Is coaching the Arizona Cardinals a job or a suicide mission

Mr.Dibbs

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Sorry if already posted:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/lopresti/2007-01-18-cardinals_x.htm

Is coaching the Arizona Cardinals a job or a suicide mission

There are dirty jobs that someone has to do. Occupations that, by nature, seem doomed to frustration and failure. Captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, Hollywood marriage counselor, Republican in Massachusetts, French general.
Oh, and here's another one. Coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Ask the record book about that post, and the record book cringes.

Ken Whisenhunt just climbed aboard. Brave soul. So we should take a pause from the week's big pro football coaching news — Marty Schottenheimer's reprieve or the Super Bowl pursuits of Messrs. Bill Belichick, Tony Dungy, Lovie Smith and Sean Payton — to note the new, hopeful face at the bottom end of the NFL food chain.

"I feel like we're close (to winning)," Whisenhunt said of the Cardinals at his introductory press conference. Good thing. This is no job for a pessimist.

Maybe a brief review of Cardinals' history will explain the legacy he is up against.

You have to go back to 1998 to find one winning season. You have to go back to 1984 to find two.

You might remember the Cardinals' last postseason victory — a wild-card win over Dallas in 1998.

You probably won't remember one before that. It was 1947.

They were the Chicago Cardinals then. Later, the St. Louis Cardinals, then the Phoenix Cardinals and now the Arizona Cardinals. The names and faces and time zones have changed. The results, most often, have not.

They have been in Arizona for 19 years and gone through seven coaches, two stadiums ... and one season above .500.

The talk this week is of Sunday's showdowns, with a Super Bowl trip on the table. That's the game, in case any Cardinals were curious, with Roman numerals.

In the Super Bowl era, the Cardinals have seen as many conference championship games as they have flying elephants. None. The only other NFL franchises that can say that are the Houston Texans and new Cleveland Browns.

Even the Detroit Lions got close. The Lions lose nearly as relentlessly as the Cardinals. Matter of fact, the Cardinals are the Lions ... without Thanksgiving Day.

It's not easy to be bad this long in the NFL, which promotes parity as eagerly as dentists promote flossing. Either Chicago or New Orleans will be the 12th different NFC team in the past 16 Super bowls.

In those 16 years, the Cardinals have finished last or next-to-last in their division 14 times.

Into this Bermuda Triangle sails the former offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"I don't think you live in the past," Whisenhunt said at his press conference. Which seems like a sound philosophy when it's the Cardinals' past you're talking about.

Oh, the coaching names this franchise has chewed up and spit out. Bud Wilkinson built the longest winning streak in the history of college football. He went 9-20 with the Cardinals. Buddy Ryan was the architect of the famous Chicago Bears' 46 defense. He went 12-20. Curly Lambeau has the stadium in Green Bay named after him. He went 7-15. The last fulltime coach who left with a winning record was Don Coryell, 30 years ago.

So along comes Whisenhunt, who helped direct a Super Bowl champion offense with the Steelers and now yearns to remake the Cardinals faster than you can say Ben Roethlisberger.

He does have a young blossoming quarterback in Matt Leinart, Edgerrin James at running back, and some of the league's best receivers. There's hope.

So we'll let Whisenhunt get back to his assignment: building a staff and spitting in the face of history. And you wonder. Could there be any tougher job out there in the NFL than trying to make winners of the Arizona Cardinals?

Well, Terrell Owens might need a new publicist.
 

Diggity

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So Basically what is this article trying to prove? That we've been a losing franchise throughout our history? Yeah way to go out on a limb on this article buddy. This article is a waste of space for the USA today.
 

Totally_Red

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For a publication called USA Today, that reads more like a history book than a reflection of today.

It's not like the NFC West is some kind of juggernaut division. Seattle won four games with last second field goals. San Francisco is improving, but the Cardinals owned them last season. The Rams are aging rapidly and may or may not bounce back to their early hay days of the early 2000's. There is no reason for the Cardinals not to be in the thick of the division race next season IF they have a decent offseason AND if they stay reasonably healthy.

And a decent offseason starts, IMO, with keeping Leonard Davis on board, and I really don't care if it's as a tackle or guard. I'm willing to leave that to the Whis' judgement. However, you just don't let near pro-bowl linemen walk with no compensation IMO. Seattle franchised Walter Jones for two years before getting a long term deal done. Same with the Rams and Orlando Pace. I'm not saying Davis is in their neighborhood yet. I am saying that if this franchise really wants to turn things around, they start by keeping and motivating Leonard Davis. One of those motivations may be a bonus for making the Pro-Bowl.
 

Duckjake

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In those 16 years, the Cardinals have finished last or next-to-last in their division 14 times.

Now that's something special.

:notworthy
 

PACardsFan

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The numbers don't lie, but there are extenuating circumstances that have led to such futlity, especially during their time in the desert. I have been a Cardinal fan for going on 43 years now, and they weren't always as pathetic as they have been over the last 20 years. Look at some of their records while in St. Louis:
1960 6-5-1
1961 7-7
1963 9-5
1964 9-3-2
1966 8-5-1
1968 9-4-1
1970 8-5-1
1974 10-4
1975 11-3
1976 10-4
1977 7-7
1982 5-4
1983 8-7-1
1984 9-7
1987 7-8

The problem was that during this time frame, it was MUCH more difficult to make the playoffs than it is today. We had many teams in the 60's & 70's that just missed the playoffs, but easily could have won playoff games had they gotten in. There are MANY franchises that had FAR, FAR worse records during this stretch. Where the Cardinals have failed miserably, has been their years in AZ. Part of the problem has been the scheduling the Cardinals have had to overcome. When a franchise is trying to turn around, does it help to open the season playing 3 out of 4 games on the road? How many franchises in the NFL have had to endure that? Those circumstances would have made ANY franchise in the NFL a loser over a 20 year span, GUARANTEED. Football is a game of confidence & emotion & it's very difficult to win on the road. Too many promising seasons in AZ started out 1-3 or 1-4 & then there's no fan support by the time the Cardinals have a stretch of home games. With a strong coaching staff, a brand new stadium which allows us early home games, and the revenues that will result, there is no doubt in my mind that this franchise can start winning. Cheer up Cardinals fans, better days lie ahead. I just wish the AZ fans didn't have to wait through 20 miserable years.
 

