Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
1. I have no problem with extending Rod Graves. The guy has class...he has done a very good job helping to build the talent base and sign the young core of the team to long-term contract extensions.
I was particularly impressed that when Michael Bidwill was singing Graves' praises, Graves almost interrupted MB to say that the credit deserves to be shared by the whole management team, including Dennis Green. That's class, my friends...and this kind of humbleness and modesty speaks volumes to Graves' character.
I was also very impressed with how Graves handled the question of "didn't you wish there could have been a stronger voice from management in approaching Green about his and the team's shortcomings?" Graves said something to the effect of..."there was a strong voice" and "there were plenty of disagreements"...but that management agreed to argue the points but then support each other in the decisions.
Interesting note: MB never referred to RG as the GM...or referred to any title...just that he was re-signed to remain on the team management staff...perhaps MB was not intending to be vague, but it's interesting that even when a reporter asked MB point blank about RG's role, MB remained vague.
As for the draft and free agency strategies, it was interesting to hear how RG, the scouts, DG and the coaches worked together to structure the draft board and the Top 100...and hear from RG that "it all worked out"...implying that the players high on their boards were there when the Cardinals were picking.
Also...interestingly...since their board was the Top 100...it's no stretch to say that the Cardinals have drafted much better on day ones than day twos...hopefully this year they will expand their list to the Top 200.
2. I think it's great that MB and RG are already working their search AND announcing the candidated they are interested in. Jaws and Ditka on ESPN News scoffed at the list saying that "it just shows the Cardinals don't know who they want"...but I totally disagree. There's no way the Cardinals can single out one candidate at this point because it's not a given they will be able to hire him.
The fact that RG and MB are being this aggressive and forthright so soon is a great sign, IMO.
3. The philosophy of hiring the candidate with the BEST PLAN...is very appealing. Obviously RG and MB are going to listen very carefully to what the candidates' plans are...in other words, these candidates better come to town prepared, with a knowledge of the personnel and the strengths and weaknesses of the recent coaching schemes and policies (why they did or didn't work).
4. As for the candidates...I like the list a lot. Riviera is appealing because of the mindset he would bring to the organization...he's a charismatic coach who has the passion and toughness to bring the best out of the Cardinal players. Messers Chow, Sherman and Caldwell are offensive gurus who can optimize the Cards' prodigious offensive talent...Sherman has HC experience too...and has had HCing success...the problem with him is that he's not a very popular coach...he's a disciplinarian and a fastidious attendant to detail...the Cards need discipline and attention to detail...the question is can they get it from a more player friendly coach?
The Wild Card here may be Jim Caldwell. Imagine our offense becoming Indy Southwest?! And Caldwell is certainly no stranger to Edgerrin James, whom I imagined put in a good word for Caldwell...just as Matt Leinart must have put in a good word for Norm Chow.
I think RG and MB may already have a top candidate in mind...and may have already spoken informally to that candidate, which is why they were able to announce the retention of several Cardinal assistant coaches (perhaps the leading candidate has already approved of keeping those coaches)...just a guess...because otherwise, as Russ pointed out, an intention to keep current assistants in place may be a serious deterrent for some or many of the candidates, who normally would want to bring in their own people.
However, one thing to note...just because the assistants were retained doesn't mean they necessarily would be retained in their current roles. Mike Kruczek may be switched back to QB coach, for example, if the new candidate has his own OC in mind.
The fact that most of the assistant coaches retained are defensive coaches...it makes me think that Norm Chow or Jim Caldwell is the leading candidate. I may be reading too much into that...but it would make sense for Chow and Caldwell seeing as neither of them have ever had to hire an NFL coaching staff.
And I think it's great that Steve Loney and Mike Kruczek are both on board...I think they turned in the best coaching performances on the staff this year.
All in all...I am very impressed with what transpired today.
It should be a very interesting few weeks.
I was particularly impressed that when Michael Bidwill was singing Graves' praises, Graves almost interrupted MB to say that the credit deserves to be shared by the whole management team, including Dennis Green. That's class, my friends...and this kind of humbleness and modesty speaks volumes to Graves' character.
I was also very impressed with how Graves handled the question of "didn't you wish there could have been a stronger voice from management in approaching Green about his and the team's shortcomings?" Graves said something to the effect of..."there was a strong voice" and "there were plenty of disagreements"...but that management agreed to argue the points but then support each other in the decisions.
Interesting note: MB never referred to RG as the GM...or referred to any title...just that he was re-signed to remain on the team management staff...perhaps MB was not intending to be vague, but it's interesting that even when a reporter asked MB point blank about RG's role, MB remained vague.
As for the draft and free agency strategies, it was interesting to hear how RG, the scouts, DG and the coaches worked together to structure the draft board and the Top 100...and hear from RG that "it all worked out"...implying that the players high on their boards were there when the Cardinals were picking.
Also...interestingly...since their board was the Top 100...it's no stretch to say that the Cardinals have drafted much better on day ones than day twos...hopefully this year they will expand their list to the Top 200.
2. I think it's great that MB and RG are already working their search AND announcing the candidated they are interested in. Jaws and Ditka on ESPN News scoffed at the list saying that "it just shows the Cardinals don't know who they want"...but I totally disagree. There's no way the Cardinals can single out one candidate at this point because it's not a given they will be able to hire him.
The fact that RG and MB are being this aggressive and forthright so soon is a great sign, IMO.
3. The philosophy of hiring the candidate with the BEST PLAN...is very appealing. Obviously RG and MB are going to listen very carefully to what the candidates' plans are...in other words, these candidates better come to town prepared, with a knowledge of the personnel and the strengths and weaknesses of the recent coaching schemes and policies (why they did or didn't work).
4. As for the candidates...I like the list a lot. Riviera is appealing because of the mindset he would bring to the organization...he's a charismatic coach who has the passion and toughness to bring the best out of the Cardinal players. Messers Chow, Sherman and Caldwell are offensive gurus who can optimize the Cards' prodigious offensive talent...Sherman has HC experience too...and has had HCing success...the problem with him is that he's not a very popular coach...he's a disciplinarian and a fastidious attendant to detail...the Cards need discipline and attention to detail...the question is can they get it from a more player friendly coach?
The Wild Card here may be Jim Caldwell. Imagine our offense becoming Indy Southwest?! And Caldwell is certainly no stranger to Edgerrin James, whom I imagined put in a good word for Caldwell...just as Matt Leinart must have put in a good word for Norm Chow.
I think RG and MB may already have a top candidate in mind...and may have already spoken informally to that candidate, which is why they were able to announce the retention of several Cardinal assistant coaches (perhaps the leading candidate has already approved of keeping those coaches)...just a guess...because otherwise, as Russ pointed out, an intention to keep current assistants in place may be a serious deterrent for some or many of the candidates, who normally would want to bring in their own people.
However, one thing to note...just because the assistants were retained doesn't mean they necessarily would be retained in their current roles. Mike Kruczek may be switched back to QB coach, for example, if the new candidate has his own OC in mind.
The fact that most of the assistant coaches retained are defensive coaches...it makes me think that Norm Chow or Jim Caldwell is the leading candidate. I may be reading too much into that...but it would make sense for Chow and Caldwell seeing as neither of them have ever had to hire an NFL coaching staff.
And I think it's great that Steve Loney and Mike Kruczek are both on board...I think they turned in the best coaching performances on the staff this year.
All in all...I am very impressed with what transpired today.
It should be a very interesting few weeks.
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