Tag: Michael Bidwill

Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort interviewed coaches on own time last offseason

Team owner Michael Bidwill explains how Ossenfort had coaches he wanted to interview because he met many potential candidates a year ago.

The Arizona Cardinals are very excited about the direction of the team with new general manager Monti Ossenfort. Team owner Michael Bidwill said Ossenfort’s detailed plan stood out over other candidates.

Bidwill, appearing on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM this past week, also revealed something that Ossenfort did that no other candidate did.

He went out and had conversations with potential head coaches before he was ever in a position to hire them.

Ossenfort interviewed for general manager jobs last year and was known as an up-and-coming executive the year before. In interviews, he would give names of coaches he would want to interview and target to lead his teams.

“He knew he was going to get a chance to be a general manager, so what did he do last year after throwing a bunch of names out,” Bidwill asked. “What he did is, last year, he took all his free time and he spent time interviewing coach. He did his own interviews.”

Ossenfort realized that some of the coaches he was recommending were guys he had never spoken to. So he contacted candidates he felt would be good and interviewed them unofficially.

Jonathan Gannon, the Cardinals’ new head coach, was at the top of the list.

Bidwill noted that Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn was also on that list. The Cardinals interviewed Glenn for the job before hiring Gannon.

Ossenfort took guys off his list after speaking with some and was more excited about others, explained Bidwill.

Gannon was one of those guys.

Now they work together and Bidwill is thrilled to have a general manager with a detailed plan from an organization that has had sustained success and with enough “foresight and the vision to weed out the chaff,” coming in prepared with coaching candidates from all over the league he had some relationship with.

It is a good start for the new Arizona GM.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Owner Michael Bidwill impressed with GM Monti Ossenfort’s plan for Cardinals

Bidwill believes in his new GM’s vision and plan for the Cardinals moving forward.

The Arizona Cardinals will do things a little differently than they have in the past. Their new general manager, Monti Ossenfort, did not come up through the organization as the last several GMs did.

Team owner Michael Bidwill is excited to see what is coming.

Appearing on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM this week, he explained what he was most impressed with about Ossenfort and why earned the job after Steve Keim left the organization.

He is in love with Ossenfort’s plan. When asked, Bidwill used the word “plan” several times.

“He’s got a plan,” he said. “It’s a modified New England plan about how we are going to acquire talent both through the draft an free agency (and) the types of players we’re going to look for.

“It marries up very well with (new head coach) Jonathan Gannon and his vision for players and how we’re going run an offense, how we’re going to run a defense and special teams as well.”

Ossenfort spent more than a decade in the Patriots’ organization in the scouting department and was part of multiple championship teams there.

“I have a lot of faith in his plan because he spent years in New England,” Bidwill explained. “He was invited back twice. Talking to (Patriots owner) Robert Kraft, they would have him back in a minute. He was a big loss when he left.”

Bidwill is “excited about watching him evaluate.”

Things will happen fast.

Bidwill described how the Cardinals are doing things right now as “kind of changing the tire and driving the car down the road at the same time,” as the organization will be heading to the NFL combine next week, they have to finish putting together a coaching staff and they need to evaluate the players they have on the roster and where they need to upgrade.

“It’s go time.”

Luckily, Ossenfort has a direction and a plan.

Is it a good one? Bidwill thinks so.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill says he couldn’t meet Saints’ Sean Payton trade demands

Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill says he had a productive meeting with Sean Payton, but couldn’t sign off on meeting the Saints’ trade demands:

This is a tough look for Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill. At one point, Sean Payton was the betting favorite to become his team’s new head coach — Bidwill talked up Payton’s vision for the team and how he enjoyed their productive meeting in Arizona. But Payton ended up with the Denver Broncos, and Bidwill says it’s because he couldn’t sign off on meeting the Saints’ trade demands.

“It was all the compensation, the draft compensation,” Bidwill said on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “We just weren’t willing to go with what the Saints wanted us to give up. It would have been too costly to the team for us to rebuild that roster. It was really a series of tradeoffs. I still felt like we got great coaches out there who could get this team turned around.”

Now, the Cardinals had to reach a general understanding of what the Saints were seeking to get back in trading Payton before they ever hosted him for an interview; judging from Bidwill’s quote, they were willing to do that to get him in the building, but when it came time to negotiate with New Orleans they weren’t willing to haggle the Saints down. Which makes since given the Denver Broncos’ involvement as a competing suitor.

The Saints eventually traded Payton to the Broncos in exchange for a first-round pick in 2023, also swapping their 2024 third rounder for a second-round choice. Arizona could have pulled off a similar deal, but their roster is further away from playing competitively, so it didn’t make as much sense to push their chips in like this.

We’ll revisit this in a few years and see how things turned out for all involved. Maybe the Cardinals aren’t as far back as they seem. Maybe Payton proves to be less of an asset than expected (or maybe he’s even more important to Denver’s success). Maybe the Saints can put the picks they did get to good use.

