Team owner Michael Bidwill admits that new uniforms are “on our radar.”
Seemingly most Arizona Cardinals fans a are dying to see the team get new uniforms. Over the last three years with a new quarterback and new head coach, the chatter has only gotten louder.
The team owner, Michael Bidwill hears the clamoring and acknowledges it.
But that doesn’t mean it is going to happen any time soon.
Bidwill has had “lots of internal discussions that I think have been productive and will improve the team.”
The Arizona Cardinals ended the season embarrassingly. After a 7-0 and 10-2 start to the season, they finished the regular season 11-6 and lost in the first round of the playoffs 34-11 to the Los Angeles Rams.
In all, they lost five of their final six games.
That has led to the team’s owner, Michael Bidwill, reportedly being “very, very upset” with how things ended.
While nothing has changed with the status of head coach Kliff Kingsbury and general manager Steve Keim, Bidwill has had “lots of internal discussions that I think have been productive and will improve the team,” according to AZCentral Sports’ Kent Somers, who spoke to Bidwill on Monday.
Bidwill recognizes the success the Cardinals did have. After all, it was their first playoff berth in six seasons. But he said it was “very disappointing” for everyone and he believes the team can and should be better.
“Anytime you see your direct competitors in the playoffs, it should bother any football fan, and it certainly bothers this one,” Bidwill said, per Somers.
It apparently doesn’t bother Bidwill enough to change the overall leadership of the team, but we will see soon what changes there will be in the offseason.
Michael Bidwill is unhappy with the last two seasons’ finishes. There are conflicting reports of a recent “tense meeting.”
It was an interesting afternoon Thursday for Arizona Cardinals fans. Bumped from the playoffs in an embarrassing 34-11 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. It capped a 1-5 end to the season after starting 7-0 and 10-2.
It would appear that both general manager Steve Keim and head coach Kliff Kingsbury will retain their jobs despite two straight seasons with second-half collapses. Of course, the team’s win total and achievements have improved each season and the Cardinals were making their first trip to the postseason in six seasons.
However, team owner Michael Bidwill is not pleased.
Former longtime Cardinals team reporter Kyle Odegard reported that there was a tense meeting between Bidwill, Keim and Kingsbury on Wednesday in which the owner intimated that changes could be coming. “(Expletive) hit the fan,” he quoted his source as telling.
Somers’ source was unaware of the meeting but did not say it didn’t happen but did confirm Bidwill’s displeasure.
Both Keim and Kingsbury are entering the final year of their contract and likely are expecting a contract extension. Bidwill might not be willing to cross that bridge with how the team finished, despite the overall improvements.
This could be why there has been no announcement of any firing. The team’s history with coaching and GM firings suggest any decision to relieve them of their duties would have come immediately after the season and announced the next day.
If Bidwill is as upset as is being reported, this offseason becomes critical and both Keim and Kingsbury will enter next season firmly on the proverbial hot seat.
It could end up being a very interesting offseason for the Cardinals.
Murray came to training camp with a large painting for the team owner, featuring his father and Cardinals legends.
Entering the 2021 season, I think we can put to rest any concerns about the leadership and dedication of Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray. It has been one of the more notable storylines of the offseason and training camp.
He looks more at ease in his role as leader of the offense and he clearly respects owner Michael Bidwill.
Murray reported to training camp before other veterans, as quarterbacks and rookies start a few days before veterans report. He showed up on his first day at the team facility in Tempe carrying a large gift. It was clearly a portrait or painting to hang on the wall.
It was meant for Bidwill.
It was a painting of the late Bill Bidwill, Michael’s father, surrounded by many Cardinals greats — Larry Fitzgerald, Kurt Warner, Aeneas Williams, Adrian Wilson, Larry Wilson, Jim Hart and more.
Take a look at the painting, taken as a screenshot of the episode.
From Cardinals Flight Plan, Arizona Cardinals
Bidwill shows some emotion and recalls the love his father had for the players. Bill Bidwill died two years ago and the Cardinals wore a bowtie patch on their uniforms the rest of that season.
Michael says how much he misses his father every day.
It is an incredible gift from a player to the team owner.
Murrays really seems to get it this year and that has to have Cardinals fans excited.
Owner Michael Bidwill wouldn’t say if their jobs are on the line, but there are high expectations in 2021.
The Arizona Cardinals ended the 2020 season in disappointing fashion. After a 6-3 start, they were on track to make the playoffs. At one point, they were in first place in the NFC West. However, they stumbled down the stretch, finishing 8-8 and missing the playoffs by one game.
Team owner Michael Bidwill was disappointed. He expected to make the playoffs.
After the late-season collapse, are head coach Kliff Kingsbury and general manager Steve Keim on the hot seat?
“We’ve had some great conversations internally,” he said. “Both those men are as disappointed as I was at the end of the season. They are digging deep and they know what they’ve gotta do and we all know what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to improve.”
Bidwill was pleased with the progress between 2019 and 2020. He is “excited” about what is coming in 2021, between the progress of players on the roster and the potential signing of talented players who will surely become available because of the decreasing salary cap.
Bidwill thinks 2020 first-round pick Isaiah Simmons “is going to come on” next season.
He loves the competitive fire that quarterback Kyler Murray has.
Whether Keim’s and Kingsbury’s jobs are on the line for next season, expectations are high for 2021, which is where they should be.
Team owner Michael Bidwill has made it clear the team wants him back. He wants to be back. They just have to make the numbers work.
