Pft: Dick Heading To The Desert?

[BACH]

DICK HEADING TO THE DESERT?

There are rumors flying in league circles that if/when the Cardinals part ways with coach Dennis Green one of the short-list choices to replace Green will be former Eagles and Rams and Chiefs head coach Dick Vermeil.

Vermeil retired from the Chiefs after the 2005 season, but he also "retired" from the Rams after the 1999 season.

It's only a rumor at this point, not a prediction or a report or anything else of any substance. But stay tuned.

We're also hearing that Chiefs V.P. of Player Personnel Bill Kuharich could get strong consideration for the G.M. job in Arizona, if/when the Bidwills are looking to fill it.

Again, it's rumor at this point. Again, stay tuned.

Vermeil is unlikely, but Kuharich could definately be the next GM.

But Vermeil is a very logical choice because he's very emotional and he gets the team to follow him 100% - unlike Green.

Here's Kuharich's bio:

Professional Bio
Bill Kuharich was promoted to the post of Vice President of Player Personnel by Chiefs President Carl Peterson on February 10, 2006. He enters his first season in that role with Kansas City after spending the past three seasons as the club’s Vice President of Pro Personnel. He originally joined the Chiefs as Director of Pro Personnel in 2000.


“Bill’s outstanding background and experience certainly qualifies him to run an NFL franchise and we’re very pleased to have someone of his caliber and expertise working for the Kansas City Chiefs,” Peterson commented. “Bill Kuharich has tremendous experience in all aspects of player personnel and we will continue to lean on his expertise.”

Entering his 24th season in professional football and his 21st in the National Football League, Kuharich is widely regarded as one of the league’s most respected evaluators of talent. He oversees all aspects of the Chiefs player personnel department, including the club’s pro and college scouting efforts. Prior to his arrival in Kansas City, Kuharich enjoyed a 14-year tenure with the New Orleans Saints beginning in ‘86, serving as that club’s Director of Player Personnel until ‘93. He was promoted to Vice President of Football Operations, working in that role from ‘94-95 before being named Executive Vice President/General Manager in ‘96. Kuharich was then elevated to the post of President/General Manager/Chief Operating Officer of the Saints in ‘97, a position he held through the ‘99 season.

Kuharich was hired in New Orleans by the late Jim Finks, who was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in ‘95. When Finks and Kuharich arrived in New Orleans in ‘86, they inherited a franchise which had never enjoyed a winning season and had never been to the postseason in its 19 previous seasons of existence. By ‘87, Finks had constructed a team which went 12-3 and made the franchise’s first playoff berth. With Kuharich’s continued assistance in the personnel area, the Saints would total four postseason appearances from ‘87-92. During his tenure in the NFL ranks with the Chiefs and Saints, Kuharich has assembled an impressive array of talent. Four of his first-round draft choices with the Saints went on to earn Pro Bowl berths, including 11-time Pro Bowl T Willie Roaf, who was later acquired by Kansas City in a trade with New Orleans in 2002. Roaf has subsequently earned four straight selections to the AFC All-Star squad as a member of the Chiefs.

Adept at acquiring athletes through any available means, Kuharich obtained current Kansas City S Sammy Knight for the Saints as a rookie free agent in ‘97. Knight would later go on to earn a Pro Bowl berth with Miami in 2001 and was inked as an unrestricted free agent by the Chiefs in 2005. Other notable Kuharich acquisitions in New Orleans included DT La’ Roi Glover who was claimed off waivers from Oakland in ‘97 and went on to earn five Pro Bowl selections with the Saints and Cowboys. Kuharich was also the first NFL executive to spot the potential of QB Jake Delhomme, signing him as a rookie free agent with the Saints in ‘97. Delhomme later led Carolina to a berth in Super Bowl XXXVIII and has earned a pair of Pro Bowl invitations. In addition to the likes of Roaf and Knight, other notable Chiefs players that Kuharich played a role in procuring during his tenure overseeing Kansas City’s pro personnel department include three-time Pro Bowl RB Priest Holmes, two-time Pro Bowl QB Trent Green, as well two-time 1,000-yard WR Eddie Kennison, who Kuharich had previously obtained in New Orleans via a trade with St. Louis.

