McGinnis: Hard to win with Cards
By Darren Urban, Tribune
October 20, 2005
Dave McGinnis didn’t want this week to be about him.
Although the former Cardinals coach will be back in Arizona this weekend as an assistant coach for the visiting Tennessee Titans, he politely turned down multiple interview requests from Valley media outlets, mentioning that he would prefer to take the high road after his dismissal following the 2004 season.
But Wednesday afternoon, Tennessee reporters caught up with him, and McGinnis provided a glimpse into his post-Cardinals perspective.
Asked if it is difficult to win with the Cardinals, McGinnis answered, "It hasn’t been difficult — (it’s) harder than hell. Tougher than (expletive). Don’t be delicate, be honest."
"Let me just say this," McGinnis added. "I would say if anybody’s got a chance to do it, Denny Green does because he has total control of it. Unless you get total control of the whole football operations, then it’s not going to work. Denny’s got a chance because he’s got total control. He’s got total control of the draft. He’s got total control of everything football related."
Total control, McGinnis said, was something he didn’t have under the ownership of the Bidwill family.
That wasn’t the entire reason the Cardinals had a miserable 17-40 record during McGinnis’ tenure as coach. After rallying to a 7-9 record in 2001 and starting 4-2 in 2002, McGinnis thought he had turned the franchise in the right direction.
But injuries undercut the rest of 2002, when the Cardinals finished 1-9. In 2003, the Cardinals allowed both quarterback Jake Plummer and receiver David Boston to leave as free agents without getting anything in return, and the stripped-down Cards had little chance for success.
The team went 4-12, and if it hadn’t been for a miracle touchdown pass from Josh McCown to Nate Poole on the season’s final play to beat Minnesota, the Cards would have been 3-13 and owners of the first overall draft pick.
McGinnis was fired the next day. About a month later, Titans coach Jeff Fisher hired him to be assistant head coach and linebackers coach.
"He’s the guy who gave me a chance so I hated to see him go when he did," said Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin, who was a rookie in McGinnis’ last season. "But that’s the nature of this sport. It’s real cutthroat.
"I don’t think we had the personnel back then but he was never one to point the blame at any players. He always put the fault on himself. A lot of it I don’t think he deserved."
McGinnis is pleased with some of the results of his time here. He helped shepherd the team through some bad salary cap situations when players like Eric Swann and Andre Wadsworth were cut. His enthusiastic personality made him the perfect franchise spokesman while the Cardinals made their push for a new stadium in 2000, helping convince enough voters to approve the project.
But it wasn’t enough after the losses piled up.
"They fired me," McGinnis said. "I’m not one of those guys who says, ‘Well, they went in a different direction.’ That’s (expletive). They fired me.
"I’ve still got a great, great affection for that community, for the Valley, for those fans. Those fans have been through a lot. That core group of fans, they’re great. I still get tremendous letters from those people, thanking me. Believe me, I don’t harbor any ill will at all."
Contact Darren Urban by email, or phone (480) 898-6525
By Darren Urban, Tribune
October 20, 2005
Dave McGinnis didn’t want this week to be about him.
Although the former Cardinals coach will be back in Arizona this weekend as an assistant coach for the visiting Tennessee Titans, he politely turned down multiple interview requests from Valley media outlets, mentioning that he would prefer to take the high road after his dismissal following the 2004 season.
But Wednesday afternoon, Tennessee reporters caught up with him, and McGinnis provided a glimpse into his post-Cardinals perspective.
Asked if it is difficult to win with the Cardinals, McGinnis answered, "It hasn’t been difficult — (it’s) harder than hell. Tougher than (expletive). Don’t be delicate, be honest."
"Let me just say this," McGinnis added. "I would say if anybody’s got a chance to do it, Denny Green does because he has total control of it. Unless you get total control of the whole football operations, then it’s not going to work. Denny’s got a chance because he’s got total control. He’s got total control of the draft. He’s got total control of everything football related."
Total control, McGinnis said, was something he didn’t have under the ownership of the Bidwill family.
That wasn’t the entire reason the Cardinals had a miserable 17-40 record during McGinnis’ tenure as coach. After rallying to a 7-9 record in 2001 and starting 4-2 in 2002, McGinnis thought he had turned the franchise in the right direction.
But injuries undercut the rest of 2002, when the Cardinals finished 1-9. In 2003, the Cardinals allowed both quarterback Jake Plummer and receiver David Boston to leave as free agents without getting anything in return, and the stripped-down Cards had little chance for success.
The team went 4-12, and if it hadn’t been for a miracle touchdown pass from Josh McCown to Nate Poole on the season’s final play to beat Minnesota, the Cards would have been 3-13 and owners of the first overall draft pick.
McGinnis was fired the next day. About a month later, Titans coach Jeff Fisher hired him to be assistant head coach and linebackers coach.
"He’s the guy who gave me a chance so I hated to see him go when he did," said Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin, who was a rookie in McGinnis’ last season. "But that’s the nature of this sport. It’s real cutthroat.
"I don’t think we had the personnel back then but he was never one to point the blame at any players. He always put the fault on himself. A lot of it I don’t think he deserved."
McGinnis is pleased with some of the results of his time here. He helped shepherd the team through some bad salary cap situations when players like Eric Swann and Andre Wadsworth were cut. His enthusiastic personality made him the perfect franchise spokesman while the Cardinals made their push for a new stadium in 2000, helping convince enough voters to approve the project.
But it wasn’t enough after the losses piled up.
"They fired me," McGinnis said. "I’m not one of those guys who says, ‘Well, they went in a different direction.’ That’s (expletive). They fired me.
"I’ve still got a great, great affection for that community, for the Valley, for those fans. Those fans have been through a lot. That core group of fans, they’re great. I still get tremendous letters from those people, thanking me. Believe me, I don’t harbor any ill will at all."
Contact Darren Urban by email, or phone (480) 898-6525
possible overstatement, yet funny nonetheless.
