The Arizona Cardinals’ coaching search continues, and one website has made an interesting prediction for who could end up being the team’s replacement for Kliff Kingsbury.
Not Brian Flores. Not Sean Payton. Not Dan Quinn. Not Vance Joseph.
Arizona has since selected former Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich, who interviewed for the position, as its next head coach.
Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report wrote of his prediction: “While Sean Payton would also make sense in Arizona, the Cardinals didn’t have to give up premium draft capital in a trade to bring Reich on board. Last season, we saw (Kyler) Murray butt his head with former head coach Kliff Kingsbury, which is not uncommon for a quarterback and head coach, but Reich is not known for publicly yelling at his players in a combative manner.His calm demeanor allows for a smoother coach-to-quarterback- relationship.”
He continued: “The Cardinals may open the 2023 season without Murray, who tore his ACL in December. Reich started each of his five seasons in Indianapolis with a new starter under center and went 40-33-1 during his tenure. He is equipped to to deal with temporary uncertainty in the most important position.”
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Interestingly, DraftKings has Reich sixth in its latest odds to become the next coach of the Cardinals with Quinn, the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, and Jonathan Gannon, the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles.
They are at +1200 odds, behind Flores, the former coach of the Miami Dolphins (+115), Payton, the former coach of the New Orleans Saints (+250), Joseph, the current defensive coordinator of the Cardinals (+ 550), San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans (+650) and Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Shane Bowen (+1000).
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DraftKings’ Jason B. Hirschhorn recently wrote that Reich makes the most sense to hire for Arizona.
He wrote: “Putting Murray in the best position to succeed ranks as the top priority for the Cardinals. Reich, who has found ways to squeeze MVP-caliber play from Carson Wentz and guided top offenses with other non-elite signal callers, has the expertise and demeanor to build the right relationship with Murray. Reich’s mistakes in Indy stemmed mostly from the lack of a long-term answer at quarterback than his coaching ability, and he has had success with a variety of different types of players under center. In his hands, Murray could reach its potential.”
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Fansided’s Sion Fawkes recently wrote that the Cardinals had to do whatever it took to hire Reich.
He wrote, “Overall, Reich will be on the NFL sidelines next season unless he chooses not to accept a head coaching job. The Cardinals would be wise to hire a man who was fired for…Well, that’s actually a good question. Who knows when it comes to the impulsive Jim Irsay? In any case, Indy’s loss may be Phoenix’s gain.”
Could Reich be Arizona’s next head coach?
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Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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