2007 Cardinals: The Hiring Process Is A Joke

Mitch

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First of all, I agree with Skkorp, I haven't laughed so hard and so long as I did reading yesterday's posts. You all were hilarious!

However, the way the Cardinals are going about this process of hiring a new head coach is absurd...and is beyond laughable, IMO.

Think about it. The Cardinals have known since mid-season that they were going to let Dennis Green go. Even Green himself knew it.

Therefore, the Cardinals have had nearly three months to come up with a plan for hiring the new coach...and obviously all they cared to do was put together a "Who's Who" list of candidates.

With three months to work with, why didn't the Bidwills and Rod Graves do their homework and narrow down to three (at the most) candidates to interview?...with a pre-conceived idea of who their first choice would be.

It's not that difficult to do...especially seeing as all the candidates on the Cardinals' long list were virtually guaranteed to be available, seeing as they are all coordinators or assistant head coaches.

Were they even watching Norm Chow's games down the stretch to see what he was doing with Vince Young and his offense? Ken Whisenhunt's?
Cam Cameron's?

Then...to absolutlely muddle and confound matters, comes the preposterous decision of retaining seven assistant coaches...which immediately handicaps a new coach's negotiations with the team.

This is a joke. And if an excellent candidate like Norm Chow is being looked over because he wants a clean slate and his own staff...imagine how stupid that is.

Just look at what Atlanta did...they obviously had Bobby Petrino in mind and they expedited the process to get him...which shows that they have a good idea of the type of coach they want and it shows that they are smart enough to realize that if they don't hop on Petrino right away, they may run the risk of losing him to another NFL team.

It would have been a refreshing change for the Cardinals to go into the process knowing exactly who they want to be the next head coach.

There wouldn't be all this media and frustrated fan speculation...

And, even more important, the Bidwills wouldn't be revealed once again as victims of their own indecision or unpreparedness.

Having candidates (who have already interviewed in Arizona) in for second interviews is absurd. What did the management team miss the first time around?

PFW is right...if a team calls a candidate back for a second interview, it should be to talk turkey and make the hire...not to have the candidate meet with the retained DC, whom, I'd be willing to bet, none of the candidates want as his own DC.

All of this just smacks of paralyzing indecision...an on-going rift in organizational procedure and philosophy...and a general sense that team management really doesn't know what they are doing.

None of what has transpired in this process inspires confidence in us the fans, does it?

Imagine what the players must think? And now we hear that some of them have been asked to take small roles in the process.

All this process could have taken is a simple conversation with Matt Leinart: BB--Matt, what would you think of Norm Chow as your new head coach? ML--You know, Mr. Bidwill, the guy is a winner...and he's the kind of coach who can lead us to the Super Bowl. BB-Rod, get Norm Chow on the phone will you? RG--Yes, sir.

The reality is that the Cardinals do the same lousy thing in free agency...interview, interview, interview...ad nauseum...and decisions don't happen until the player and agents have long since left the scene.

If you want a player...all you need to do is (1) call the player's agent to see if he is interested and to ask what the player's salary range is; (2) watch the player on tape to make sure of his skills; (3) call your insiders to see what kind of a person the player is and ask how well he would fit in. It's that simple...if all three efforts produce positive results, have the player and his agent report to Arizona for an interview and a negotiation session.

This is why the Bidwills need a real football man in charge...so that decisions can be made with aplomb and alacrity.

The funny thing is...the Bidwills' teams play like the way they manage...everytime the team gets close to doing something big, the team can't get the play out of the huddle fast enough and needs to waste a timeout...which later on prevents the team from getting the ball back at the end of the game...alas. another loss and an added chapter to Cardinal futility.
 
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TruColor

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The funny thing is...their teams play like the way they manage...everytime the team gets close to doing something big, the team can't get the play out of the huddle fast enough and needs to waste a timeout...which later on prevents the team from getting the ball back at the end of the game...

Somewhere in all of this, Big is going to commit a false start, and the Cards will be forced to hire Clancy or someone...

:D
 

nidan

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I see exactly the opposite Mitch. They look prepared and are going through an exhaustive process rather than picking a guy who looks good on the surface.

An example might be Rivera, if the reports are true about his bombing on the offensive side of the discussion. Regardless it looks to me like they are doing their homework. This contrasts with how they picked DG.
 

Mulli

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I see exactly the opposite Mitch. They look prepared and are going through an exhaustive process rather than picking a guy who looks good on the surface.

An example might be Rivera, if the reports are true about his bombing on the offensive side of the discussion. Regardless it looks to me like they are doing their homework. This contrasts with how they picked DG.
Thank you.
 

