Matt Leinart on how the coaching change ruined him.

BritCard

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Did it ruin him? He never played after age 29. Couldn't last past 5 days of camp with the Bills.

He couldn't find a role anywhere in the league.
 
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SoonerLou

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Did it ruin him? He never played after age 29. Couldn't last past 5 days of camp with the Bills.

He couldn't find a role anywhere in the league.
A 2nd year QB can be ruined with a coaching change. Look at Mac Jones (OC). Leinart probably was never going to be great or very good. There is a world where his career turns out much better though. From his perspective after coming off surgery he got Whiz who made it clear he wasn't his guy.

However, it was good for the Cardinals that he was ruined because it allowed Kurt to have a career resurgence.Maybe lucky to have Kurt Warner on the roster cause otherwise just a bad way to develop a young QB.
 
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Crimson Warrior

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A 2nd year QB can be ruined with a coaching change. Look at Mac Jones (OC). Leinart probably was never going to be great or very good. There is a world where his career turns out much better though. From his perspective after coming off the elbow surgery he got Whiz who made it clear he wasn't his guy.

However, it was good for the Cardinals that he was ruined because it allowed Kurt to have a career resurgence.Maybe lucky to have Kurt Warner on the roster cause otherwise just a bad way to develop a young QB.

Maybe SoonerLou.

But then you look at a guy like Josh McCown who persevered in the NFL for 15 seasons or whatever, many of them with dreadful coaching, and pretty much on sheer heart.

Something doesn't quite feel right about how Leinart's career nosedived. And by that I mean I have to question how committed he was to being a successful professional.
 
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SoonerLou

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Maybe SoonerLou.

But then you look at a guy like Josh McCown who persevered in NFL for 15 seasons or whatever, many of them with dreadful coaching, and pretty much on sheer heart.

Something doesn't quite feel right about how Leinart's career nosedived. And by that I mean I have to question how committed he was to being a successful professional.
Possible. Those are two different trajectories. Leinart did admit that he made mistakes but felt he had no shot with Whiz.

Also McCown did a lot of hanging around and had a lot of bad football until he was 34. Leinart probably lost his love for the game and didn't want to hang around for that.


He only had 7 starts after his rookie season.
 

speedy

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If anyone remembers, Whiz initially turned down the job offer from the Cardinals. There was reports that someone in the league spoke to him about it, and he indicated he did not think the roster was built for success, and that he would rather hold out for another opportunity. It was then reported that this “someone” told him to take another look at the roster, and they could win with it. Reading between the lines, Whiz basically told Cardinal management “If I take this job, he’s not gonna be the quarterback I go with.”

I had also heard through a reputable source inside the organization at that time that during one of the very first team meetings, Matt spoke up about something, and Whiz immediately smacked him down and publicly embarrassed him.

I can understand Matt‘s point of view.
 

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A 2nd year QB can be ruined with a coaching change. Look at Mac Jones (OC). Leinart probably was never going to be great or very good. There is a world where his career turns out much better though. From his perspective after coming off surgery he got Whiz who made it clear he wasn't his guy.

However, it was good for the Cardinals that he was ruined because it allowed Kurt to have a career resurgence.Maybe lucky to have Kurt Warner on the roster cause otherwise just a bad way to develop a young QB.

I can see how it throws a spanner in the career arc, but I would expect a QB that has it to overcome that obstacle, move elsewhere, and prove they can do it.

The fact he didn't shows he never had the mental toughness it takes to be a QB.

Leinart was a bum everywhere he went. There's no timeline where without Warner and Whiz he turned out good.
 

daves

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Reading between the lines, Whiz basically told Cardinal management “If I take this job, he’s not gonna be the quarterback I go with.”
Interesting, but then why did Leinart start 11 games before he got hurt?
 

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Collarbone/Arm injuries and lack of drive derailed his career. He ended up with a noodle arm to go with his noodle brain. He was given every opportunity to be the man but just couldn't be it. Got a gig at College Game Day or one of those shows so he's doing OK.
 

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His party-boy attitude and clubbing might not have done him any favors with Whis as well.
The stark contrast between him and Warner probably shined pretty bright. They were polar opposites.

He was never all-in. Not the NFL and not the Cardinals. I just can't respect a guy who amid a historic playoff run, was throwing shade at his team. Spite? Jealousy? Spoilt rich boy? A lot of his problem was between the ears.
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football karma

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I thought his broken collarbone was more responsible for the end of him than Whis

after than injury -- Leinart was staring at the rush all the time and throwing the checkdown
 

Garthshort

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I can see how it throws a spanner in the career arc, but I would expect a QB that has it to overcome that obstacle, move elsewhere, and prove they can do it.

The fact he didn't shows he never had the mental toughness it takes to be a QB.

Leinart was a bum everywhere he went. There's no timeline where without Warner and Whiz he turned out good.
Does anyone know how much $$$ ML earned as a player in the NFL?
 

ajcardfan

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I thought his broken collarbone was more responsible for the end of him than Whis

after than injury -- Leinart was staring at the rush all the time and throwing the checkdown
He was setting records up until that first time he hurt it. Totally agree with you he was a different guy when he returned.
 

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Leinart actually looked pretty damn good for a good chunk of his rookie season. There’s a little bit more to this story however and Leinart isn’t wrong that Whiz hated him from the start.

He of course omitted the part to where he totally blew off Whiz trying to track him down after being hired to grab dinner/meet to get on the same page. At the SB in Miami right after the hiring there was a particular incident of Leinart ghosting a dinner reservation or something like that. I think the first time they even met each other was OTA’s.

Leinart of course also doesn’t bring up missing curfew during our Super Bowl week. Dude was simply partying too much here and had major maturity/entitlement issues but there might be something to his career had he been drafted to a different place. The party/drinking culture around the organization hopefully is going away.
 

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Jesus. What a cry baby…

Leinart did the exact same as so Many other athletes Or people in any other competitive enviroment have done.

Leinart was top talent that excelled at the High-School and University level on his talent alone. He never realized that the NFL was a different level of competition and he actually had to put in a High effort alongside his talent in order to compete.

I’ve seen this a lot in my personal life. Attended a European “Ivy-league” University - (my faculty had student exchange swap programs with Stanford, Princeton and Cornell for reference.) Drop-out rate was 58% (Either kicked out or voluntary quitting), because some students never understood that talent wasn’t enough at this level. You actually had to put in a lot of hours studying despite being very smart. Same thing with Athletes
 
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