire Vance Joseph As DC

January 11th, 2019 at 1:43pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Vance Joseph will join the Cardinals as their new defensive coordinator, as Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets. The Cardinals have since announced the addition of Joseph, also noting Ohio State linebackers coach Bill Davis will take the same job in Arizona.

Joseph wasn’t successful during his run in Denver (11-21 record), but he was viewed as a desirable defensive coordinator during his time with the Dolphins in 2016. He’s generated plenty of DC interest thus far in 2019: Joseph had been set to interview for the Browns’ DC position today, and was reportedly in contention for the same role under Adam Gase in New York. He also met with the Bengals regarding their head coaching job, but Cincinnati has since gone with Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor.

Arizona and first-time NFL head coach Kliff Kingsbury had been searching for a veteran defensive coordinator, and they’ll get that in Joseph. Other reported candidates for the job included former Packers DC Dom Capers and ex-Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, but it doesn’t appear either ever actually interviewed for the job.

The Cardinals had indicated they’d look for a coach who would run a 3-4 defense, but that hasn’t been Joseph’s specialty. While he kept the Broncos’ 3-4 in place when he was hired as Denver’s head coach, Joseph used a 4-3 look as the Dolphins’ DC in 2016.

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