Leftwich takes over offense
The signs were there on Friday, some quite literally, even before you reached the building.
At the traffic light on the corner that borders the Cardinals training facility in Tempe, there was a “#FireMikeMcCoy” banner among all the campaign signs for the upcoming election.
Next came inside the security gate. Lying on the ground just outside the door that led right to Steve Wilks’ news conference was a dead bird. It wasn’t a cardinal – that’d be too contrived – but it set a grave tone nonetheless.
On Friday, following the team’s worst loss at home since 2003, Wilks fired offensive coordinator Mike McCoy and promoted quarterbacks coach Byron Leftwich.
‘It just wasn’t one thing’
Wilks said the decision was his, and he informed McCoy early Friday morning.
“When you really have an opportunity to sit back and see that where the offense is going – or where we didn’t go, rather – from a standpoint of production, it’s my job as a head coach to figure out exactly what needs to be done, and I felt that we needed a change,” Wilks said.
It wasn’t just a knee-jerk reaction to Thursday’s 45-10 nationally televised loss. It was a culmination of half a season of suffering.
“I think the last seven weeks did (make the decision) when you go back and look at it,” Wilks said. “It just wasn’t one thing last night. Last night was embarrassing, as I stated. We’ve got to do better.”
The numbers put up by the Cardinals offense this season have been bleak. The team is last or near-last in just about every statistical category.
The offense was supposed to be defined by flexibility and creativity. It was rarely on the field long enough for the play calling to deviate from vanilla.
Instead, the real variety came in what gaffe would stand out each week. Against the Rams, it was only crossing the 50yard line once. Against the Bears, it was a skeptical call on third and 2. Against the Broncos, it was putting up just 69 rushing yards on the league’s worst run defense.
McCoy himself has accumulated some unflattering stats. Friday marked the third time he’s been fired since January 2017.
Between his time as an offensive coordinator in Denver last season and Arizona this year, his recent teams went 4-13. A six-game losing streak was the dagger in Denver. His Arizona-based redemption tour was cut short when the Cardinals dropped six of seven games to open the season.
“We weren’t productive enough. Let’s just say that, and that may be an understatement,” Wilks said. “Hopefully moving forward, we can try to create some things, No. 1, in how we’re protecting to give Josh (Rosen) the opportunity to be able to go through his progression.”
Another OC for Josh Rosen
Leftwich will remain the quarterbacks coach as well. His promotion can shake up the offense in a number of ways, but a large spotlight will be on how that affects Rosen’s development and production.
Wilks announced that Rosen is still in a boot for a toe injury on his left foot, though with the added time after a Thursday night game, Wilks anticipates he will be good moving forward, at least physically.
Leftwich once played a college game with a snapped shin, so a sprained toe seems manageable in that light. But the injury is just one more thing weighing on a rookie quarterback trying to get his footing in the league.
With three different offensive coordinators in three seasons at UCLA, Rosen is on his fifth in four years. Those around Rosen always point out how smart he is and how his inquisitive nature means he actually likes learning the ins and outs of every play. But hitting the reset on the playbook that often is no small task. To smooth yet another transition, Wilks says Leftwich will simplify things for clarity’s sake.
“I think what Byron is going to do, from what he and I have talked about, is really try to figure out what Josh does well,” Wilks said. “When you have a young quarterback, you want to make sure we’re putting him in position to where he can go out there and (doesn’t) have to think as much.”
It will be a young quarterback listening to a young offensive coordinator. Leftwich is 38 years old and is in just his second year as a coach. His ascent has been on an accelerated timeline. His 10 years as a quarterback in the NFL help him relate to Rosen, who on more than one occasion has positively brought up their relationship voluntarily.
“I think it says a lot, and that’s very important, quarterback-OC relationship, as well as being able to see things on the same wavelength,” Wilks said.
“He understands Josh’s situation and his role that he’s in, particularly being in critical games, like we were in last night and the week before. So, he can relate to him, which I think is important.”
That relationship will need to be firm when so many other things are up in the air. Notably, no one is totally sure what Leftwich will be like as a play caller, including those across the headsets.
If the play calls change, the responsibility then falls on Cardinals players to execute them. Wilks reiterated the need to get David Johnson more involved. It hasn’t happened yet, and the offensive line isn’t helping.
Guards Mike Iupati (back) and Justin Pugh (hand) are both day-to-day. Neither played against the Broncos, as the team allowed six sacks. When receivers have run the right routes, they’ve dropped catchable throws. Those are all things McCoy could never control.
The Cardinals will need to change more than who is calling the plays to improve, but Wilks thinks the midseason adjustment is the first of many right calls to come.
“When I say ‘change,’ we want things to turn for the better for the team, and that’s the reason why I felt the need to make change and see, right now, that based off the first seven weeks, we haven’t had that production,” Wilks said. “So, the mood of the organization is good.”