The NFL head coaching carousel has begun this offseason, as the New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Chargers, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars all have vacancies. Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph is a former head coach and has helped the Cardinals’ defense improve over the two years he has been with the team.
While his name has not come up yet in any reports for the current vacancies, he does want another shot to lead an entire team.
However, he isn’t just going to go after the first one that comes up. He likes where he is at with the Cardinals.
“I do want to be a head coach again, but I a not overambitious about it,” he told reporters in Week 16.
“I’ve done it before. I think, for your second time around, you’re really cautious about which job you want to take,” he added. “There are only 32. They are all good jobs, but not all are great fits.”
Joseph ascended relatively quickly. He was a position coach for a decade but, after one year as defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins, he landed his head coaching job with the Denver Broncos. He went 11-21 in two seasons before getting fired and then landing in Arizona as defensive coordinator.
He is very happy right now with the position he has.
“I think, having a great job here, having a great head coach to work with, a great owner and a great GM, I’m in no hurry to move on,” he said. ‘If a job comes up and it’s a good fit for me, I would love to have another job, but I’m not overambitious about it.
“I want to do it again, but it has to be the right job for me.”
Only two years removed from his what many would call a failed shot in Denver and with the Cardinals defense not considered one of the league’s best, he likely will not be on any teams’ radar yet this year, but if the defense makes strides next year, it could give him another opportunity soon enough.
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