Ken Wisenhunt - Greatest coach ever?

[Arizona's Finest]

My toungue is firmly in my cheek with that thread title but lets give credit where credit is due.

In his first year he got us to 8-8 (the second best Cardinal record in my life) and now has us at 7-3 and a runaway in our own division. Keep in mind this is the ARIZONA CARDINALS.

It's funny that are expectations are so high that we are picking apart these wins now. Is this guy getting his due? I never hear him mentioned in terms of great young coaches - especially like a Mike Tomlin or even a Sean Payton do.

What young up and coming coach would you rather have?

I can't think of anybody and maybe I am just bias....

He is going to be under alot more scrutiny with the playoffs coming up but I think he will show well.

Viva La Wisenhunt!

 

[NeverSayDieFan]

I Agree...

Outside of Mike Ditka giving him "props" on ESPN the rest of the media seems to be unaware of what he's doing in Arizona. BUT, we REALLY do this together. I would give alot of praise to Todd Haley & Russ Grimm, and the other coaches, as well. Clearly, there is a mind-set now of "We're going to WIN this game".

 

[Mulli]

I would love to see someone try to argue that Whiz is not the best coach they have had since they moved here. Yes, the talent is probably better overall, but come on now.

 

[RolleRocks]

The best-coached team in the NFL right now are the New York Giants.

 

[Mulli]

Outside of Mike Ditka giving him "props" on ESPN the rest of the media seems to be unaware of what he's doing in Arizona. BUT, we REALLY do this together. I would give alot of praise to Todd Haley & Russ Grimm, and the other coaches, as well. Clearly, there is a mind-set now of "We're going to WIN this game".

Jerome Bettis loves him some Coach Whiz.

 

[CaptTurbo]

There is quite a bit he has been unable to do thuse far or needs to do next season

1) Still needs to address penalties
2) Tackling is improving but I want to see that next level of superbowl caliber tackling
3) Change Punter
4) Change special teams coach. Remmeber the blocked punt against Dallas? That was on urban it wasnt called. Bad returns (Put JJ in)
5) Find out why Russ Grimm is having no impact.

other than that I already gave him my props after week 6.

 

[DakotaCardsFan]

Whiz is the man. In fact, if he can get the Cardinals into a Super Bowl during his tenure, he should be immediately inducted into the Hall of Fame. No waiting period. No ballots. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200. Advance immediately to Canton.

 

[NeverSayDieFan]

GOOD Points SWD BUT consider...

Coaches can ONLY coach. While some of our calls have been dubious at best, some are just on the players for going brain-dead at that moment. Also, we're stuck with Johnson. We knew his punting might cost us at some point during the season, BUT Neil Rackers luvs the guy. ...And he's hit (14) FG's in a row! So, for now we sacrifice the field position game for a steady diet of (3's). NOT ideal but it's working. Think where we would be if Rackers were mis-firing. I value your opinion, just saying. BUT, over-all, hey, man WE'RE 7-3!! 1st Place! What's NOT to love about that.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

There is quite a bit he has been unable to do thuse far or needs to do next season

1) Still needs to address penalties
2) Tackling is improving but I want to see that next level of superbowl caliber tackling
3) Change Punter
4) Change special teams coach. Remmeber the blocked punt against Dallas? That was on urban it wasnt called. Bad returns (Put JJ in)
5) Find out why Russ Grimm is having no impact.

other than that I already gave him my props after week 6.

Takes time SWD and I think its more the players in place then the coaching. Maybe Latui and Pope just need to be replaced and all of sudden our penalty problems disappear. I'm sure punter will be a priority this offseason. Not sure about Grimm and the running game but the pass protection has been fantastic.

What he has done in the span of two years is nothing short of amazing.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

The best-coached team in the NFL right now are the New York Giants.

Cool

I am not comparing to ALL coaches ever. I'm just saying I am damn happy with him.

 

[seesred]

He is the wizard of Cards! Just follow the yellow brick road and at the end he will give you your every wish including, heart,brains,courage and of course the big game. It's amazing what you can acomplish when you have a plan,and are willing to bend them and do whats best!

GBR
40

 

[LVG]

There is quite a bit he has been unable to do thuse far or needs to do next season

1) Still needs to address penalties
2) Tackling is improving but I want to see that next level of superbowl caliber tackling
3) Change Punter
4) Change special teams coach. Remmeber the blocked punt against Dallas? That was on urban it wasnt called. Bad returns (Put JJ in)
5) Find out why Russ Grimm is having no impact.

other than that I already gave him my props after week 6.

