My Plan For The Off-season

[Catfish]

FRONT OFFICE: Promote Steve Kiem to GM, with responsibility for football operations and for both coaching and player personnel, (especially immediately overseeing, and guiding the direction of the Head Coach).

I would also charge Kiem with getting the HC to realize the value of promoting tradition and positive reward for good work done, as opposed to simply using one players talents until they are no longer of use to him, then discarding them on the trash pile, or putting them on total ignore, ala Leinart, Moxie, Dewreck, Skeletor, Quan, Kobb, (or perhaps Dockett and Wilson). The handling of Dockett's refusal to lay down in the heat of battle was atrocious in my opinion, and should have been handled much less harshly. Wilson already sees the end of his career nearing, (as testament to Rashod Johnson's recent play), and there is no reason to put him on ignore or berate his contributions in any way. There are dignified ways to handle such matters, and Whiz would do well to not continue to burn bridges between those players and the organization as they depart.

I would remove Rod Graves from any control of football operations, thus limiting his responsibilities strictly to contract preperation and negotiations.

COACHING STAFF: Retain Ken Whisenhunt as head coach, (the game against the Lions shows that (despite the 9 game losing streak), these players LIKE playing for Whiz, and this team has not in the least quit on him). My instructions to Kiem, would be to see that Whiz has limited contact with the players, (especially the QB's), and that he keep Whiz focused on what needs to be fixed, (as opposed to letting him get involved hands-on with the players, or letting him sink into one of his funks where he trusts that staying the course and trusting that his scheme will fix the problems). Whiz' control would be somewhat limited to day to day football operations, (thus allowing his coordinators to develop and tailor the offense and defense to the talents of the players they have available to them). I would have the OC, DC, Special Teams, and the Strength and Conditioning coach all report directly to the HC. All position coaches would report to the 4 Coordinators.

Hire Todd Haley as Offensive Coordinator, and charge him with the responsibility for the offense. Haley should be the play caller, and should be the one to develop the offensive scheme. His fiery temperment should be exactly what this offense needs to light the fire under it, and build some character and passion into it. He has already proven to be a successful coordinator under Whisenhunt, and along with Warner, proved to be an excellent play caller, (prior to Whisenhunt's taking over the play calling because it was fun). Haley would also be given the choice for the selection of a QB coach, and a RB coach, (pending the approval of Whisenhunt).

Retain Russ Grimm, (yes-----I said that). The fact that the offensive line had any success at all is enough testament to me that Grimm can still teach, and that he did a very good job of it this year. If one realizes that the two offensive tackles were ultimately the strong spots on this line this year, then it must be conceded that Grimm did a remarkable job with the two rookies. That said, Grimm would have no responsibilities other than coaching the O-line, including quite limited say over who his player personnel will be. He would not have any responsibility for the (run-game) save for blocking assignments and techniques, and certainly not any for the development of the running backs.

I will address the signing of new and replacement players in a future thread.

 

[Shane]

How do you hire Haley as OC when under contract with Pitt. for same job?

 

[Reddog]

FRONT OFFICE:
1. The handling of Dockett's refusal to lay down in the heat of battle was atrocious in my opinion, and should have been handled much less harshly.

2. Retain Ken Whisenhunt as head coach, (the game against the Lions shows that (despite the 9 game losing streak), these players LIKE playing for Whiz, and this team has not in the least quit on him). My instructions to Kiem, would be to see that Whiz has limited contact with the players, (especially the QB's)

3. Whiz' control would be somewhat limited to day to day football operations, (thus allowing his coordinators to develop and tailor the offense and defense to the talents of the players they have available to them). I would have the OC, DC, Special Teams, and the Strength and Conditioning coach all report directly to the HC. All position coaches would report to the 4 Coordinators.

Point 1. Agree 100%
Point 2. In light of Point 1 how can this be?
Point 3. No way anyone takes a management job where you don't have full authority of the employees under you. Whiz certainly has too much pride and too many other prospects to ever agree to that.

 

[TruCard]

Anybody over Graves is an improvement. Anyone who takes Levi Brown over Adrian Peterson should crawl in a hole.

I would try to bring in Bill Polian as the GM. He knows football.

I'll give Whisenhunt the benefit of the doubt. He hasn't had a solid QB since Warner left BUT, this is the NFL. Your job is NEVER safe. Especially if you are with the Cardinals. You can't wait around for things to work. You have to make things work with what you have and CLEARLY Whisenhunt doesn't always do that.

