PHNX Daily: Cardinals Whiff on Robert Saleh

👋 GOOD MORNING – Happy Wednesday, everyone. Or, maybe not, if you were hoping to see Robert Saleh become the next head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.

Leverage is a powerful drug, and it seems like coaching candidates keep taking sizable hits off the Cardinals. Is losing out on Saleh truly a death sentence for this team? Yes… or no… or probably somewhere in between.

Let’s break it all down!

— Alex D’Agostino, PHNX Sports Daily Editor

Robert Saleh Hired Away from Cardinals

The Cardinals are no stranger to being used for leverage, though there was collective hope this time would be different.

On Monday night, Arizona fans all held their breath as Robert Saleh interviewed with the Tennessee Titans, hoping to hear that Saleh had, in fact, left the building and boarded a plane to the Valley.

A graphic popped up on the Titans’ social media feed at 7:34 p.m. Arizona time:

“We’ve completed in-person interviews with the following candidates,” the caption read, with a photo of Saleh (and Matt Nagy).

Exhale, for a moment. That was a good sign, right? That meant Saleh hadn’t been hired, and would be taking his flight to Phoenix after all…

…or not.

Approximately 2.5 hours later, the heartbreaking news broke: Saleh would be the next head coach of the Titans, leaving his scheduled Tuesday interview with the Cardinals (and many Cardinal fans) unfulfilled.

Brutal, but not entirely unexpected — given the fact that Saleh’s second interview with Arizona was announced immediately preceding his previously moved-up interview in Tennessee.

So, where do the Cardinals go from here? What does this mean for Arizona?

It’s worth noting that not every Cardinals fan was sold on Saleh. After all, he has a losing record as a head coach, and many would prefer an offensive mind at the helm. Those are valid positions.

I’d push back on Saleh’s track record a bit, given he had back-to-back seven-win seasons with the disastrous New York Jets, but the truth is this doesn’t guarantee a lesser hire — one like Vance Joseph, a name Arizona’s supporters have collectively revolted against.

But it does expose a pretty glaring issue: the Cardinals are not a desirable job. That doesn’t mean they can’t land a good candidate, or they can’t make the job worth taking to any prospective hires. But when Tennessee — which has historically poor ownership and ran Mike Vrabel out of town with nothing to show for it — is a more appealing destination than Arizona, there’s a clear problem.

I get it; no one wants to join (or stay in) the ridiculous NFC West. No one wants to join a QB-less team without a QB-landing draft pick. Few would want to be responsible for fixing the oldest and losingest (is that a word?) franchise in NFL history.

But someone has to, right?

The options are thinning out, but they’re still there. In fact, Arizona added an interview with Bills OC Joe Brady yesterday. If you’re counting along, that’s now 14 total candidates.

The Cardinals could still be in on Mike LaFleur or Chris Shula from the Rams after the Seahawks wipe the floor with LA in the NFC Championship. Sean McDermott doesn’t appear interested in a rebuilding team, but that doesn’t mean that door is completely shut on him, either.

But it has to be someone of that nature. It can’t be an uninspiring re-tread head coach, or a coordinator so unknown you have to Google him when you read the tweet. There is still time to get this right, but that time is ticking — and fast.

By the way, if you’d like to get daily updates on every twist and turn in the Cardinals’ coaching search, check out PHNX Cardinals’ coaching tracker, updated daily by yours truly:

Arizona Cardinals 2026 Coaching Search Tracker

Quick Hits

Green-er Grass:The Suns outlasted the 76ers for a tough, well-rounded 116-110 win last night, but all eyes were on Jalen Green, who made his return with 12 points in limited minutes. More on him later. Devin Booker led the scoring with 27 points, but he was one of six players with 10-plus points last night.

Bear Down Cats: No. 1 Arizona hoops will take on the Cincinnati Bearcats tonight at 7:00 p.m. in McKale Center. Arizona is 18-0 and cruising, though their last two victories have come by just seven points each. Cincinnati is a mere 10-8 on the season, but they’re not exactly a bottom-feeding program.

The Arizona women fell 80-69 to Kansas at home, as their record slides to 10-7. It’s been a rough patch for Becky Burke’s team lately.

Mountain Time: The Suns Devil men are looking to snap a four-game losing streak, after running into a brutal matchup with No. 7 Houston earlier this week. Tonight, they’ll take on West Virginia at 7:00 p.m. in Tempe — an easier matchup, though the Mountaineers are still a solid 12-6 on the year.

The Sun Devil women are also playing the Mountaineers (at 5:00 p.m.), though West Virginia is ranked No. 22 in the women’s poll at 15-4 on the year.