The Arizona Cardinals have lost a former coach. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jim Hanifan died Tuesday of unknown causes at the age of 87.
It was confirmed by Hanifan’s daughter. The one thing she knew about his death was that it was not COVID-related.
Hanifan spent 12 seasons with the Cardinals when they were in St. Louis. Under head coach Don Coryell and one under Bud Wilkinson Hanifan was offensive line coach for the Cardinals and then, after a year with the San Diego Chargers when he reunited with Coryell, he was head coach for the Cardinals from 1980-1985.
He spent six years as an assistant and six years as a head coach.
In his six seasons as head coach, the team went 39-49-1. They had a winning record in three of his six seasons and made the playoffs once. They lost to the Green Bay Packers in the 1982 first-round game.
His 39 wins are the fourth-most in franchise history for a head coach, behind only Bruce Arians, KenWhisenhunt and Coryell.
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