Cardinals Gab - The Definitive Arizona Cardinals Blog!

Shop for the Arizona Cardinals at Fanatics.com

Cardinals Hire Longtime NFL Assistant Tom Clements as Offensive Assistant

January 22nd, 2019

CJ

Posted in News

Longtime NFL assistant Tom Clements has been hired as passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach on the staff of new coach Kliff Kingsbury in Arizona.

The 65-year-old Clements, who has been out of the NFL the past two years, will be the primary offensive assistant because there will be no offensive coordinator on the staff, with Kingsbury calling plays and doing other coordinator-type duties.

Clements coached for the Green Bay Packers for 11 seasons. He was quarterbacks coach there from 2006-2011, offensive coordinator from 2012-14 and associate head coach/offense in 2015-16.

In Green Bay, Clement helped develop Aaron Rodgers and he’s counted on to do the same kind of work with Josh Rosen, who just completed a difficult rookie season, a 3-13 campaign that resulted in coach Steve Wilks being fired.

No Comments »

Cardinals Interview Former Browns Head Coach Hue Jackson for OC Position

January 19th, 2019

Matt Loede

Posted in News

The Cardinals on Friday interviewed former Browns and Raiders head coach Hue Jackson for their vacant offensive coordinator position, Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic reports.

Jackson, 53, went 3-36-1 in two and a half seasons with the Browns before being fired at midseason this past year.

He was hired by the Bengals and served as Marvin Lewis’ assistant for the remainder of the 2018 season until both men eventually were fired.

Jackson went 8-8 in his only season as head coach of the Raiders in 2011. He was fired after just one year in the job.

Jackson is the sixth known candidate the Cardinals have interviewed for their offensive coordinator job under new head coach Kliff Kingsbury, who will do all of the play calling on offense.

He has coached in the NFL since 2001 with stops with the Redskins, Falcons, Raiders and Bengals.

No Comments »

Cardinals Interviewing Former Vikings OC John DeFilippo

January 15th, 2019

Matt Loede

Posted in News

After getting fired as the offensive coordinator of the Vikings in December, John DeFilippo seemed to lose all the traction he had built as a young, hot-shot candidate to become an NFL head coach.

The 40-year-old could be back in the league very soon, though, and it could be with the Cardinals, Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic reports.

DeFilippo has interviewed with the team for its vacant offensive coordinator position, according to multiple reports. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM was the first to report the news.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals apparently have hired a running backs coach, luring James Saxon away from the Steelers, according to NFL Network’s Aditi Kinkhabwala. Saxon has served in that role for Pittsburgh for the past five seasons.

Saxon played eight seasons in the NFL as a running back, spending time with Chiefs (1988-91), Dolphins (1992-94) and Eagles (1995) before beginning his coaching career at Rutgers (1997-98). He’s been a running backs coach in the NFL for 19 seasons, previously working for the Bills (2000), Chiefs (2001-07) and Dolphins (2008-10).

DeFilippo has been coaching for 19 years, 12 of which have been spent as an NFL assistant. He was a quality control coach for the Giants (2005-06), a quarterbacks coach for the Raiders (2007-08), Jets (2009) and Eagles (2016-17). He also served as the Browns’ offensive coordinator in 2015. Additionally, DeFilippo also has college coaching experience at Fordham (2000), Notre Dame (2001-02), Columbia (2003-04) and San Jose State (2010-11).

No Comments »

Could the Cardinals Actually Dump Josh Rosen if Kyler Murray Enters the Draft?

January 10th, 2019

Matt Loede

Posted in News, NFL Draft

Could the Cardinals dump last year’s top draft pick Josh Rosen in favor of QB Kyler Murray, who announced today that he was interested in being considered for the NFL draft?

Don’t doubt for a second that it couldn’t happen.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter states that the Cards would not only want to grab Murray when he finally comes out for the draft, but that they would then deal Rosen.

Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury says he wants to draft Kyler Murray No. 1 overall … @AdamSchefter says it's possible. pic.twitter.com/1sMPWk0DdY

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) January 10, 2019

In an interview with Kliff Kingsbury, that took place back in October that recently resurfaced has him stating that he would draft Murray with the top pick if it was his, and guess what, now he’s got that with the Cards.