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Sean Payton reminisces on ‘summer job’ as Cardinals ball boy, relationship with Bidwill family

WATCH: Sean Payton reminisces about ‘summer job’ as Cardinals ball boy and his relationship with the Bidwill family

Well isn’t that something. The Arizona Cardinals have not yet requested an interview with former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton as they work through their list of candidates to replace Kliff Kingsbury, but the Saints are expecting to hear from them soon — and Payton has a surprising connection to the Cardinals.

Payton spoke about his “summer job” as a ball boy for the Cardinals during way back when they were still based out of St. Louis, with their summer training camp held at Eastern Illinois in the 1980’s. Payton was a student there at the time, and he looks back on that time fondly.

“I was a ball boy for this team,” Payton said unprompted, during an interview with Colin Cowherd back in November, after the Cardinals lost to the Broncos in Week 12 and fell to 4-8 on the season. He continued, “And so the early years there in ’83, ’84 and ’85, it was (head coach Jim) Hanifan and then it became Gene Stallings. You know, we’d clean the rooms, bring towels to the rooms, we had a summer job. Neil Lomax had just taken over for Jim Hart (at quarterback). Mr. Bidwill Sr. was the owner at the time, and I think I know that family well enough.”

Payton added that then-high school student Joe Buck was also around at the time, and he helped show the future broadcaster some of the ropes: “And finally my junior or senior year, I handed out rosters, and got to hang out and eat with the team, work for the team.”

Now that’s fascinating. Payton won’t be taking the Cardinals job out of any sense of sentimentalism or gratitude for a part-time gig he had 37 years ago, but it’s interesting to see that connection is there. That familiarity with the Bidwill family and the organization has to matter to some extent.

And Cardinals ownership can’t quite keep from smiling when the topic of Payton has been brought up. Michael Bidwill inherited the team from his father Bill Bidwill, and he would have been a young peer of Payton’s when the future NFL head coach was carrying towels and handing out rosters at Eastern Illinois back in the day. When asked about his interest in Payton and whether there had been any dialogue with the Saints, Bidwill grinned and declined to get into details about the candidates he was pursuing for the job:

Arizona owns the third overall pick in April’s draft, but it’s unlikely they’ll make that available in any trade talks with New Orleans. They also selections early in rounds two and three (and they’re expecting to receive a compensatory third rounder), which they could package with their 2024 first round pick in a deal. But things only progress to that phase if they actually reach out and ask for an interview with Payton. We’ll see whether anything develops here.

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Cardinals already have interviewed GM candidates

The Cardinals have interviewed internal candidates Adrian Wilson and Quentin Harris and one unnamed external candidate so far.

The Arizona Cardinals begin the offseason needing to hire a new general manager and head coach. The team announced Monday that coach Kliff Kingsbury was fired and that general manager Steve Keim, on a health-related leave of absence, stepped away from his position to focus on his health.

Owner and team president Michael Bidwill said the search has already begun.

Some interviews for general manager have already taken place.

Bidwill indicated that two internal candidates — Adrian Wilson and Quentin Harris — have already taken place.

“We’re going cast the net far and wide,” Bidwill said when he addressed the media Monday afternoon.

He said he also completed one interview with an external GM candidate, although he would not name who it was.

The Cardinals have not made an external general manager hiring since 1993 when Buddy Ryan was named head coach and general manager. It is the only time since before the team moved from St. Louis to Arizona that an internal candidate was not promoted to be GM.

Bidwill hopes to have a GM in place before a head coach but was not married to the idea. He is open to hiring “the right coach” before a general manager.

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Cardinals making donation to Phoenix Childrens Hospital

Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill announced a donation from the team to the annual charity fundraiser for Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill and the organization will be making a charitable donation ahead of Sunday’s home preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens.

In an interview with Arizona Sports 98.7, Bidwill announced the team will be making a $10,000 donation to Phoenix Children’s Give-A-Thon event, which is partnered with the radio station. This year is their 22nd annual Give-A-Thon after a successful 2021 campaign that raised 1.8 million dollars.

Bidwill spoke on the excellence of care that Phoenix Children’s provides to the state:

“Phoenix Children’s Hospital is such a center of excellence for pediatric health care (with) all the specialties they have. They really make a difference. Putting this into perspective, there are not a lot of communities in the United States that have such a gem like Phoenix Children’s Hospital.”

The Cardinals organization as a whole is very involved with Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Throughout the season, players and cheerleaders come to visit the kids and give them a boost through difficult times. It’s a great way to give back to the community beyond financial aid, where sick children get to meet some of their favorite players.

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Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill impressed by preseason win over Bengals

Michael Bidwill gave praise to coach Kingsbury for the team’s dominant showing in preseason against the Bengals last week.

