By Craig Morgan - FS Arizona, special to FS Midwest
The Arizona Cardinals won’t endure as much personnel change as they did last
summer when an astounding 51 players were signed. But that doesn’t mean
the men who manage personnel won’t change.
Coach Ken Whisenhunt
was non-committal at his final Monday press conference when asked if
there would be any staff changes. That left the door open for some
tweaks to his coaching staff, but it was also an admission that some of
his coaches might have other opportunities.
That is already the
case. ESPN reported that the Cards have given the St. Louis Rams
permission to talk to defensive coordinator Ray Horton about their
vacant head coaching job. The Rams are also expected to talk to
Cardinals director of player personnel, Steve Keim.
Horton
just completed his first season as Arizona’s defensive coordinator.
After his unit understood and mastered what it was he was trying to do
with a brand new scheme, it was among the league’s best in several
categories over the second half of the season including yards allowed,
passing yards, opponents’ completion percentage, TDs allowed and
red-zone scoring percentage.
Clearly, the Cards don’t want to
hire another DC so soon. They’ve already had three in the past four
seasons (Clancy Pendergast, Bill Davis). But this is the way things work
in the NFL. Success breeds opportunity. Horton is bright, charismatic
and he’s got that marketable Steelers pedigree.
Keim is a valued
voice on personnel decisions. Cardinals president Michael Bidwill said
moving him to Phoenix was one of the most important offseason moves the
Cards made. Keim had been commuting from North Carolina, where he was a
two-time all-Atlantic Coast Conference selection as a guard at N.C.
State.
“Having him in the office during that very fast
free-agency period really helped us in terms of getting instant
personnel evaluation,” Bidwill said. “He was around a lot before, but
having him in the office makes a big difference. We’re not letting him
leave any more.”
Keim has spent 11 seasons with the Cards after
joining the club in May 1999 as a regional scout. Formerly the
Cardinals' scout in the East, Keim was promoted to the title of
Director, College Scouting in June 2006 and was promoted again to his
current title in May 2008.