Kuharich inaugurated his professional football career with the USFL’s Stars in ‘83 working under Peterson and was promoted to Assistant General Manager/Director of Player Personnel the following year. During the league’s three-year existence, the Stars compiled a 48-13-1 overall record, made three championship game appearances and won two league titles.

A member of a football family, Kuharich’s father, the late Joe Kuharich, served as a college head coach at San Francisco (’48-51) and Notre Dame (’59-62). Kuharich’s undefeated ‘51 USF Dons are regarded as one of the finest teams in college football history. That squad featured three future Pro Football Hall of Famers — Gino Marchetti, Ollie Matson and Bob St. Clair — with another Hall of Famer, future NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle serving as the team’s publicist. The elder Kuharich also served as an NFL head coach with the Chicago Cardinals (’52) and Washington Redskins (’54-58) in addition to a stint as the head coach/GM of the Philadelphia Eagles (’64-68). During the ‘55 season with the Redskins, Kuharich was named NFL Coach of the Year. In addition, Kuharich’s brother Lary is a longtime pro coach and currently serves as the assistant head coach/offensive coordinator of the Arena Football League’s Arizona Rattlers.

A graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont with a degree in History, Kuharich began his football career as a graduate assistant coach at Brown in ‘76. The following year he went to work for the United States Department of Defense, while still serving as a volunteer assistant coach at Georgetown. In ‘79, he returned to coaching at St. Lawrence and earned a master’s degree in Education before spending two seasons (’80-81) at Columbia University.

 

[abomb]

I would cry tears of joy if Vermeil was our coach.

 

[vinnymac]

the cardinals are going to need a high profile coach to fill the seats next season. like i said before coaches are going to be throwing themselves at the cardinals job with the personel that they have.

 

[Russ Smith]

I gotta say my appreciation for Vermeil jumped dramatically when he worked that one Monday Night game. He was great, first off you could tell the guy really knows the game.

I question if we need a tough guy can he be that guy, but maybe he just brings in some assistants to kick tail?

 

[BACH]

the cardinals are going to need a high profile coach to fill the seats next season. like i said before coaches are going to be throwing themselves at the cardinals job with the personel that they have.

Not that many high profiled coaches fit our needs IMO. Weiss would probably be the ideal fit, but he's not going to be available. Fassel and Wiesenhunt are more likely candidates.

 

[vinnymac]

Not that many high profiled coaches fit our needs IMO. Weiss would probably be the ideal fit, but he's not going to be available. Fassel and Wiesenhunt are more likely candidates.

my top canidates are

cam cameron
greg knapp
al saunders
charlie weis

i know charlie weis said he would have to win the lottery to quit ND. he would have to have 10's of millions of dollars. he would be worth it imo, but i dont' think the bidwills are going to open their pocket books that much to get weis.

i like al saunders, but for some reason the redskins offense isn't clicking. i don't know if it is the personel or the other coaches finally catching on to saunders play calling.

greg knapp is a long time oc. he had one of the best offenses in the league with the 49ers, and he has had the number 1 rushing offense in the league for the past 3 years. with the personel of the cardinals i believe he can fill the stands with wins.

cam cameron worked with marty schottenheimer and he has been looked at many teams for a hc job. he is a no b.s. kinda guy with a run first attitude. the kind of coach that the cardinals need right about now. he will know how to whip the o-line into shape.

 

[john h]

I would cry tears of joy if Vermeil was our coach.

Vermeil gives the appearance of a leader. Denny gives the appearance and talks like a loser. I had sure rather follow Vermeil into battle than Denny and I do not know either. Just from what I see on TV.

 

[kerouac9]

Kuharich could definately be the next GM.