Anyway you slice it, to go from 5-11 to 8-8 to at least a 9-7 record is terrific. Does he get all the credit? No. Does he have some major work to do (all of your items above - plus improve Leinart or get a new QBOF, establish a running game, and numerous others) - yes.

If you had asked me right after we hired the Whiz that we would be here, now, I'd of knocked that glass of Kool-Aid right out of your hands. But here we are - and the future's looking mighty bright indeed.

 

[slanidrac16]

Teams continue to evolve on every play, every week and from year to year. Keeping a coaching staff intact gives a team an opportunity to do just that. Keeping a system intact while tweaking it from week to week and year to year can only aid the growth of a team and organization.

The thing that Whiz deserves the most credit for is instilling a confidence and belief that we can overcome ANY setback. We believe we are never out of any game as long as there is time on the clock. That is not an easy task for ANY coach let alone a new head coach.

All the other shortcomings will be dealt with as this team continues to grow and evolve. We can nitpick about penaltie, running game, our punter, yada yada yada, however , we are on the doorstep of a division championship. We have one of the most potent offenses in the league scoring damn near 30 points a game against some pretty good teams. We are winning on the road. We are winning division games. We are winning close games and we are winning games by over 20 points.

It wasn't to long ago my fellow Cardinal fans when we heard EVERY WEEK, " The Cards haven't scored a 1st quarter td in 26 games." Remember that? Remember when scoring 30 points was worthy of national headlines? Not any more. Now it's a story when we DON'T score 30 points!

We have a way to go before we can call ourselves a "complete" team, but we are futher along than any other time since moving to Arizona.

This is not your fathers Cardinals anymore.....and Whiz has played a HUGE role in making that happen.

 

[Rasputin]

If he isn't CotY, he should be in the top three under consideration.

 

[Zeno]

I would love to see someone try to argue that Whiz is not the best coach they have had since they moved here. Yes, the talent is probably better overall, but come on now.

True. What he's done in such a short time is pretty good and I admit there were times I questioned a lot of what he did. Fortunately for the team they've mostly all turned out right.

The argument to who our worst coach was could be a long one (MacGinnis gets my vote).

 

[Cheesebeef]

there's no doubt in my mind that Wiz is the best coach this team has had in AZ. Rod Graves deserves huge props for making the hire.

 

[Shane]

there's no doubt in my mind that Wiz is the best coach this team has had in AZ. Rod Graves deserves huge props for making the hire.

Graves says in interviews that he was Mike B's choice.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Graves says in interviews that he was Mike B's choice.

that makes more sense.

come on. i'm trying here Shane. you going to the Giants game?

 

[SeattleCard]

I fully agree that Whiz is the best coach ever.

 

[Renz]

Graves says in interviews that he was Mike B's choice.

Graves gets all the blame on this board, and none of the props.

 

[CardShark]

I've said it before that Whiz was the best off season move the Cards made that year. He has managed to do what no other coach has done since Coryell. For doing what is widely considered impossible, (changing the culture of the Cards), he should be the leader for Coach of the Year.

One of the best things he did was not to force a certain style on this team, but embraced it's strengths and worked to shore up it's weaknesses. So many coaches that have paraded through here have stroked their own ego by insisting they had to tear down everything and build their own monster.

 

[conraddobler]

His best attributes are that he is fair and willing to adapt.

This means his players trust his judgement and since his judgement is good it re enforces itself.

Russ G has made an impact IMO, our pass protection is tons better, they form a real pocket but run blocking takes longer to instill for whatever reason that's a longer project.

It may be we don't have the horsepower to do it, it happens, lines are funny things but he's working on it and some days are better than others.

 

[Duckjake]

True. What he's done in such a short time is pretty good and I admit there were times I questioned a lot of what he did. Fortunately for the team they've mostly all turned out right.

The argument to who our worst coach was could be a long one (MacGinnis gets my vote).

McGinnis #1 Buddy Ryan a close 2nd only because Ryan's defense in 1994 was a real treat to watch.

 

[Zeno]

McGinnis #1 Buddy Ryan a close 2nd only because Ryan's defense in 1994 was a real treat to watch.

Thats how I'd rank 'em too.

 

[AzCards21]

5) Find out why Russ Grimm is having no impact.

You sure about that? I know the running game isn't so stellar but really they keep the defenders off of Warner.

And thats our bread and butter right there.