Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
What concerns me the most is the following scenario:
First of all, in my mind I thoroughly believe that with Ray Horton on the staff we know what we have---we have one of the brightest and best defensive minds and game planners in all of football.
If we hire an offensive minded HC---whomever we hire is going to get a 3-4 year contract, at the very least.
While I loved it when GM Steve Keim said "we are retooling, not rebuilding"...
The reality is that no matter who we hire to take over the offense---it is going to be a new system with new schemes and terminology and there are going to be some new faces, hopefully at least one new bright face at QB.
While it is very encouraging that some teams this year were able to integrate rookie or 2nd year QBs into their offenses and be successful, as in going to the playoffs successful, realistically for the Cardinals, the new offense is going to take some time, as there are so many question marks personnel-wise. Developing the much-needed chemistry is going to take time.
That said---what happens if we have another season like we just had where the offense continues to struggle and the defense carries the team and plays at a very high level?
What happens if at that point it reminds us all the more of what we have in Ray Horton, and we are still unsure of what he have in the new HC and the new OC?
The Bidwills aren't going to eat the remaining 2-3 years on the new HC's contract in order to hire Ray Horton as HC.
So---what happens when we lose Ray Horton when he gets his HC gig?
Imo, that would be demoralizing and potentially devastating to this team. Here the defense has created a novel identity with Horton as the architect---here the defense has played its tails off for the guy---and now, he's gone?
I get the argument that it's become an offensive minded league---especially watching these very high scoring games this weekend to the tune of 276 combined points, which is an average of 34.5 point per team---
However, like everything else in the NFL, what goes around comes around---meaning all the more emphasis and attention will turn to the defensive side of the ball for the ways in which teams will try to counter for these offensive explosions.
In my mind---next to Dick LeBeau himself and a couple of real good ones like Mike Zimmer in Cincy---we have as good a defensive guy as there is in the league.
As I said, we know what we have in Ray Horton.
What we need is a good OC to go with him---and there are some good candidates out there now and there will plenty of candidates looking to land jobs with teams at the Senior Bowl, where the team of Keim, Licht and Horton could find the best candidate.
Lastly...let me ask you this...because this is likely what it will come down to---
Are you willing to hire someone like Mike McCoy if he insists on hiring his own staff so he can start with a clean slate?
Are you willing to hire someone like Mike McCoy, if he agrees to keep Horton coming in, knowing that there's a fair chance that in a year's time Horton will be gone?
First of all, in my mind I thoroughly believe that with Ray Horton on the staff we know what we have---we have one of the brightest and best defensive minds and game planners in all of football.
If we hire an offensive minded HC---whomever we hire is going to get a 3-4 year contract, at the very least.
While I loved it when GM Steve Keim said "we are retooling, not rebuilding"...
The reality is that no matter who we hire to take over the offense---it is going to be a new system with new schemes and terminology and there are going to be some new faces, hopefully at least one new bright face at QB.
While it is very encouraging that some teams this year were able to integrate rookie or 2nd year QBs into their offenses and be successful, as in going to the playoffs successful, realistically for the Cardinals, the new offense is going to take some time, as there are so many question marks personnel-wise. Developing the much-needed chemistry is going to take time.
That said---what happens if we have another season like we just had where the offense continues to struggle and the defense carries the team and plays at a very high level?
What happens if at that point it reminds us all the more of what we have in Ray Horton, and we are still unsure of what he have in the new HC and the new OC?
The Bidwills aren't going to eat the remaining 2-3 years on the new HC's contract in order to hire Ray Horton as HC.
So---what happens when we lose Ray Horton when he gets his HC gig?
Imo, that would be demoralizing and potentially devastating to this team. Here the defense has created a novel identity with Horton as the architect---here the defense has played its tails off for the guy---and now, he's gone?
I get the argument that it's become an offensive minded league---especially watching these very high scoring games this weekend to the tune of 276 combined points, which is an average of 34.5 point per team---
However, like everything else in the NFL, what goes around comes around---meaning all the more emphasis and attention will turn to the defensive side of the ball for the ways in which teams will try to counter for these offensive explosions.
In my mind---next to Dick LeBeau himself and a couple of real good ones like Mike Zimmer in Cincy---we have as good a defensive guy as there is in the league.
As I said, we know what we have in Ray Horton.
What we need is a good OC to go with him---and there are some good candidates out there now and there will plenty of candidates looking to land jobs with teams at the Senior Bowl, where the team of Keim, Licht and Horton could find the best candidate.
Lastly...let me ask you this...because this is likely what it will come down to---
Are you willing to hire someone like Mike McCoy if he insists on hiring his own staff so he can start with a clean slate?
Are you willing to hire someone like Mike McCoy, if he agrees to keep Horton coming in, knowing that there's a fair chance that in a year's time Horton will be gone?
Last edited:
