The Arizona Cardinals are looking for their next head coach. All eyes in the Valley of the Sun are focused on the Cardinals‘ coaching search.
Fans of Arizona may get acquainted with a familiar foe. ESPN NFL writer Dan Graziano wrote an article predicting who will fill each head coaching vacancy, and he thinks a coach of an NFC West team will take over in the desert.
Of course, this coach is busy at the moment. The Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, and San Francisco 49ers are all preparing for the divisional round right now, so the Cardinals would have to wait until making this potential hire official.
But it could be worth the wait. All three of Arizona’s NFC West rivals have been dominating it lately, so it could be a good idea to bring some of that expertise into the organization.
ESPN Predicts Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak to Arizona Cardinals
Sometimes, cheating off the test of the smart student is a good move.
That is what Graziano thinks the Cardinals will do when choosing their next head coach. He thinks Arizona will hire Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak will be the next head coach for the Cardinals.
“Arizona’s situation will be a tough sell for the more established candidates, especially because the Cardinals will likely move on from quarterback Kyler Murray,” Graziano writes. “Would the Cards love to get John Harbaugh? Of course. But he will probably find other opportunities more appealing. Arizona needs to be thinking about finding a young star head coach to compete in a division in which Mike Macdonald, Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay each just won at least 12 games and are all still alive in the playoffs. Maybe Kubiak has that potential.”
While Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin are likely the dream candidates in Arizona, Graziano made a solid pitch for Kubiak.
Getting the offense right is imperative in such a stacked division. The Cardinals can’t just rely on the draft and free agency to improve. They need a schematic advantage as well, and Kubiak would bring that to the table in the desert.
Plus, Arizona hiring Kubiak could weaken its top divisional rival in the Seahawks. Seattle rookie offensive lineman Grey Zabel jokingly said for teams not to hire his offensive coordinator on Tuesday.
When Could the Cardinals Hire Kubiak?
The Cardinals last head coach, Jonathan Gannon, was the Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator before getting the job in Arizona.
That Eagles team made the Super Bowl, which meant the Cardinals had to wait a little over a month after the regular season ended to officially hire him.
“Three years ago, Arizona waited out the Eagles’ Super Bowl run and hired Gannon, who was Philly’s defensive coordinator at the time. If Seattle makes a run to the Super Bowl, the pattern could be repeated with Kubiak,” Graziano writes. “Seattle’s offense ranked eighth in yards (351.4) and offensive points scored (25.3) per game this season.”
Kubiak helping the Seahawks offense improve to become a top eight unit in just one season is very impressive. Seattle is also a defensive culture under head coach Mike Macdonald, so Kubiak accomplished most of the Seahawks’ offensive success with his own autonomy.
In a head coaching market with limited offensive options, Kubiak could be the right choice for Arizona.
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