Goodyear Card

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The Cardinals HC is a great job. You get paid good money and then when you get fired you get paid good money to sit at home for a year. And then nobody blames you for the team's failures because it's the Cardinals
 

lobo

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Well, Terrell Owens might need a new publicist.[/quote]

most of the sportwriters are in for it for the free meals, a paycheck (duh) and the travel...i have seen them all in action at various major events like the superbowl where i had the privledge of attending the parties etc...this article is typical of a guy who just finished one of the fancy spreads the league puts out, then rips them a new one because jacksonville, detroit, minny, etc is not up to their standards....it is a senseless article adding nothing we as cardinal fans did not know...he added nothing and a non-emotional look at things really yields the fact that mgt is putting more money out for scouting, staff and will for f/a...yeah, they left some money on the table last year...but how many of us were actually upset in bringing in edge?? this year hopefully we will plug some more holds and see marked improvement....
 

JeffGollin

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Could there be any tougher job out there in the NFL than trying to make winners of the Arizona Cardinals?
Yup. Making the the dude who wrote the piece a respected writer.
 

Skkorpion

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What's wrong with the article? It just pointed out the difficulties in coaching for this miserable franchise and actually was mildly encouraging.

The worst thing to happen to a team in sports is to be ignored. Apathy kills. Better to be talked about negatively than to be never mentioned.
 

lobo

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What's wrong with the article? It just pointed out the difficulties in coaching for this miserable franchise and actually was mildly encouraging.

The worst thing to happen to a team in sports is to be ignored. Apathy kills. Better to be talked about negatively than to be never mentioned.


the ariticle is same ole same ole... and to methat gets a little tired after awhile....regardless of what is said...even if they were great....interestingly..when the bulls kept winning and winning (i'll stop at two) no one ever really spoke glowingly after the thrid nba championship nor did you hear much about them on radio etc...they were too good and nothing to talk about...controversy and poor performance sells newspapers....
 
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Mr.Dibbs

Mr.Dibbs

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I actually want to see these articles. The last two years we were sooo the trendy media choice for "break-out team" and we never lived up to it. This team needs to remember that it still has done nothing but look good on paper.
 

Scot1

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The worst thing to happen to a team in sports is to be ignored. Apathy kills. Better to be talked about negatively than to be never mentioned.
Well, this statement is only conditionally true (to be tactful). I'd rather have John Doe as a neighbor than Charles Manson. It's closer to true about sports-entertainment franchises, but even there, the content of the negative talk matters. Chicago fans are down today, no doubt, and the talk is pretty harsh, but there's a difference between the articles ripping the Bears and that one. They've gone 22 years since their super-bowl win--what a bummer.
 

Duckjake

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There are MANY franchises that had FAR, FAR worse records during this stretch. Where the Cardinals have failed miserably, has been their years in AZ. Part of the problem has been the scheduling the Cardinals have had to overcome.

Do you remember that in 1964 (9-3-2), because of the World Series, they played their first 5 games on the road? That must have been fun.

Another major reason for the Cards terrible record in Arizona that I've heard discussed is that the move coincided with the start of free agency (remember plan B?) and the Bidwills had real trouble dealing with it.

But the real reason is that in St.Louis the baseball Cardinals aura rubbed off on the football team negating to some extent the effects of the "curse". Out in the desert away from the good vibes of Dean and Musial, Brock and Ozzie,et al, the curse took full effect again.
 

BigRedArk

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Do you remember that in 1964 (9-3-2), because of the World Series, they played their first 5 games on the road? That must have been fun.

Another major reason for the Cards terrible record in Arizona that I've heard discussed is that the move coincided with the start of free agency (remember plan B?) and the Bidwills had real trouble dealing with it.

But the real reason is that in St.Louis the baseball Cardinals aura rubbed off on the football team negating to some extent the effects of the "curse". Out in the desert away from the good vibes of Dean and Musial, Brock and Ozzie,et al, the curse took full effect again.

I always heard they were treated as "stepchildren" in Busch by Augie.
 

BigRedMO

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As I recall the last head coach for the Cardinals that was able to be a headcoach anywhere else in the NFL after they coached the Cardinals was Don Coryell. I reach that conclusion without formal research but I believe that is correct. Based on that it is undeniable that the Cardinals is where head coaches go to die.

Everybody is so careful about burning bridges so very few people in the NFL will criticize other organizations. You know those coaches and players hear and see alot but wont say what they really think. Assuming Whiz talked with Cowher about the Cardinals job I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for that conversation. "You want to be a head coach where?!"
 
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Duckjake

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As I recall the last head coach for the Cardinals that was able to be a headcoach anywhere else in the NFL after they coached the Cardinals was Don Coryell. I reach that conclusion without formal research but I believe that is correct. Based on that it is undeniable that the Cardinals is where head coaches go to die.

Bugel coached the Raiders to a 4-12 record in 1997 but that's not saying much.

Have the Cardinals even had any former assistants become a HC in the NFL since moving to Arizona?
 
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