Hire Ray Horton as the Head Coach.

Todd Haley would be a great OC, our offense was at it's best when he was here BUT Kurt Warner was always arguing with Haley and Whis because he had to take control of this offense. Haley isn't going anywhere. I would go after Charlie Weiss who is coaching at Kansas.

Overall, I hire Horton because if we stay with Whis and we tank again, Whisenhunt is fired and then we are crying because Horton left to coach the Cowboys. Then we are left without Horton and Whis. If that happens then we are stuck with a no-name coach and more years of misery.

 

[gmabel830]

FRONT OFFICE: Promote Steve Kiem to GM, with responsibility for football operations and for both coaching and player personnel, (especially immediately overseeing, and guiding the direction of the Head Coach).

I would also charge Kiem with getting the HC to realize the value of promoting tradition and positive reward for good work done, as opposed to simply using one players talents until they are no longer of use to him, then discarding them on the trash pile, or putting them on total ignore, ala Leinart, Moxie, Dewreck, Skeletor, Quan, Kobb, (or perhaps Dockett and Wilson). The handling of Dockett's refusal to lay down in the heat of battle was atrocious in my opinion, and should have been handled much less harshly. Wilson already sees the end of his career nearing, (as testament to Rashod Johnson's recent play), and there is no reason to put him on ignore or berate his contributions in any way. There are dignified ways to handle such matters, and Whiz would do well to not continue to burn bridges between those players and the organization as they depart.

I would remove Rod Graves from any control of football operations, thus limiting his responsibilities strictly to contract preperation and negotiations.

COACHING STAFF: Retain Ken Whisenhunt as head coach, (the game against the Lions shows that (despite the 9 game losing streak), these players LIKE playing for Whiz, and this team has not in the least quit on him). My instructions to Kiem, would be to see that Whiz has limited contact with the players, (especially the QB's), and that he keep Whiz focused on what needs to be fixed, (as opposed to letting him get involved hands-on with the players, or letting him sink into one of his funks where he trusts that staying the course and trusting that his scheme will fix the problems). Whiz' control would be somewhat limited to day to day football operations, (thus allowing his coordinators to develop and tailor the offense and defense to the talents of the players they have available to them). I would have the OC, DC, Special Teams, and the Strength and Conditioning coach all report directly to the HC. All position coaches would report to the 4 Coordinators.

Hire Todd Haley as Offensive Coordinator, and charge him with the responsibility for the offense. Haley should be the play caller, and should be the one to develop the offensive scheme. His fiery temperment should be exactly what this offense needs to light the fire under it, and build some character and passion into it. He has already proven to be a successful coordinator under Whisenhunt, and along with Warner, proved to be an excellent play caller, (prior to Whisenhunt's taking over the play calling because it was fun). Haley would also be given the choice for the selection of a QB coach, and a RB coach, (pending the approval of Whisenhunt).

Retain Russ Grimm, (yes-----I said that). The fact that the offensive line had any success at all is enough testament to me that Grimm can still teach, and that he did a very good job of it this year. If one realizes that the two offensive tackles were ultimately the strong spots on this line this year, then it must be conceded that Grimm did a remarkable job with the two rookies. That said, Grimm would have no responsibilities other than coaching the O-line, including quite limited say over who his player personnel will be. He would not have any responsibility for the (run-game) save for blocking assignments and techniques, and certainly not any for the development of the running backs.

I will address the signing of new and replacement players in a future thread.

So if Whiz isn't allowed to talk to players and isn't allowed to have involvement in what schemes his coordinators are going to run, how exactly is he going to focus on fixing the team's problems?

 

[Russ Smith]

So if Whiz isn't allowed to talk to players and isn't allowed to have involvement in what schemes his coordinators are going to run, how exactly is he going to focus on fixing the team's problems?

He's going to hold up big pieces of styrofoam with pictures of people from ESPN etc just like the coaches at Oregon do.

 

[seesred]

Wiz has full control over the roster in his contract. The only way to take control away from wiz as far as the draft board and FA is to rewrite his contract or let him go. IMO we move on and hire Horton as the guy and let him look for a Norv turner type to fix the offense. I have great respect for Wiz but, if it was not for Warners rebirth we would have been without a QB for thre extra years!

We must let all Offensive coaches go. They got to take the heat for this years team. That goes for our O-line coach as well. I have great respect for him, but we need a change there after years of beating that horse.

