PHNX Daily: Cardinals Courting John Harbaugh

👋 GOOD MORNING – The news continues to be somewhat slow in the world of the Arizona Cardinals, but there was a somewhat significant “preliminary and extensive” update to their coaching search yesterday, as they reportedly managed to land a phone call with John Harbaugh.

Meanwhile, Trey McBride was honored for his historic season, but not without a slight tinge of insult added.

Let’s break it all down!

— Alex D’Agostino, PHNX Sports Daily Editor

Cardinals Get Phone Call With John Harbaugh

Hang the banner.

The Cardinals have reportedly had a phone call with former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh. Harbaugh is, understandably, one of the hottest coaching candidates out there, and feels like an extreme long shot to come to Arizona, but at least we now know a serious attempt has been made, right?

The Cardinals have a long list of candidates, and Harbaugh still may not even schedule an interview, but he’s a name that Arizona simply cannot let go without heavy pursuit.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals have reportedly completed their interview with Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak, and by now have most likely completed their interviews with Matt Nagy, Anthony Weaver and Vance Joseph. With respect to those coaches, I hope the Cardinals do not end the list there.

Look, Harbaugh might not be anywhere near becoming a member of the Cardinals, but there’s no denying he’s the most accomplished, respected candidate floating out there.

The former Ravens coach did interview with the Falcons yesterday, and has reportedly been grinding tape of Jaxson Dart and Cam Ward. It would appear Atlanta, New York and Tennessee all have a leg up on Arizona, but there’s till time for that to be remedied… for now.

The next step, of course, is actually getting Harbaugh in the building. That may be easier said than done.

The Cardinals will probably have a tough time selling this job to high-end candidates like Harbaugh, but that can’t be an excuse this time around. Fans are starving for any semblance of a strong plan, and it’s hard to imagine the likes of Joseph or Nagy satisfying that craving.

In the midst of all this, Jonathan Gannon will interview for the Cowboys’ and Commanders’ DC jobs… and… the Titans’ head coaching job. Man, that would be some kind of irony.

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

Trey McBride Selected to All-Pro First Team

On Saturday, Cardinals star TE Trey McBride was named to the NFL All-Pro first team. There was no one else who should have been given that honor.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t clear to every voter, as McBride missed out on a unanimous nomination by one vote — getting 49 of 50 first-place nods. The lone exception? A vote for San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle.

I get it, Kittle is an excellent player, and as an all-time career he still probably has the edge over McBride, but it’s a single-season award and the numbers aren’t remotely close this season. It’s not as if that one vote means the world, but it’s still a bit eyebrow-raising.

For comparison:

McBride: 126 receptions, 1,239 yards, 11 TDs in 17 games.

Kittle: 57 receptions, 628 yards, 7 TDs in 11 games.

If we pace Kittle out to 17 games, we get 88 receptions, 970 yards and a few decimals under 11 TDs. So… yeah. That’s just asinine.

We’re used to being snubbed out here, but we also shouldn’t get too carried away by this comparison. McBride was still ultimately, by a vast majority, considered the best TE in the game this season — because he absolutely was.

McBride’s 126 receptions made him the first TE in NFL history to record back-to-back 100-catch campaigns. His 1,239 yards were the most by a Cardinals TE ever, and marked the first 1,000-yard season by any Cardinal since DeAndre Hopkins in 2020.

He also recorded at least five catches per game in 16 straight games, which is also a new NFL record. He had three 100-plus-yard games and nearly doubled his previous three-year career total (six) in TDs with 11.

People can argue garbage-time stats and volume of pass attempts all they want, but that doesn’t change the fact that McBride executed at an elite level all season long, and against some extremely good defenses, too.

It’s strange to look at a player like McBride, knowing he’s uniquely Arizona’s and seems to only be getting better. He’s under contract for four more seasons, too.

But that also brings more pressure to the table. The Cardinals cannot afford to waste McBride’s prime years. Stats are great, but winning has to start soon.

Quick Hits

Turn Up the Heat: The Suns are blazing-hot, winning nine of their last 11 games. They sit at 24-15, needing one win to go 10 games over .500. They’ll get that opportunity tonight, with a road matchup against the Miami Heat looming at 5:30 p.m.

Miami is 20-19, occupying the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Phoenix, meanwhile, just moved into the six seed — one spot ahead of KD and the Rockets, if you’re following along hate-watching at home.

Leavitt Be: Speaking of spying on our exes… former Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt has officially committed to LSU, and will poetically join Lane Kiffin’s new program. Tennessee reportedly made a final push, but it wasn’t enough.

The Sun Devils have been racking up commitments, however. Kenny Dillingham and co. have landed quite a few potential future contributors in the portal, including Leavitt’s potential replacement in former Kansas QB Cutter Boley last week.