Two Cardinals Land in Young Coach Watchlist for Future

Looking ahead to future coaching cycles, NFL.com says to watch these two young Cardinals coaches.

Donnie Druin | Nov 19, 2022

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Arizona Cardinals

Much like every other team in the league, the Arizona Cardinals figure to see some changes within their coaching staff this offseason.

Whether Kliff Kingsbury will be part of that turnover is still up for debate, although NFL.com's Tom Pelissero included two coaches under him in his recent watchlist of young coaches who will find themselves in the mix during the next cycle:

"But the bet here is a refreshed list of rising young candidates will once again make up a significant chunk of the 2023 round of hires, given the instant success of McDaniel and O'Connell, and the sustained prosperity of others who have appeared on this list in past years, such as Matt LaFleur, Zac Taylor and Mike Vrabel," said Pelissero.

"This list of young coaches -- under age 45 with no previous NFL head coaching experience -- is the longest we've published in six years of doing this, reflecting both a new crop of talent as well as the increased number of interviews many teams have been conducting in recent searches. It's based on dozens of recent conversations with NFL executives, coaches and others close to the search process."

Pelissero mentioned the likes of Steve Wilks, Byron Leftwich and Vance Joseph in the mix for immediate opportunities, but in looking towards the future, he says to watch two Cardinals coaches:

Cardinals AHC/STC Jeff Rodgers, 44

Bio from AZCardinals.com: "Jeff Rodgers is in his fifth season with the Cardinals and fourth as the team's assistant head coach/special teams coordinator. He came to Arizona in January, 2018 as the team's special teams coordinator and added the title of assistant head coach in 2019. Rodgers is in his 19th NFL season after previously coaching special teams with Chicago (2015-17), Denver (2011-14), Carolina (2009-10) and San Francisco (2003-07)."

Cardinals co-pass game coordinator Spencer Whipple, 33

Bio from AZCardinals.com: Spencer Whipple is in his fourth season with the Cardinals and first as co-pass game coordinator after getting promoted on 5/10/22. He originally joined the Cardinals as an offensive quality control coach on 2/6/19 and spent last season as the team's assistant wide receivers coach after his elevation on 2/5/20.

Cardinals AHC/STC Jeff Rodgers, 44

Cardinals co-pass game coordinator Spencer Whipple, 33

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