“I’d take him with the first pick in the draft if I could. I know he signed up to play baseball, but he is a dominant football player and I would take him with the first pick,” Kingsbury said.

There’s plenty that can happen between now and the draft, but that’s a rather big statement for the Cards new head coach, and Schefter seems to be on top of it stating it might just happen.

No Comments »

USC Trojans OC Kliff Kingsbury to Interview with the Cardinals About Coaching Opening

January 2nd, 2019

Matt Loede

Posted in News

The Card continue to be in the market for a new voice at the head coaching spot, and one new name that has popped up is former Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach and current USC Trojans offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.

Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports states that Kingsbury has scheduled interviews with the Jets as well as the Arizona Cardinals.

Kingsbury is one of the best offensive-minded personalities in the college ranks, and could revamp what was a more than bland Jets offense if he gets the position.

In Lubbock, Kingsbury was able to mentor some quarterback named Patrick Mahomes, who might end up as the league MVP for the Chiefs this season after throwing 50 touchdowns.

Kingsbury has also worked with the likes of Case Keenum, Davis Webb, and Baker Mayfield.

Don’t fall asleep on Kingsbury, as he could be the answer to what the Cards are looking for.

No Comments »

Rams QB Coach Zac Taylor to Interview for the Cardinals Head Coaching Job

January 1st, 2019

Matt Loede

Posted in News

Now in the market for a new head coach, the Cardinals will chat with Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor about the opening created on Monday.

Albert Breer of The MMQB reports that Arizona will talk to Taylor on Saturday about the job. He will chat with the Bengals on Friday.

Taylor was promoted to the QB coach of the Rams after Matt LaFleur left for the Titans. A 13-3 record for the Rams and a bye in the first-round haven’t hurt his stock whatsoever.

The Rams QB coach was the teams’ assistant wide receivers coach in 2017 and served as the University of Cincinnati’s offensive coordinator in 2016 before moving to Los Angeles.

It’s thought the team will look for a young and up and coming offensive mind after going the defensive route with just fired coach Steve Wilks.

No Comments »

Report: Cardinals to Move on From Head Coach Steve Wilks at the End of the Season

December 23rd, 2018

CJ

Posted in News

The Cardinals are looking like they are headed for the top pick in April’s NFL Draft, and with it the team sounds like they are going to have a new coach, as Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Steve Wilks is going to be canned at the end of the season next Sunday.

The Cardinals hired Wilks after five-year head coach Bruce Arians announced his retirement at the end of last season. But going into Sunday’s game vs. the Los Angeles Rams, the Cardinals are just 3-11 in Wilks’ first season at the helm.

The 49-year-old Wilks served as defensive backs coach and later as defensive coordinator for the Panthers before being hired by the Cardinals for his first NFL head-coaching job.

“One source said he could not envision a scenario in which the Cardinals would bring back Wilks, who was just hired in January — a sign of how quickly owners get unhappy and impatient,” Schefter wrote on Sunday.

The Cardinals plan to move on from first-year coach Steve Wilks this offseason, per @AdamSchefter pic.twitter.com/aq8dNoqWoe

— Bleacher Report NFL (@BR_NFL) December 23, 2018

No Comments »

Cardinals Ink Two Cornerbacks; Quinten Rollins and Dontae Johnson

November 27th, 2018

CJ

Posted in Roster Moves

The Cardinals are in search of effective cornerbacks to complement Patrick Peterson, and they signed two more options Tuesday.

Dontae Johnson and Quinten Rollins were added to the fold, while cornerback Chris Jones was released, Kyle Odegard of Azcardinals.com reports.

Johnson was a fourth-round pick of the 49ers in 2014. He started all 16 games for San Francisco last year and led the team with 76 tackles. He joined the Seahawks in the offseason and was projected to start at cornerback but injured his groin in the opener and was later released off injured reserve. Johnson signed with the Bills on Oct. 2 and was cut Oct. 30.

Rollins was a 2015 second-round pick of the Packers. Green Bay tried Rollins at safety in the preseason but placed him on injured reserve with a hamstring injury on Sept. 1 and released him nine days later. He has 15 career starts and three interceptions.

No Comments »