Photo Courtesy of Caitlyn Epes/Arizona Cardinals
After four years of being the Arizona Cardinals head coach, Kliff Kingsbury was fired in the morning of Jan. 9, 2023.
For many Cardinals fans, this was a blessing. Kingsbury had led the Cardinals 28-37-1 record in his four years as head coach and his only playoff appearance was a 34-11 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
Along with Kingsbury leaving, Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph took the open Broncos Defensive Coordinator position under new Head Coach Sean Peyton. This meant the Cardinals needed to hire a head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator
The Cardinals searched for over a month for a new head coach, eventually hiring Philadelphia Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Gannon to a 5-year contract. Gannon has been coaching since 2007, starting out with the Atlanta Falcons as their defensive quality control coach.
Gannon’s Philadelphia Eagles defense was ranked as the 2nd best in the N.F.L. last year and top 10 including the 2021-22 season. After Gannon was hired, the Cardinals soon also hired their new Defensive Coordinator Nick Rallis and new Offensive Coordinator Drew Petzing.
Rallis previously coached on the Philadelphia Eagles from 2021-2023 as the linebacker coach under Jonathan Gannon and has 5 years of N.F.L. coaching experience. Of Philadelphia’s league leading 77 sacks, linebackers accounted for 19.5 of them, along with the great coverage they provided.
Petzing previously coached on the Cleveland Browns as the Quarterback coach last year and their tight ends coach the two years before that. Petzing is mostly known for his coaching stint in Minnesota as their wide receiver’s coach, where he worked with Stefon Diggs and helped develop star wide receiver Adam Theilen. In total, Petzing has 10 years of N.F.L. coaching experience.
With a revamped coaching lineup and a new general manager, the Cardinals look to improve after last season’s 4-13 record.