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New Arizona Cardinals head coach, Kliff Kingsbury, and general manager, Steve Keim (right), discuss with the media at the Arizona Cardinals Training Center on January 9, 2019 in Tempe, in Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall / Getty Images)
One is the most lonely number. Unless you're No. 2. Worse yet, an NFL rookie head coach stuck with the number zero.
It's Kliff Kingsbury.
He is the inexperienced, over-promoted, over-criticized head coach who risks leaving his first month of September without a win. This will leave a mark. This will boil the cauldron. A resounding loss to the Seahawks on Sunday means Kingsbury will be 0-3-1 and will be a target of derision, unlike anything he has ever felt before.
Know this:
One day, in the near future, power will change dramatically. Kingsbury's failures will be fast and spectacular, celebrated by defensive coordinators and traditionalists who like to make fun of college football. In the worst case, he will be the first head coach sacked in 2020 by a new general manager in Arizona.
Or a successful mandate will allow Kingsbury to quickly rise to power in the Cardinals' organization, dismissing assistants he does not like, placing him on an equal footing with General Manager Steve Keim, the Executive Director. who made everything possible.
The mixture is combustible. The stew needs to cook. Everything seems possible for the moment. Meanwhile, a defeat on Sunday will give Murray as many defeats in his first month in the NFL as during his career in high school and at university. And the longer the zero lasts, the harder it is to move it.
The old school guys would like to see Kingsbury go 0-15-1. It is neither presentable nor profitable, but it is possible. Imagine how strong the situation will be if Brian Flores of Miami wins a football match with Josh Rosen before Kingsbury gets his first ball in Arizona. At their current pace, the Cardinals will not be favored to win many games.
In times like this, it's important to focus on what's wrong. I solemnly swear that it is neither Kingsbury nor Murray.
Both are recruits, young in the dog years. Both must be much better. Both need a little seasoning. Together, they represent an incredible bet at the highest level of professional football, where the Cardinals bet on a rookie head coach, a rookie quarterback and a foul that has never been proven in the NFL.
Alas, it was one of the few good things Keim did.
But the GM has failed on most other platforms. He allowed his defense to change his philosophy over the years, without anyone being arrested. He still can not put in place a healthy and functioning offensive line, continue to sign and recruit bad players, relying on injury-prone players to stay healthy. He still has not repaired the large reception room and this recent smell of Michael Crabtree is extremely disconcerting.
Crabtree would have been uncomfortable in the locker room. But Crabtree played with Suggs last year in Baltimore. He is a veteran of the air raid offense and plays under the command of Mike Leach in the state of Washington. He joined a group of positions led by Larry Fitzgerald, one of the most affable and most affordable teammates in the NFL. How could he possibly fail? Especially with the recurrent lack of talent in the room?
Even worse, Crabtree was about to apologize, taking a good amount of money for a very small production in Arizona. Clearly, he thinks the problem is us, and that's the most troubling.
This is also the current trend.
Under the recent supervision of Keim, the best cornerback of football has become extremely unfortunate. a large percentage of the budget was wasted on incapable players; the offensive lines are soft and delirious; the old players grilled the Cardinals on social media, claiming a darker side of the internal culture; and the general manager has become increasingly paranoid, from the veil of secrecy surrounding Josh Rosen's treatment as the NFL draft approaches to treating Kingsbury's most secret offense during the pre-season.
These are signs of wear of an organization in an infernal spiral, with a general manager desperately trying to get his career back on track. It rarely ends well.
Unless you have been lucky in the right quarter. Like Kurt Warner. Or maybe Kyler Murray. The kind that can save a team and a franchise of itself.
Contact Bickley at [email protected]. Listen to Bickley & Marotta on weekdays from 10am to 2pm. on the sports station 98.7 FM Arizona.
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