What has Kuharich done? He's taken the likely draft picks every year, and they've worked out all right, but what free agents have they signed that worked out? Surtain has been just all right, but for all those years of signing guys (which was his job as director of Pro Personnel), they never really improved from being bottom-ranked. Maybe he was hampered by an over-bearing defensive coaching staff, but you have to wonder...

 

[john h]

the cardinals are going to need a high profile coach to fill the seats next season. like i said before coaches are going to be throwing themselves at the cardinals job with the personel that they have.

The first thing any good coach will want to know is just how much authority he has and how much money does the team intend to spend on coaching staff and cap space. Guys like the Tuna do not accept a job just for the money. They want the authority and some even would like the dual responsibility of HC and GM. We need a guy who will accept nothing less than total authority to hire his coaches and have a lot of input into personnel decisions. These guys understand the problems with the Cards and their management style and the really smart HC are not going to come here unless they have the authority to improve the situation.

 

[SECTION 11]

This just sucks. @#$^)(#$@(*_!^

Enough cursing and cussing, please.

 

[abomb]

This just sucks. What a ******** Circus. Bunch of bumbling jackoffs. @#$^)(#$@(*_!^

Cowherd said something yesterday that made me think;

"In order to have a very good NFL team you need a great owner, great GM, great head coach and great QB."

The Cardinals have 0.5.

 

[football karma]

Cowherd said something yesterday that made me think;

"In order to have a very good NFL team you need a great owner, great GM, great head coach and great QB."

The Cardinals have 0.5.

At a minimum, you need the GM, the Coach and the QB

Has Mike Brown of Cincy suddenly gone from being a lousy owner to a great one? How about the Irsay family in Indy? How about Spanos in SD?

The change in all those situations are that they reached a point where they put their trust in the right football person and let them do their job. None of the above teams went nutty in spending cash -- in fact in Indy they have consistently made some pretty tough decisions not to spend. Its just that they have consistently drafted well ---

I think M Bidwill tried to do that with Denny Green -- its just that like Buddy Ryan, they picked the wrong guy.

 

[nidan]

The first thing any good coach will want to know is just how much authority he has and how much money does the team intend to spend on coaching staff and cap space.

I am pretty sure DG knew that when he came in as well

 

[red desert]

At a minimum, you need the GM, the Coach and the QB

Has Mike Brown of Cincy suddenly gone from being a lousy owner to a great one? How about the Irsay family in Indy? How about Spanos in SD?

The change in all those situations are that they reached a point where they put their trust in the right football person and let them do their job. None of the above teams went nutty in spending cash -- in fact in Indy they have consistently made some pretty tough decisions not to spend. Its just that they have consistently drafted well ---

I think M Bidwill tried to do that with Denny Green -- its just that like Buddy Ryan, they picked the wrong guy.

Good post.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Cowherd said something yesterday that made me think;

"In order to have a very good NFL team you need a great owner, great GM, great head coach and great QB."

The Cardinals have 0.5.

BS, the Bengals are a very good team and Mike Brown is the owner and GM. Cowherd is, just like most ESPN guys, an idiot.

 

[Zeno]

Tom Benson isn't highly regarded as an owner--most Saints fans hate him--and his team only has 1 loss so far this season.

 

[Russ Smith]

Tom Benson isn't highly regarded as an owner--most Saints fans hate him--and his team only has 1 loss so far this season.

It's the Reggie bush effect I tell you. Who cares if he's only getting 20-25 offensive plays a game, the entire Saints turnaround is due to him just ask ESPN they'll tell you.

 

[CardinalChris]

I gotta say my appreciation for Vermeil jumped dramatically when he worked that one Monday Night game. He was great, first off you could tell the guy really knows the game.

I question if we need a tough guy can he be that guy, but maybe he just brings in some assistants to kick tail?

He was one of the most informative, well spoken commentators I have heard. The guy could be the Next John Madden (pre-crazy days) if he went to the booth full time.

 

[chickenhead]

Vermeil is Mac x10, with no disrespect meant to Mac. It seems unlikely to me that Vermeil would take the job, and I don't know if it's the BEST move, but I would be pretty psyched about it.

