Cheers, Norm walks into the bar, we are happy.
A few weeks before the Cardinals fired coach Dennis Green, running back Edgerrin James was asked for his opinion on frequent speculation that Green would be dumped.
James said he didn’t think about it one way or another as long as the franchise was willing to “do right by the quarterback.” The quarterback, of course, is Matt Leinart. Leinart apparently has an idea how the team can “do right” by him.
It’s no surprise, but Leinart is going to push for the Cards to hire Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow for Arizona’s vacant head coaching job, a source with knowledge of the situation said. Chow was Leinart’s offensive coordinator at USC.
Chow is one of eight candidates the Cards have interviewed or will be interviewing for the job. Chow is scheduled to meet with the Cardinals Monday in Tempe.
Cardinals vice president Michael Bidwill and vice president of football operations Rod Graves were in San Diego Saturday interviewing Chargers offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.
Today, they will be in Indianapolis to talk to Colts assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell.
Leinart is expected not only to lobby the team to hire Chow, but also try to persuade teammates such as James, receiver Anquan Boldin and safety Adrian Wilson that Chow is the right choice.
Graves already said that the team hoped to have key players get a chance to interact with some of the candidates when they came to Arizona.
Privately, some players also said late in the season that they hoped to have some input on who the new coach would be, although they weren’t sure the organization would do such a thing.
If Graves and Bidwill do ask players for their opinions, Leinart’s will certainly be one of them.
It is not a coincidence that other than in-house defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast and Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera — who may be the hottest assistant on the market — the rest of the Cards’ candidates have offensive backgrounds.
Graves called Leinart the “center of our future moving forward” after the season, and Rivera said the biggest thing Graves and Bidwill wanted to know during his interview was how he planned to handle Leinart.
The Cards know they are set at the position if Leinart is used correctly, and the candidates understand that as well.
“Young quarterbacks that have a bright future like he does are hard to find,” said candidate Ken Whisenhunt, currently the Steelers offensive coordinator.
Cameron has been credited not only with the emergence of current Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers but also former Charger Drew Brees’. Caldwell has quietly played a big role in the development of Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.
But no one would put Leinart in a comfort zone as much as Chow, given their history together.
Chow is 60, however, and has never been a head coach on any level. He also has only two years of experience on the NFL level.
“I do really want that job,” Chow told SI.com last week. “Obviously, it would be a great opportunity and a lot of fun working with Matt again, because you already know the young man so well.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.