GBR
40

 

[Buckybird]

Damn Catfish, a full 180 in just a few weeks...wow. What gives? Your willing to keep Wiz & see Horton walk after the season? Wiz (the HC) allowed to have little or no contact with players, especially the QBs? Keep dreaming & not a reality IMO of any HC.

IMO it seems the closer it gets to having Wiz's head roll, more peeps are rethinking the move. Hmmm

 

[Shane]

Damn Catfish, a full 180 in just a few weeks...wow. What gives? Your willing to keep Wiz & see Horton walk after the season? Wiz (the HC) allowed to have little or no contact with players, especially the QBs? Keep dreaming & not a reality IMO of any HC.

IMO it seems the closer it gets to having Wiz's head roll, more peeps are rethinking the move. Hmmm

DO you know something we don't?

 

[BIGTONY]

Anybody over Graves is an improvement. Anyone who takes Levi Brown over Adrian Peterson should crawl in a hole..We did the same thing this year..we took a Wr over what we needed the most..Im not a football expert.But look at the good teams..OFFENSE LINE IS SO IMPORTANT..You really think peterson could run with our Line...No..I like Whiz a lot..but its like a business..if your losing money every year at your restaurant..and your the owner ..you need to look at why..if people are complaining that the food sucks..well what do you do...YOUR FIRED MR CHEF..You bring in a new chef and change..Whiz hasn't done that...Thats were I say he has messed up...Grimm could be Whiz best friend..but when its all said and done back at the ranch..SOMEONE NEEDS TO BE ACCOUNTABLE..Heres my plan..Horton Head Coach..Norv Turner off coordinator..Or I also Like Don Capers for Head Coach in GreenBay...for our Qb situation Flynn from Seattle or Cousins From Washington ...or we see what it would take to get Bradford from St.Louis..and Off line we grab Jake Long or any Mackenzie from Baltimore ...Thats my plan

 

[Duckjake]

Retain Russ Grimm, (yes-----I said that). The fact that the offensive line had any success at all

What success has the offensive line had in the last 3 years? And this year has been horrendous even by Cardinal standards. Sure they're giving up fewer sacks lately but that's because the WRs are running 2 yard routes. They're averaging 7 yards per completion the last few games! 8.8 overall. The 2010 team averaged over 10.

31st in passing yards and 32nd in rushing yards in 2010 and 30th and 32nd this season. 28 yards rushing in the win over Miami with a healthy Ryan Williams.

One win over a terrible Lions team and all of a sudden we have the nucleus for a solid offensive line and the oline coach responsible for a line that has allowed 156 sacks over the last 46 games is worth retaining.

Look at the Defense. Get an OC that knows what he's doing and some real talent for Larry Wilson's sake.

I love Cardinal football.

 

[New Mexico]

FRONT OFFICE: Promote Steve Kiem to GM, with responsibility for football operations and for both coaching and player personnel, (especially immediately overseeing, and guiding the direction of the Head Coach).

I would also charge Kiem with getting the HC to realize the value of promoting tradition and positive reward for good work done, as opposed to simply using one players talents until they are no longer of use to him, then discarding them on the trash pile, or putting them on total ignore, ala Leinart, Moxie, Dewreck, Skeletor, Quan, Kobb, (or perhaps Dockett and Wilson). The handling of Dockett's refusal to lay down in the heat of battle was atrocious in my opinion, and should have been handled much less harshly. Wilson already sees the end of his career nearing, (as testament to Rashod Johnson's recent play), and there is no reason to put him on ignore or berate his contributions in any way. There are dignified ways to handle such matters, and Whiz would do well to not continue to burn bridges between those players and the organization as they depart.

I would remove Rod Graves from any control of football operations, thus limiting his responsibilities strictly to contract preperation and negotiations.

COACHING STAFF: Retain Ken Whisenhunt as head coach, (the game against the Lions shows that (despite the 9 game losing streak), these players LIKE playing for Whiz, and this team has not in the least quit on him). My instructions to Kiem, would be to see that Whiz has limited contact with the players, (especially the QB's), and that he keep Whiz focused on what needs to be fixed, (as opposed to letting him get involved hands-on with the players, or letting him sink into one of his funks where he trusts that staying the course and trusting that his scheme will fix the problems). Whiz' control would be somewhat limited to day to day football operations, (thus allowing his coordinators to develop and tailor the offense and defense to the talents of the players they have available to them). I would have the OC, DC, Special Teams, and the Strength and Conditioning coach all report directly to the HC. All position coaches would report to the 4 Coordinators.

