McCoy could be just the first to go

Cards offensive coordinator fired New OC Leftwich faces tough task

The shoe dropped on Mike McCoy, which was expected. Following his dismissal on Friday as offensive coordinator, it will be curious to see who – and what – gets the boot next as the Arizona Cardinals keep searching to find ways to slowly extricate themselves from life in the NFL’s sewer.

They’re so deep into it now at a foulsmelling 1-6 they may have to break out the waders before they become completely consumed.

In announcing McCoy’s firing and the elevation of quarterbacks coach Byron Leftwich to offensive coordinator, head coach Steve Wilks hinted that more changes could be coming. That could include, but not be limited to, alterations to schematics on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball,

For the last seven weeks, the Cardinals' offense tested the veracity of the bromide “things can’t possibly get worse.”

The results have been conclusive: yes, they can.

That’s why coach Steve Wilks had no choice on Friday but to fire Mike McCoy, who was “coordinating” one of the worst offenses in recent NFL history.

In a year when other teams are producing points and yards at record rates, the Cardinals rank at or near the bottom of nearly every offensive category. They had yet to gain more than 269 yards in a game.

Worse, they are 1-6 and 0-4 at

home.

Quarterbacks coach Byron Leftwich will replace McCoy and call plays. It was an obvious choice. Leftwich is a holdover from Bruce Arians’ staff and is regarded as a young coach with a bright future.

That future, however, is on the line in the last nine games of the year. Leftwich will need a hazmat crew to clean up this toxic mess of an offense.

Running back David Johnson has no room to run. Receiver Larry Fitzgerald has been an afterthought. The Cardinals struggle on third down, not to mention first and second, also.

Something had to be done, and this was an obvious time to do it. The Cardinals, whipped by the Broncos 45-10 on Thursday night, don’t play again until Oct. 28 at home against the 49ers. They are off the following week.

That means they will play one game in 24 days. That extra time should help Leftwich implement some changes in time for the second half of the season.

Nothing about it will be easy. Leftwich is working for a defensive-minded coach who wants to win with the running game, defense and special teams.

Don’t expect Wilks to alter that approach much, even though the Cardinals have no running game and the defense is struggling, too.

This offense isn’t going to suddenly start averaging 400 yards and 30 points a game. But there are steps Leftwich can take that might make the Cardinals respectable by the ending the year. Here are a few:

1. Have the confidence to ask for help

Leftwich, 38, played quarterback 10 years in the NFL, but this is just his third year coaching. His play-calling experience as a coach is limited to a few preseason games in 2017.

Bruce Arians, who hired Leftwich with the Cardinals, sees him as a future head coach, and Leftwich is bright and capable, according to others who have worked with him. But he will need help.

The Cardinals have offensive assistants with experience, and Leftwich needs to rely on them during the week. Running backs coach Kirby Wilson has coordinated run games before. Receivers coach Kevin Garver should be a coordinator in the coming years. Offensive line coach Ray Brown played for 20 years and has coached for 12. Tight ends coach Jason Michael is a former coordinator with the Titans.

Leftwich needs to seek their ideas. Perhaps they have some that haven’t been implemented.

2. Have the confidence to tell others to shut up

The time to seek help is during the week. Once game day rolls around, Leftwich has to be assertive via the headsets and let everyone know he’s in charge. Assistants need to speak only when asked or if they have something vital to say.

Under McCoy, the Cardinals had trouble getting plays off in time, which means McCoy sometimes was late making the call.

One reason might have been that McCoy solicited too many opinions while on the clock. That’s something that should be done Monday through Friday, not on game days.

3. Help David Johnson look like David Johnson

Easy to say and hard to do. Johnson has looked ordinary in this offense. Some of it has been him, sure. He’s blown assignments and missed some openings.

Overall, however, he’s had little room to run, and the Cardinals have not been creative in getting him the ball.

Leftwich needs to revert to parts of the Cardinals' 2016 offense, when Johnson often lined up as a receiver, sometimes wide. Do that, send him in motion, keep him on the move.

Also, Leftwich should look at pairing Johnson and rookie Chase Edmonds together at times. We saw a little of that Thursday night. Do it more often. Edmonds supposedly can pass block, so use Johnson as a receiver.

Again, easier said than done. This offensive line has been a disappointment, even when healthy. It has created no movement and now starting guards Mike Iupati and Justin Pugh are hurt.

4. Use every inch of the field

The Cardinals are thin at receiver, so it seems counterintuitive to play more of them and spread the field. But that might just open the run game. The Cardinals are seeing eight and nine defenders in the box when they use two tight ends. It’s congested, and when there is no push by the offensive line, Johnson has to begin chopping his feet in the backfield.

Spreading defenders out might allow Johnson to make more defenders miss, even when they aren’t blocked well.

It also plays to the strengths of quarterback Josh Rosen and receivers Christian Kirk and Fitzgerald.

Let Rosen work a quick passing game at times, and hope that Fitzgerald and Kirk make yards after the catch.

None of the above will be necessarily easy to accomplish, especially when the offense hasn’t been sufficiently complemented by a defense that doesn’t tackle well and special teams that are penalized too often.

Taking on this role is a bit of a gamble for Leftwich, not that he had a choice. There is a good chance this offense will be bad for the rest of the season, and Leftwich’s star won’t be shining so brightly by the end of the year.

The flip side is maybe the Cardinals have finally reached the point that things can’t possible get worse.

If so, even a modicum of improvement will make Leftwich look good and give the Cardinals some hope for the future.