 

[DutchmanAZ]

He was one of the most informative, well spoken commentators I have heard. The guy could be the Next John Madden (pre-crazy days) if he went to the booth full time.

I agree!

 

[Lloydian]

Has Mike Brown of Cincy suddenly gone from being a lousy owner to a great one? How about the Irsay family in Indy? How about Spanos in SD?

You missed my favorite: Georgia Frontiere in St. Louis.

Meanwhile, for years, Clint Murchison, Jr. in Dallas was a completely hands off owner, yet his Tom Landry coached team was consistently great (a good GM was the other side of it). And as much as I liked Don Meredith and Danny White, neither would be classified as a great QB.

The mix is good coaching with talented players which points to the coach/GM model, and the Cincy example points to the possibility that while we, as fans, can always make sweeping generalizations about a person's ability, the reality is often somewhat different.

The Cardinals' performance can't be as simple as a greedy owner who only cares about money. If that were true, he could make more money by selling the team.

Patience (yes I know we've all been patient) is the key here. The Pittsburgh Steelers (formerly Pirates) first fielded a team in 1933. They first made the playoffs in 1972 (though in 1962, they made the "Playoff Bowl" to see who the third best in the NFL was). And all of this was with the same owner, Art Rooney. In the team's first 39 years of existence, there were eight seasons with winning records. The Cardinals have had nine in the last 39 years.

My point is that there are no easy answers. Every time a problem pops up, it must be dealt with, and our team has certainly had its share of problems. I believe that the owners want to win as badly (maybe more so) as we do. And frankly, I'm not convinced it won't happen this year. The sky is not falling. They just need to start clawing their way upward after this unreasonable downward spiral.

Bring on the Packers!

 

[Ryanwb]

I think we've got enough ***** in the desert, thank you

 

[Duckjake]

The Cardinals' performance can't be as simple as a greedy owner who only cares about money. If that were true, he could make more money by selling the team.

I don't think Bidwill is greedy. He's just extremely frugal. Like a lot of people from his generation. He reminds me of the guys like my father. My brother used to do an impersonation of dad by saying in a gruff voice "what do you want a penny for?" yet our business made more money than most of the people in town at the time.

By the way didn't the value of the franchise go up by 150-200 million when the stadium opened? Now that's making some money.

 

[Russ Smith]

I don't think Bidwill is greedy. He's just extremely frugal. Like a lot of people from his generation. He reminds me of the guys like my father. My brother used to do an impersonation of dad by saying in a gruff voice "what do you want a penny for?" yet our business made more money than most of the people in town at the time.

By the way didn't the value of the franchise go up by 150-200 million when the stadium opened? Now that's making some money.

I just think the Bidwills figured out a long time ago they could make money without a whole lot of effort if they just did things their way. Their potential return was lower, but they took no risk because they could always pay the players with the cap money, have some left over etc. They never felt they HAD to take the risk to try and hit it big.

That's been changing for years now as we joined the modern age of the NFL, we're not totally there yet but we are headed the right direction.

Obviously having the promise of the stadium revenue helped push us that direction again they KNEW they couldn't lose money so they took a few more risks than normal.

 

[jefftheshark]

I don't think Bidwill is greedy. He's just extremely frugal. Like a lot of people from his generation. He reminds me of the guys like my father. My brother used to do an impersonation of dad by saying in a gruff voice "what do you want a penny for?" yet our business made more money than most of the people in town at the time.

By the way didn't the value of the franchise go up by 150-200 million when the stadium opened? Now that's making some money.

My house went way up in value last year, but if I didn't sell it, how much cash did that put in my pocket?

The Bidwill family is a victim of poor cash flow because of their old stadium situation, and the fact that they don't have other businesses to inject capital for them. Hopefully that is now in the past, with new sources of income now available to them (the U of P naming rights, for example). Now if they aren't paying out signing bonuses on a par with the other teams in the NFL next year, then they are cheap. But I really can't blame them for not paying them in the past when they didn't have the cash.

The Shark