PortlandCardFan

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So the coaches coming in for interviews must be blowing smoke about this being one of the most organized, and well thought out interviews (paraphrasing)?
 

Redheart

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After Paris, I don't know if Matt's judgement is gold in all things.

Mitch, I thought your "hire chow" post was good. This one...not so much.

I think the method and process the Cardinals is very, very, good. They appear to be ahead in the selection process of most teams in need of a HC.

Also, I like the second interviews, discussion of candidates with a wide souces of opinions, including players.

You don't have to have a consensus to make a decision; but most everyone will support the decision if they feel they were involved and considered in the process.

The Cardinals are completing their homework and will make a decision when they feel they are ready...alacrity in decisions is really not the important thing here.

Wins will be.
 

ajcardfan

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I totally agree with Mitch. I said the exact same thing about them having too many candidates when this thing kicked off. Many of us griped about the assistants too. Of course, I didn't explain myself nearly as well as Mitch.

The one thing I would add is that I think "paralysis by analysis" is highly probable and a quick, sound decision is unlikely. We might be the last team to make a hire.
 

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I see exactly the opposite Mitch. They look prepared and are going through an exhaustive process rather than picking a guy who looks good on the surface.

An example might be Rivera, if the reports are true about his bombing on the offensive side of the discussion. Regardless it looks to me like they are doing their homework. This contrasts with how they picked DG.
I have to agree with your take on this. The Bidwill's are damned if they do & damned if they don't. Had they rushed into a decision like they did with McGinnis & Green, then everyone would be critics. They are trying to avoid making the same mistake by interviewing extensively. I see nothing wrong with it, especially if they are waiting for someone's team to be dropping out of the playoffs. I recently read a local article regarding the Steelers & how long their search took when they hired both Noll & Cowher. Hell, Cowher was interviewed 3-4 times before the Rooney's chose him. When you consider that they've had 2 coaches in like 130 yrs, I'll take that approach every time.
 

40yearfan

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Some of us have the patience of an ant on an apple.

Relax gentlemen. Let's try to make the right choice this time.
 

Herdman

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Hiring Laws

Mitch, as solid as your approach sounds, take it from someone who is involved in the hiring process on a regular basis that if the Bidwells followed your approach, they would end up being sued in court. Whether we like it or not, the NFL is not exempt from the same hiring standards as major corporations. Frankly, the fact that they are doing due diligence (whether just on the surface or for real) is a positive sign that it isn't just "good old boy" networking going on to evaluate the candidates.
 

lobo

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Thank you.


couldn't agree with you more...in fact i applaud the team in the openess....it is all us making suppositions etc about who is who and what what. some teams do not disclose anything....the dolphins have met with over a dozen candidates...yeah they got blind sided so what...some teams have brought guys back twice...what is so wrong with that?? did you ever go on more than one interview for a job?? i know i have. how do you know that the list of 8 was not something they had in their back pocket for awhile?? did they say they made the list up over christmas??

there are enough things this gang can be criticized for...this process is not one of them the way i see it.
 

Mulli

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I totally agree with Mitch. I said the exact same thing about them having too many candidates when this thing kicked off. Many of us griped about the assistants too. Of course, I didn't explain myself nearly as well as Mitch.

The one thing I would add is that I think "paralysis by analysis" is highly probable and a quick, sound decision is unlikely. We might be the last team to make a hire.
We might be the last time. We might not be.
 

football karma

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This sounds as much as frustration from lack of news as much as over the process

This hire is sooooo important. They need to get it right.
 

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I totally agree with Mitch. I said the exact same thing about them having too many candidates when this thing kicked off. Many of us griped about the assistants too. Of course, I didn't explain myself nearly as well as Mitch.

The one thing I would add is that I think "paralysis by analysis" is highly probable and a quick, sound decision is unlikely. We might be the last team to make a hire.

The Dolphins have interviewed 12 candidates for their HC opening. "Paralysis by analysis" may occur but it seems that they have done their homework rather then just going by reputation
 
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Mitch

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I see exactly the opposite Mitch. They look prepared and are going through an exhaustive process rather than picking a guy who looks good on the surface.

An example might be Rivera, if the reports are true about his bombing on the offensive side of the discussion. Regardless it looks to me like they are doing their homework. This contrasts with how they picked DG.

Nidan...I understand your point of view...but, Rivera could have been on the three man list to begin with...

And what you haven't addressed is the issue of the retained assistant coaches and how that hampers the process.

You take a candidate like Norm Chow...what you see is what you get...the guy has helped produce a string of trophies wherever he has been...he has the Midas touch with QBs and offenses...what's to refute about that? How his track record AND, better yet, his relationship with Matt Leinart wouldn't make him a leading candidate and a great choice for the prospects of this program, is beyond any reason I can think of...sure, he's 60 and has never been a head coach, but 60 is young these days...and all but one of the Cardinals' candidates have never been an NFL head coach either. With all Chow's experience, there's no question in my mind whether he would know what it takes to be a great head coach.
 

