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In case you weren’t aware, even with his team representing the last of the unbeaten in the National Football League, Arizona Cardinal General Manager Steve Keim is still paranoid about the job he’s doing.
“That’s why I don’t sleep at night,” Keim said in a recent interview with “The Volume’s” Colin Cowherd.
“I’ve won Executive of the Year and I still wake up in the morning thinking I’m going to get fired, said Keim. “I think it’s probably the roots of where I came from. My dad worked for the same company for 42 years as a machinist…from humbling beginnings.”
Keim, who has served as the team’s GM since the winter of 2013, is currently the winningest executive in Arizona Cardinal franchise history. Yet leading into this pivotal 2021 campaign, along with head coach Kliff Kingsbury, Keim was (is) squarely on the hot seat that can only be cooled with Sunday victories.
In his first five seasons as Cardinal GM, Keim managed to construct one of the league’s most talented rosters, totaling 50 wins from 2013 through 2017. Led by Keim, the Cardinals would put together one franchise alternating acquisition after another that included the likes of Carson Palmer, Tyrann Mathieu and David Johnson. The club’s run of success would plateau with a 2015 NFC West division title as well as an appearance in the NFC Championship Game.
Yet as Keim’s friend and former head coach Bruce Arians would tell you, it’s “penthouse now, shithouse in a minute.”
After so many brilliant moves to begin his tenure as GM, Keim suddenly fell into a pattern of poor decision making (both on and off the field) as the once herald executive saw his Cardinals quickly erode into one of the worst teams in pro football.
Thanks to a slew of horrific personnel decisions that included the likes of Sam Bradford and Robert Nkemdiche, the Arizona Cardinals (3-13) mercilessly plummeted head first toward rock bottom en route to the first overall pick back in 2018.
“The only way you can grow as a person or as a leader is to self evaluate and it’s humbling,” said Keim.
“That’s what I had to do.”
Arizona Cardinal Team President and Owner Michael Bidwill agreed with Keim’s assessment, allowing the struggling GM an opportunity to right his wrongs by “getting his draft picks right and making a change at the top with his coach”.
As a result, in the spring of 2019, Cardinal brass quickly moved on from the likes of Steve Wilks and Josh Rosen in favor of Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray. That infamous offseason kicked off Keim’s roster rehab tour, as the much maligned GM has since rebuilt both the Arizona Cardinals as well as his own public imagine.
Over the course of the last three offseasons, while not without mistakes, Keim has once again put together a 53 man roster that is amongst the best in football. Additions such as the aforementioned Murray in conjunction with the likes of DeAndre Hopkins, Rodney Hudson, Isaiah Simmons, Rondale Moore and J.J. Watt highlight a collection of players that are increasingly becoming the envy of those around the league.
Looking past the household stars, Keim has also done a shrewd job of adding impact talent at a relatively low cost. Look no further than the team’s offseason additions of veterans A.J. Green and James Conner, both of whom signed modest one year contracts this past spring.
Under the radar pickups such as Jalen Thompson in the fifth round (supplemental draft) or opting to bring back Markus Golden for a mere sixth round pick have aided in Keim’s attempt to bolster the middle of the Cardinals roster. With division rivals Seattle and Los Angeles overly dependent on stars, Keim has wisely increased team depth knowing the riggers of a now 17 game NFL season.
Keim has also had enough foresight to move off older players, ala Patrick Peterson (31), who has struggled mightily during his first five games as a member of the Minnesota Vikings.
“If you want to win an NFL popularity contest, don’t become an NFL general manager,” said Keim.
Peterson famously came at Keim on his podcast with cousin Bryant McFadden, stating he had “lost all respect” for the Cardinal GM following a series of contract discussions that inevitably went no where.
The concern surrounding the Arizona Cardinal cornerback room has been well documented thanks to Keim’s relaxed approach to tackling the position during the offseason. Rather than force a series of headline grabbing moves, Keim opted to rely on what he had internally while adding a couple high end prospects on day three of the draft.
He has since been rewarded with a secondary, led by budding stars Byron Murphy and Marco Wilson, that currently allows the sixth worst passer rating in all of football.
“The funny thing is…a lot of people that worried about our team…particularly locally here…they worried about our corner play. And I’m thinking to myself…we got into weeks 3-4-5 and now I’m looking at the teams that we’re playing…their corners are the same as all of them around the league,” said Keim.
“Everyone is struggling at corner.”
Well not everyone.
The Cardinals, even after recent injuries to both Murphy and Wilson, have managed to hold steady in the secondary thanks to a personnel philosophy driven by Keim and centered around player flexibility. The coverage ability of safeties Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson cannot be overstated. As a result, the Cardinals can deploy hybrid standout Isaiah Simmons at multiple positions (including safety), thus utilizing the former Clemson standout to max efficiency.
“The day in age of the two down MIKE linebacker doesn’t exist anymore because people are too smart and they’ll find you.”
“Same thing with the secondary. To have safeties that can cover…that can invert and play in the slot…that can play over receivers.”
Keim may not always be ahead of the curve on league or industry trends, but there’s no denying that his suddenly robust Arizona Cardinal roster is filled with capable players who are able to mix and match as needed.
Looking ahead to Sunday’s road matchup against the Cleveland Browns, Arizona will be without standouts Chandler Jones and Rodney Hudson as the team aims to move to an unprecedented 6-0 on the year. Expect Keim’s roster flexibility to once again be on full display, with versatile interior olinemen Max Garcia set to fill in for Hudson while numerous Cardinal defenders will likely be used to offset the absence of Jones.
Unlike so many personnel decision makers, Keim isn’t afraid to make the big trade or swing for the fences in free agency. Following the recent injury to tight end Maxx Williams, the Cardinals suddenly have a large hole to fill offensively which means their general manager will need to remain aggressive in his pursuit of the ideal roster.
“It’s just the way I’m wired…it’s the way I was wired as a player. That part is maybe the mental game that I play with myself. It gives me the edge because I always think that I have to prove somebody wrong.”
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