The Cardinals have an extensive grocery list. You need a new culture. You need inner discipline. You need public accountability. You need an identity. You need a plan.
They need a new offensive. You need a badass mentor to fix our quarterback. They need a new offensive line and a new mouthpiece ambassador to replace JJ Watt.
The appointment of Monti Ossenfort as the new Managing Director is a sign of progress and a step in the right direction. It proves that owner Michael Bidwill isn’t afraid to open up his organization to outsiders and hand over a great deal of control to a fresh pair of eyes.
Ossenfort has paid his dues. He has a Patriot pedigree, Super Bowl rings, and the perspective that comes from working for more than one NFL organization. But really, this is more about us.
Ossenfort’s appointment on Tuesday marked the first time in 30 years the Cardinals had hired a general manager from outside the building, an odd trend that needed to end. It was important for Bidwill to make an outside hire to prove he was still serious about football and that box was checked. And in the end, Ossenfort will struggle to underperform his successor, at least when it comes to the NFL draft, the lifeblood of every franchise.
Ossenfort also showed up in Arizona with a favorite head coach. We just don’t know his name yet. But Ossenfort should have announced his preference while setting out his vision for the Cardinals. Bidwill certainly requested that during the interview.
Ossenfort’s hiring led to speculation surrounding former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, who was between 19 and 14 during his last two seasons in Miami, the rare protégé of Bill Belichick who actually resembled a hitting coach. Flores also worked with Ossenfort in New England, representing the usual pendulum swing that comes with firing a neglectful player-coach.
Flores is a no-nonsense guy who demands punctuality and wouldn’t tolerate Murray and Hollywood Brown being late for meetings. He would provide the hard hand that Bidwill is clearly looking for. He would be an upgrade and a stark contrast to Kliff Kingsbury. He would tick a lot of boxes in Arizona, a place where overreaction is badly needed.
But Flores doesn’t solve the Murray problem. Not like Sean Payton, an influential coach who already knows how to maximize Murray’s untapped talents. But if the Cardinals were really interested in hiring Payton, wouldn’t they have interviewed him before hiring a general manager? Wouldn’t they have dangled full control of the squad?
Unfortunately, the hiring of Ossenfort seems to mark the end of Payton’s pipe dream. But Payton didn’t corner the market for talent, intelligence, charisma, and vision. And if the new GM is smart enough to negotiate real control over the team he’s building now, then he’s smart enough to know what the Cardinals need most in 2023.
A real leader at the top.
