👋 GOOD MORNING – The NFL offseason isn’t even here yet, but there’s already plenty of movement coming our way. Our beloved Arizona Cardinals need a head coach, and the the search is on.
It may not be fun to sit out and watch the playoffs from afar (yet again), but it is kind of nice to have some level of intrigue and excitement around this Cardinals team, right?
New year, new era. Sports Over Everything. It’s what we do.
Let’s take a look at the early candidates!
— Alex D’Agostino, PHNX Sports Daily Editor
Cardinals Begin Coaching Search
So, Jonathan Gannon is out, and the Arizona Cardinals need a new head coach. Whoever it is, he’ll be the fifth Cardinals head coach in the past nine years.
If you’re doing the math at home, that’s… well, bad.
Gannon was brought in to engineer a culture. In some ways, he was able to make valuable contributions in that regard. But it’s time to win — and soon. The Cardinals need an impact-making head coach. They need someone who can turn a roster full of talent into a fundamentally-sound, well-executing unit.
That might sound like the most basic take ever, but it’s something the previous regime unfortunately struggled to do. With all respect to Gannon and co., injuries aren’t a valid excuse for why Arizona consistently underperformed.
Regardless, the Cardinals are doing that “casting a wide net” thing, again. A mere day following the news that Gannon was fired, multiple names began to surface as people of interest in Arizona’s coaching search. Interviews are being requested left and right.
Some of these names are ones that would undoubtedly excite the Cardinals’ beleaguered fanbase, and shoot a jolt of electricity into an otherwise-stagnant vibe around this team. They need to find a way to hire one of those names.
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
Okay, I’ve talked around this long enough, let’s take a look at the actual names that have been reported as of now. There may be plenty more coming, but here’s who we have to look at to this point in the hiring cycle.
Cardinals’ Early Coaching Candidates
So far, there have been seven candidates with whom the Cardinals have either scheduled or requested an interview. Here they are:
Broncos DC Vance Joseph – Vance Joseph’s track record as a head coach isn’t great, but he does have a solid defense in Denver this year. Arizona is quite familiar, as Joseph served as their DC from 2019-2022. Joseph is already scheduled to meet with the Cardinals on Friday.
Former Falcons HC Raheem Morris – Raheem Morris has had success in some of his stops, but Atlanta underperformed in 2025 despite a late-season surge. Morris is scheduled to meet with the Cardinals in the next week.
Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak – Kubiak is a hot commodity this offseason after a big-time season with Seattle’s staff. He’s also, obviously, the son of Gary Kubiak. Arizona has requested an interview with (Klint) Kubiak.
49ers DC Robert Saleh – Don’t let the career coaching record fool you, Robert Saleh is a good football coach, and worked wonders with a banged-up San Francisco defense this season. The Cardinals have requested an interview with Saleh.
Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver – Anthony Weaver was the DL coach, assistant head coach and run game coordinator for the Ravens between 2021-2023, and has served as the Dolphins DC for the past two seasons. Arizona has requested an interview with Weaver.
Patriots PGC Thomas Brown – Thomas Brown is the passing game coordinator for the Patriots, but has coordinator experience (Carolina OC in 2023) and a brief stint as an interim head coach for the Chicago Bears in 2024. The Cardinals have requested an interview.
Chiefs OC Matt Nagy – Nagy struggled as a head coach with the Bears from 2018-2021, but has plenty of playcalling experience and has worked alongside Andy Reid in Kansas City. The Cardinals will interview Nagy on Friday.
Of course, there’s also John Harbaugh, who is the prize of the bunch, it seems. Harbaugh was let go (perhaps unsurprisingly) by the Ravens this week. The Cardinals have reached out, but nothing concrete has formed there. I can’t help but think it’ll take a gargantuan effort to pry him away from all the other interested teams (some of which currently have head coaches still).
My take: In my mind, the Cardinals have no excuse to not swing big. They have to heavily pursue one of the top-tier names on this list. For me, those are Harbaugh, Kubiak and Saleh — in that order. You’re going to have to spend big, but it’s worth it. Don’t waste time interviewing everyone and anyone you may like or know; get the best option you possibly can, no matter what it takes.
For as long-winded as I tend to be, that’s really all I have to say on this. Do that.
Quick Hits
Grizzl-ing: The Suns took a commanding 117-98 victory over the Grizzlies on the road to improve to 22-15 on the season. Dillon Brooks led the scoring against his former team with 21 points, while Grayson Allen made his presence known again with 19 off the bench, sinking seven three-pointers.
Wilder Cats: Arizona basketball once again took care of business, pulling away from Kansas State in the second half for a dominant 101-76 win to improve to 15-0 on the season. Freshman Brayden Burries had an eye-popping 28 points, Mo Krivas delivered 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Koa Peat had 15 and 10. This is a tough squad to compete with.
Provo-ked: ASU men’s hoops suffered a tough loss at the hands of No. 9-ranked BYU in Provo last night, falling 104-76. The Sun Devils are now 0-2 to begin conference play and 9-6 on the season.
But the ASU women continued their dominant season, winning 68-45 over UCF behind a 20-point night from sophomore forward Heloisa Carrera to improve to 16-1. Is it time to rank the Sun Devils?
SPORTS. OVER. EVERYTHING.