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Nidan...I understand your point of view...but, Rivera could have been on the three man list to begin with...

And what you haven't addressed is the issue of the retained assistant coaches and how that hampers the process.

You take a candidate like Norm Chow...what you see is what you get...the guy has helped produce a string of trophies wherever he has been...he has the Midas touch with QBs and offenses...what's to refute about that? How his track record AND, better yet, his relationship with Matt Leinart wouldn't make him a leading candidate and a great choice for the prospects of this program, is beyond any reason I can think of...sure, he's 60 and has never been a head coach, but 60 is young these days...and all but one of the Cardinals' candidates have never been an NFL head coach either. With all Chow's experience, there's no question in my mind whether he would know what it takes to be a great head coach.
So basically, you are mad that Chow hasn't been hired.
 

Evil Ash

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Nidan...I understand your point of view...but, Rivera could have been on the three man list to begin with...

And what you haven't addressed is the issue of the retained assistant coaches and how that hampers the process.

You take a candidate like Norm Chow...what you see is what you get...the guy has helped produce a string of trophies wherever he has been...he has the Midas touch with QBs and offenses...what's to refute about that? How his track record AND, better yet, his relationship with Matt Leinart wouldn't make him a leading candidate and a great choice for the prospects of this program, is beyond any reason I can think of...sure, he's 60 and has never been a head coach, but 60 is young these days...and all but one of the Cardinals' candidates have never been an NFL head coach either. With all Chow's experience, there's no question in my mind whether he would know what it takes to be a great head coach.

So you're whole long point is that because Chow wasn't immediately hired that this process is a joke? I know that you have a favorite but eliminating good HC candidates such as Whisenhunt (who helped lead the Steelers to the Superbowl) is just dumb.
 

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Not with you on this one Mitch. If it wasn't for us and the press being impatient this wouldn't be an issue. We need to get the right guy this time, way to much at stake.
 

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In the time you wrote that post, Chow was overlooked by 27 other NFL teams also. WoW, get over it bud.

You have NO IDEA who the Cards are going to pick. They may even pick Chow. You sir are as bad as PFT. How about we speculate in normal way. It's one thing to discuss the process but its another thing to go all PFT on the Cards. Chill and keep your posts under 3 paragraphs.


WoW I bet Mitch knows there are 32 teams and not 28! Woot
 
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D-Dogg

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I disagree. I am very pleased with the process thus far, and the open atmosphere as well (providing coach candidates to the media, etc).

They are going about this in a sound, businesslike, due diligence manner and even if they do have a favorite in mind they are under no pressure to pull the trigger at the moment.

If true that Sherman asked for $4 million and the Cards said thanks but no thanks, it means they aren't in any area of desperation.'

I have qualms about the assistants being retained ONLY if they are being forcefed on the candidates. If not, I am ok with it but if they are forcefed it is a very bad thing. I hope they aren't a requirement, and no candidate has yet expressed an issue with it. Whisenhunt turned down the Raiders because they wanted him to take assistants he didn't want, correct?
 
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Mitch

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So basically, you are mad that Chow hasn't been hired.

Yes, Renz. Really, is there a better coach for the job?

IMO, the Cardinals blew it when they stuck Jake Plummer (then their highly paid QBOP&F) with a defensive HC and first year OCs.

The key to this organization's Super Bowl chances over the next five years is Matt Leinart. If he plays at the highest level it will create a mystique around this team and franchise. Whose hands do you want him in?

How about the guy who led Matt to a Heisman Trophy and an NCAA Championship?
 

nidan

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And what you haven't addressed is the issue of the retained assistant coaches and how that hampers the process.

I think this is good thing.

It doesn't mean the new HC will retain them all but it leaves him with the option to retain the ACs he want's to.

Given that the Cardinals have already fired the coaches they think were obviously sub-par, I think we can dismiss the idea that a new HC will be 'required' to keep the existing coaches to save cash. Had this been the case the Cardinals would have retained all of them.

So Right now I'm taking the their statement that they have retained the rights to allow the new HC as much flexability as possible at face value. It fits the facts and there is no reason to assume otherwise.
 

SMAC

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I have no problem with the system the Cardinals are using to secure a coach. Maybe just maybe they can get it right and find someone who will be a winning coach and that can stay here several years. I'm glad they "checked Rivera's water" and found it lacking offensively. The hire needs to be an offensive coach who can make better playmakers out of our playmakers.
 

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