Opinion: Cardinals Shouldn't Let Shane Steichen Out of Arizona

The Arizona Cardinals must find a way to interview Philadelphia Eagles OC Shane Steichen after Super Bowl LVII.

Author:
Ryan Sanudo
Publish date:
Feb 10, 2023 4:20 PM EST

In this story:

The Arizona Cardinals have been searching for a new head coach for over a month. They've narrowed down their candidacy to two names — Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka.

Yet they still haven't interviewed arguably the best candidate available.

Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen finished third in voting for the Associated Press Assistant Coach of the Year award and is intriguing for a head-coach-deprived team like the Cardinals that needs a change in the right direction.

Steichen is one of the many reasons why the Eagles will face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium on February 12.

This is Steichen's second season as Philadelphia's offensive coordinator and his first season as their offensive play-caller. With Steichen as coordinator, the Eagles finished third in total offense with 389.1 yards per game and third in scoring with 28.1 points per game. He transformed Jalen Hurts, who totaled 35 touchdowns in 15 games and finished second in AP's NFL MVP award.

Steichen has interviewed with clubs with openings for head coach, yet the Cardinals haven't requested the 37-year-old. Arizona won't have permission to interview him until after the Super Bowl.

With reports surfacing that the Cardinals will make a decision on their head coach after the Super Bowl, it doesn't leave the team with much time to decide on Steichen.

But crazier things have happened.

It's surprising the Cardinals haven't kicked the tires on Steichen, who's had success with young quarterbacks. Other than Hurts, Steichen was Justin Herbert's offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020.

Arizona could also inquire with Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. He oversees a defense that was the league's top-ranked pass defense after ranking No. 18 in average points allowed per game last year.

But offense is the name of the game in the year 2023. Nine of the 14 head coaches that saw their teams make the playoffs have an offensive background. While the Cardinals saw how things turned out with offensive-minded Kliff Kingsbury, he didn't have experience in the NFL prior to taking the Cardinals' head coaching job in 2019.

Steichen has experience in the NFL and could have a chance to get the most out of Kyler Murray, especially since there's uncertainty with him as recovers from a torn ACL.

It's a bit troubling, however, that Steichen interviewed with the Indianapolis Colts — the only other team without a head coach — for the second time on February 4. He's one of several candidates to get a second interview and Colts owner Jim Irsay announced on February 7 that the decision was coming "in days, not hours."

The Cardinals clearly envision one of Kafka or Anarumo as their future head coach.

But it wouldn't hurt for general manager Monti Ossenfort and owner Michael Bidwill to take a look at Steichen, a person that is widely respected in the league.

Let's face it, they've taken this long to find the right partner. Might as well swing for the fences and see what's under the hood with Steichen.