Hire Todd Haley as Offensive Coordinator, and charge him with the responsibility for the offense. Haley should be the play caller, and should be the one to develop the offensive scheme. His fiery temperment should be exactly what this offense needs to light the fire under it, and build some character and passion into it. He has already proven to be a successful coordinator under Whisenhunt, and along with Warner, proved to be an excellent play caller, (prior to Whisenhunt's taking over the play calling because it was fun). Haley would also be given the choice for the selection of a QB coach, and a RB coach, (pending the approval of Whisenhunt).

Retain Russ Grimm, (yes-----I said that). The fact that the offensive line had any success at all is enough testament to me that Grimm can still teach, and that he did a very good job of it this year. If one realizes that the two offensive tackles were ultimately the strong spots on this line this year, then it must be conceded that Grimm did a remarkable job with the two rookies. That said, Grimm would have no responsibilities other than coaching the O-line, including quite limited say over who his player personnel will be. He would not have any responsibility for the (run-game) save for blocking assignments and techniques, and certainly not any for the development of the running backs.

I will address the signing of new and replacement players in a future thread.

I stopped reading when I read "retain Ken Whisenhunt as head coach." My God man. Really?!? Why? Because we beat the Lions?

 

[Catfish]

Damn Catfish, a full 180 in just a few weeks...wow. What gives? Your willing to keep Wiz & see Horton walk after the season? Wiz (the HC) allowed to have little or no contact with players, especially the QBs? Keep dreaming & not a reality IMO of any HC.

IMO it seems the closer it gets to having Wiz's head roll, more peeps are rethinking the move. Hmmm

Hey Bucky-----not so much of a 180 as you might think. While I have lashed out at Whiz for creating the QB situation we have here, (and I still stand by that), it is clear to me that these guys like playing for him. Please note that my offer to keep him would be predicated on his being willing to iron out a revised contract wherein he accepted a much less powerful role than his last contract gave him. I seriously doubt that he will take that offer, as I don't believe his ego will allow him to do that.

Ultimately, I believe that the Cards will decide to go with Horton as HC. What I truly fear about that is, that by the time they get around to making the offer to Whiz, and then finding out that he will not take it on their terms, Horton will have already have accepted another HC position. I would be making that offer to Whiz right now, and give him one week to reply, so that I could avoid losing both Whiz and Horton. I doubt that the front office and the ownership can act quickly enough to make this happen, which is EXACTLY why I believe we need to promote Kiem to GM and remove Graves from football operations save for a contract type mode.

If you carefully read each of my writings concerning Whiz as our HC, you will find that I have NEVER called for his firing, though I have more than had a belly full of him from time to time. I do understand that he holds a special place in our franchise history, and marvel that he can still manage to keep from losing his players willingness to give their all despite the prolonged losing streaks over the past three years. That alone tells me that he has something special going for him, (though I confess that I doubt that I could be able to do as his players have done in that regard).

Remember, I said that this was my plan. I would have my answer from him by Saturday, and would offer the job to Horton on Monday should Whiz decline to take a reduced power role.

 

[Superfuzz]

Limit Whiz's contact with QB's and other players?!

How the heck is he supposed to coach them, then?

Even those who want Whiz to stay can't justify his touch of death. Jeez, if you don't want a coach being around your players, you usually fire him...

 

[cardpa]

What success has the offensive line had in the last 3 years? And this year has been horrendous even by Cardinal standards. Sure they're giving up fewer sacks lately but that's because the WRs are running 2 yard routes. They're averaging 7 yards per completion the last few games! 8.8 overall. The 2010 team averaged over 10.

31st in passing yards and 32nd in rushing yards in 2010 and 30th and 32nd this season. 28 yards rushing in the win over Miami with a healthy Ryan Williams.

One win over a terrible Lions team and all of a sudden we have the nucleus for a solid offensive line and the oline coach responsible for a line that has allowed 156 sacks over the last 46 games is worth retaining.

Look at the Defense. Get an OC that knows what he's doing and some real talent for Larry Wilson's sake.

I love Cardinal football.

I agree Duck, I just don't get it. We get one feel good win over a bad team where the defense had 2 scores alone while creating two more and suddenly our offense is okay? They still couldn't put up 100yds passing and 200 total offense. I'd like to understand how the offense has suddenly turned the corner? They are in max protect most of the time so there will be fewer sacks and pressures. That doesn't make for a high powered offense by any means.