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.
According to AZCentral Sports’ Kent Somers, Bidwill is “very, very upset” with the Cardinals’ regular-season finish and performance in the playoff loss.
This came after some conflicting reports.
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.
However, that report was refuted by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, saying that the meeting did not happen.
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.
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