Cardinals “Not Trying To Copycat” In Coach Search

In his search for a new head coach, Michael Bidwill has talked to candidates from all three phases of a football team, of varying ages.
Yes, the NFC West hired a pair of young coaches last offseason to pair with young quarterbacks with noticeable success.
But for Bidwill, that isn’t a factor when he finally makes a choice.
“I’m not trying to copycat anybody,” the Cardinals team president said Thursday night during an appearance on the “Big Red Rage” radio show.
“I’m trying to make the best decision for us to hire the next leader (and) head coach that will deliver championships to this team and this town.” Bidwill again stressed patience in the search, reiterating that the team will be conducting a second round of interviews with some of the candidates and that he would like candidates that had not yet come to Arizona to visit the facility and the organization to do so.
“It always feels like when you are hiring a senior leader like this, you have to go through a couple rounds of this, and somebody always separates themselves,” Bidwill said.
The list of candidates the Cardinals have interviewed, all according to multiple reports, include Cardinals defensive coordinator James Bettcher, Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, Patriots linebackers coach Brian Flores, Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak, Falcons special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong and Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks.
All of the interviews took place over a seven-day period, and all but two took place outside Arizona.
Bidwill noted that the warmest city he and General Manager Steve Keim visited was 33 degrees.
He said it didn’t matter what side of the ball a coach originated from, but that working with a quarterback – whether it was the coach himself or whomever that coach would be bringing on staff – was important.