They had ample reason to tear it all down.
In the NFL, general managers frequently try to patch up their squad in the hopes of somehow contending for a postseason slot, telling themselves that the team isn’t that far away from competing again.
The Arizona Cardinals chose to start over with Monti Ossenfort and Jonathan Gannon during the offseason because they were tired of the Steve Keim/Kliff Kingsbury era.
After a 4-13 season in which almost nothing went right, Arizona was only one season away from making the playoffs. Although it soon became apparent that the 2022 Cardinals weren’t quite what everybody had anticipated, the club was still expected to go farther.
Ossenfort might have continued to take risks with well-known veterans who were past their prime, and in an industry that measures success mostly on output, few would have held him responsible.
However, Arizona made the decision to start a complete rebuild of the team, trading away their greatest players in free agency and then letting go of other notable players over the course of the summer.
The final score was the same (4–13), but going forward, there is a great feeling of hope and optimism that was not even close to being present this time last winter.
“This past year has been amazing working with Monti. At his news conference to wrap off the season, Gannon stated, “That’s why I was almost late coming down.”
I was just having a conversation with him upstairs, but yes, we have a pretty clear idea of what we want to accomplish, and it will also be adaptive and flexible. Since we’re always in communication, I believe that things like high-level meetings, sit-down drag-outs, closing doors, and staying up late are kind of flexible and actually rather simple. I hope to see more of those in the future.
The fact that quarterback Kyler Murray is fully recovered from ACL surgery and has shown himself worthy of a roster berth despite months of reports to the contrary is one reason for this optimism.
“I’m looking forward to it. “I know the guys are excited about it and have faith in Head Coach Jonathan Gannon (‘JG’) and General Manager Monti (Ossenfort) in what they’re doing and what they’re creating here,” Murray remarked following Week 18. It’s a total 180, and I’m content. I’m content (with our current situation) and eager to start the next season.
Gannon boosted that hope by saying:
“He knows that you’re the starting quarterback for the team, even though I missed what he said. He is this team’s clear leader. He understands that he is the closest thing to me that exists, so I want him to behave a specific way. I won’t reveal to you every chat we have. He exceeded my expectations regarding what that entails. Gannon stated of Murray, “I think he’s only continued to get better.”
Together, we must improve, and he will. Anyone returning in 2024 knows what to anticipate and how we do things around here. Monti, myself, and the coaching staff feel very at ease in their duties, whatever they may be, if they return here. I usually stress that the team and you are the price of admission, and if they come back in 24 hours, they get that.
Now, Arizona enters the 2024 offseason with a wealth of elite draft selections and ample salary cap flexibility to pursue any course of action they see fit.
“I believe that throughout (the offseason) acquisition is the first topic you’re discussing, correct? I believe that Monti has done an outstanding job of bringing in players that we believe are worthy of being Cardinals during the acquisition periods (from) this past year in 2023,” Gannon remarked.
We hit on a lot of those guys, not that you don’t make mistakes. We also conveyed this message to the rookies today, as they will soon be joined by another group and will need to lead by example. You have to realign a person when he goes out of alignment, but I can’t say enough good things about the rookie classSome of the people we brought in, they hit the price of admission for those guys as a team and then you, not just at draft time but in September or December. I believe you have a shot if you keep adding those elements and the players and coaches keep getting better.
Although it’s still far too early for parades and victory laps, the Cardinals will surely be a thrilling team to follow in the coming months.
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