One of the Arizona Cardinals’ many free agents is cornerback Patrick Peterson, who has been with the team since they drafted him fifth overall in 2011. He has said he wants to return and, according to owner Michael Bidwill, the team wants him back.
Unfortunately, it isn’t as simple as that.
“Pat and I have had a number of conversations,” Bidwill said on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM on Thursday. “I’ve been very clear we wat to have him back. We all know that the salary cap is going to go down, so I think a lot of these veteran players need to work with us. They need to understand that while their salary expectations and compensation expectations may be one thing, we’ve got to look at it in the reality that the salary cap is going down.”
Peterson is coming off a contract that made him the highest-paid cornerback in history at the time. He made more than $12 million in 2020.
He probably won’t be able to return at that price.
It is unknown what his salary expectations are, but the Cardinals might not be able to accommodate them, especially since they don’t have much cap space.
Bidwill remains optimistic.
“It’s our hope that we can work something out that works for both the club and for Pat and keep him in a Cardinals uniform,” he said. “He’s been an important part of what we’ve done in the past and hope to keep him in the future.”
“You just want to let him take his time, be patient and I hope we’re able to see him in our uniform coming back this year.”
Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill knows it comes with the time of year — will receiver Larry Fitzgerald come back for another season or will he retire? “I know it’s one everyone’s mind,” he said in his appearance on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.
However, he wasn’t able to break any news.
“I don’t have any news to report there,” he said when asked about whether he knew anything about Fitzgerald’s decision.
He is giving Fitzgerald his space and time to decide, although the two have had conversations. “I did get a chance to speak with him on the way back from the Super Bowl,” he said. “We rode back to Phoenix together and had a long discussion. Didn’t ask him a single question about this.”
His message to fans is simple — “let’s just be patient.”
However, there is one thing clear. Just as head coach Kliff Kingsbury said after the season, everyone wants Fitzgerald back for another season.
“You just want to let him take his time, be patient and I hope we’re able to see him in our uniform coming back this year.”
Kelly Jones joins the front office in March and will report directly to team owner Michael Bidwill.
The Arizona Cardinals have a new executive position who will work under owner Michale Bidwill. The team announced on Monday the addition of Kelly Jones as the team’s Chief People Officer beginning March 1.
Jones’ role will be to oversee human resources functions throughout the organization and lead all programs and initiatives involving workplace diversity, equity and inclusion. Externally, Jones will also act as a liaison for the team within the community on a variety of civic initiatives.
At a time in which the NFL has been criticized for its hiring practices, especially at key football positions like general manager and head coach, the Cardinals are trying to do something about it.
The franchise has not shied away from diversity in the past. The Cardinals were the first franchise to have both a Black head coach and general manager at the same time with Dennis Green and Rod Graves.
“Kelly is a key addition to our senior leadership team with extensive experience in this critical area and an outstanding record of achievement,” said Bidwill in the team’s press release announcing the hiring. “He possesses unique perspective on the people aspects of our business and how they contribute to the organization’s overall strategy, mission and vision. The specific principles of diversity, equity and inclusion certainly align with our mission and core values.”
This is Jones’ background, as described in the press release:
Jones brings more than 20 years of progressive experience as an HR professional, operations leader and diversity practitioner. He comes to the Cardinals from Aramark Corporation where he had worked since 2014, most recently as Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Diversity. He previously worked in similar roles with Lockheed Martin (1998-2007, 2009-14) and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (2007-09).
A native of Moorestown, NJ, Jones earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Temple University and a Master’s Degree in Human Resources Leadership from Rutgers University.
While the league ponders how to change its hiring practices, the Cardinals lead the way in actually trying to do something differently.
They are not looking for a new coach or GM, but this should at least help address this issue in the future and in current organizational practices.
He did not has breathing issues but did have his temperature spike.
The Arizona Cardinals have thus far been extremely fortunate that they have not had any players have to land on the COVID-19 reserve, either testing positive for the virus or having had close contact with someone who has. However, before training camp began, team owner Michael Bidwill contracted the virus when he was traveling on the East Coast and had to be hospitalized.
He detailed some of the experience on the television broadcast of the team’s Red and White practice. “It’s terrible,” he said.
Bidwill said he was even super careful and still managed to get sick.
“I was wearing masks,” he said. “I had hand sanitizer that I brought every place. I stayed away from everyone.”
He believes he must have contracted it from a surface he did not clean well enough.
He did not experience some of the awful things other have with COVID-19, but it was still serious.
“I thought I would be part of the 85% of the population that would have no or mild symptoms,” he said. “I wasn’t. I ended up in the hospital in an ICU for five days. It was an awful experience. I never had major problems breathing but I did have severe headaches and a temperature that kept spiking to 103 degrees. It was very scary.”
He was very grateful to the night nurses who took care of him, as that was when his temperature spiked most often.
Bidwill knows that it will be critical to keeping the players healthy because even one positive test can lead to a group of players having to be isolated and potentially missing games.
“This week, I learned first-hand just how serious COVID-19 is,” Bidwill said in a statement released by the team. “My immense appreciation for all those on the front lines of this pandemic has only increased and I am particularly grateful to the tremendous nurses and doctors at Newport (R.I.) Hospital.
“I am also overwhelmed by the outpouring of kindness from the Red Sea as well as so many friends and colleagues in Arizona and throughout the country. I’m very fortunate to have this experience behind me and strongly encourage everyone to continue practicing the important measures to avoid it themselves.”
Bidwill is the first NFL owner publicly known to have contracted the novel coronavirus. James Dolan, the owner of the New York Knicks and Rangers, also battled COVID-19 and recovered months ago.