The Arizona Cardinals came out strong against the Cincinnati Bengals for their preseason debut last weekend. The final score ended up at 36-23, but even a 13-point winning margin doesn’t tell the full tale of the blowout win in favor of Arizona.

Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s defense showed the most important trait possible without starters playing significant time — physicality. The Cardinals’ defensive unit was dominating the line of scrimmage during all phases of the game.

On offense, quarterback Trace McSorley and receiver Greg Dortch stood out, putting on a show against the Bengals. The Cardinals also had an impressive display from fourth-year wideout Andy Isabella.

Team owner Michael Bidwill joined Arizona Sports 98.7 to talk about the win, calling it the best-coached preseason win in his life.

“I told coach (Kingsbury) after the game that was the best coached preseason game I’ve ever seen,” he said. “They were well-prepared and it was the best preseason performance I’ve seen in my lifetime.”

Bidwill admired the level of preparation from the Cardinals without the starters playing, particularly with the lack of penalties and turnovers. Two penalties in a preseason game is impressive, particularly given the lack of veteran starters playing. Look no further than the Bengals, who committed penalty after penalty from the opening kickoff.

Despite the preseason victory, Bidwill is looking forward to the regular season opener against the Chiefs, which was just announced to be the No. 1 game on CBS with Jim Nantz and Tony Romo.

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Cardinals GM Steve Keim praises owner Michael Bidwill for passion, aggressiveness

He just gets it,” Keim said of Bidwill to Pat McAfee. “He is extremely aggressive.

Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim and owner Michael Bidwill have had a good relationship for a while. Keim likes how Bidwill handles his business of being owner.

He spoke very highly of Bidwill when he appeared on the Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday. What stands out to Keim is Bidwill’s passion.

That likely stems from being around the team from the time he was young. The Cardinals have been owned by the Bidwill family for nearly a century.

“He grew up around the game,” Keim said of Bidwill. “He was a guy that was cleaning up jockstraps in training camp when he was a kid.”

Bidwill wants the team to be successful and is involved, something that Keim sees as a positive.

“He just gets it,” Keim added. “He is extremely aggressive. When we talk about going to get players, he’ll fly his plane and go get them. It’s great to have that kind of passion. A guy that comes to the office every day.”

Bidwill flew in Hollywood Brown so that he could be introduced to the fans right after the trade was announced. He flew in J.J. Watt when he signed. Bidwill likes to meet with prominent players when they sign their contracts.

Not every move has been perfect but Bidwill does have good relationships with players. It surely helps to sign players in free agency when the owner is willing to pull out all the stops to land a player.

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Michael Bidwill would like Chandler Jones back, but ‘the devil is in the details’

The Cardinals have a big decision to make about Jones in free agency in March.

The Arizona Cardinals have a number of prominent names currently on their roster set to become free agents in March. One is outside linebacker Chandler Jones.

Jones turned 32 years old Sunday and had 10.5 sacks last season, although five came in Week 1.

He is considered one of the top defensive free agents available.

He still likely will command a large contract. It is uncertain whether the Cardinals will try to re-sign him, as they have let big-name defensive free agents walk in free agents in the past in their 30s, like Calais Campbell in 2017 and Patrick Peterson last offseason.

Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said he would like Jones back but wouldn’t commit to it being a priority.

“I can tell you we love Chandler and would love to have him back,” he said on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM on Friday. “The devil is in the details. I’ll leave that up to (general manager) Steve (Keim) and Chandler’s representative to work on, but we love Chandler, what he has done for us in the past and hopefully in the future as well.”

Jones made $15.5 million in salary last season. Top pass rushers get paid more than that. His projected market value, according to Spotrac, is $14.5 million per year.

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Cardinals, Kyler Murray have only had good conversations this offseason

Team owner Michael Bidwill says everything between the team and Kyler Murray has been nothing but positive.

The early part of the offseason has been dominated by talk about some friction between the Arizona Cardinals and their franchise quarterback, Kyler Murray.

According to reports, Murray feels like he is being blamed more than he should and the team is not happy with his leadership or maturity.

Team owner Michael Bidwill refutes that notion.

“we’ve had good conversations non-stop,” he said on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM on Friday. “I think there was a lot of interpretation around that that was inconsistent ith the conversations that not just I have had, but I know Kliff and Steve have had — positive conversations that are going in the right direction.”

The interpretations to which Bidwill refers are related to when Murray deleted almost all his posts on Instagram, leading many to suppose he is unhappy with the team.

The discussion led to Murray posting a statement decrying the “nonsense” of it all. He vows to improve.

Count Bidwill as a fan of Murray. He is committed to him.

“Put me in the category that I love him and know he’s going to get better,” he said.

While there have been questionable statements coming from sources within the organization this offseason, what Bidwill has said is exactly how the team should be handling their young star.

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