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Eric Williams

NFC West Reporter

After hiring three head coaches in a decade, Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell must finally establish a tandem of coach and general manager.

Bidwell announced Monday that Cliff Kingsbury has been relieved of his duties. The 43-year-old head coach had signed a contract extension to his 2027 season just 10 months earlier. The team also announced that GM Steve Keim has stepped down after leaving the team last month due to health issues.Like Kingsbury, Keim will extend his term until his 2027 season during the offseason. signed.

When asked how he would handle the remaining years of Kingsbury’s and Keem’s contracts, Bidwell told reporters, “We are open to financial consequences.”

Cardinals fire head coach Cliff Kingsbury, GM Steve Kaim resigns

The change was made as the Cardinals finished bottom of the NFC West with a 4-13 record. Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe react to the news.

Bidwell said he has already interviewed the Cardinals’ in-house candidates for the general manager position, Quentin Harris, vice president of player personnel, and Adrian Wilson, vice president of professional personnel. The two took over Keim’s duties last month.

During his seven-year tenure as general manager, Keim shared his swings and mistakes at the top of the draft board, which included busting quarterback Josh Rosen.

Keem traded Arizona’s 2022 first-round pick for receiver Marquis “Hollywood” Brown, who has missed five games this season due to injury. The Cardinals are the 3rd overall pick in the upcoming draft.

Arizona has never had a head coach at the helm for over 100 years as a franchise for more than six years, so Arizona can take advantage of some stability on the coaching front.

Bidwell said of the search for the GM and head coach, “We’re going to throw the net wide and wide in a different way.”

In addition to internal GM candidates, the Cardinals reportedly hired San Francisco 49ers professional personnel director Ran Carson, 49ers assistant general manager Adam Peters, Chicago Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham, and Tennessee Titans GM. I requested an interview with Monty, the director of player personnel. Ossenfort.

Bidwell is a member of the league’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. He said his preference was to first hire a general manager and then have that person help him hire a new head coach. I didn’t.

Vance Joseph, currently Arizona’s defensive coordinator, is a strong contender for the vacant head coaching position.

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The Cardinals are reportedly planning to reach out to the New Orleans Saints for permission to interview former head coach Sean Payton. But hiring Payton requires draft payouts, and that cost could be more than the Cardinals are willing to spend, especially if they get into bidding wars with other teams.

But what Arizona needs is to get someone like Payton. The Cardinals haven’t won his game in the playoffs since his 2015, when Arizona last won his NFC West. Payton won the Super Bowl and successfully turned Drew Brees into a Hall of Fame quarterback. He was able to provide the stability and structure for Murray to grow into an elite QB.

Finding a coach to get the most out of Murray should be near the top of Bidwell’s list after signing a five-year, $230 million extension to the Oklahoma product last offseason. Murray underwent surgery last week to repair a torn ACL in his right knee and will likely not be fully recovered by the start of the 2023 season.

“We want to make sure we have a locker room culture, an organizational culture focused on doing our best to win the NFC West,” Bidwell said.

The owner spoke with a handful of leaders inside the locker room to get their input on the search for general manager and coaching.

Bidwell noted that the Cardinals were one of the hottest teams in the league early last season, going 10-2. Since then, Arizona has gone 5-18, including seven straight losses, to end the 2022 season.

“We were the hottest team in the league 13 months ago,” Bidwell said. “You’ve all seen it. A few years ago, we had a team that went downhill, flipped over, and now we have a team in the playoffs. So we want to make a quick turnaround. We have the right coach, the right general manager here, we can do it, there’s a lot of talent on this team.”

What Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll did with Russell Wilson, what Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh did with Lamar Jackson, and Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Reeves with Michael Vick. Murray is best for Bidwell to find an experienced head coach and help the Cardinals reach their full potential.

“I don’t think we’re as broken as people think,” Bidwell said. We have talent and we have to make sure they are all playing together.”

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Eric D. Williams has covered the NFL for over a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter. @eric_d_williams.