❚ Cardinals laid down a foundation for the future for better or worse,

The message was simple: “Vance will be back.”

Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said at his end of the season press conference Monday that defensive coordinator Vance Joseph will return next season, giving the team some stability there. Joseph had been the third coordinator in three years.

He’ll have plenty to improve on next season. The Cardinals allowed 402 yards per game, the most in the league, and 27.6 points per game, also ranking among the worst.

The defense struggled particularly during a midseason losing streak, but Kingsbury was pleased with how they finished the final quarter. He said he “never wavered” on believing Joseph was the one for the job, and that Joseph understood that.

The worst performance for the defense came against the Rams in Week 13, where the Cardinals allowed Los Angeles 549 yards. Over the final few games, they strung together some stronger performances. Joseph reminded his players of that, letting his players know where they ranked the last few weeks as a tangible reminder.

Part of the decision too stems from Kingsbury’s desire to build upon this year, instead of starting over again.

“I think continuity is huge when you look at the top organizations out there, and how they’ve been able to keep assistant coaches and keep top players and homegrown players,” he said. “I’m just really excited to have these players back in the same systems in all three phases moving forward in the offseason.”

The defense started the season without premier cornerback Patrick Peterson, and a few rookies had to deal with a steep learning curve. With that in mind, Kingsbury evaluated the defense in how it changed as the season continued.

“There’s definitely progress,” Kingsbury said. “The last quarter was much improved. I think when you look at that, it has them ranked top-10, around that area, in the league as far as the defense we played. Having Patrick (Peterson) get his legs back underneath and playing at a high level obviously helped, and then young players learning our scheme, getting more reps, there’re a lot of things.”

It was a testament to the personnel on the defense that even in a bumpy year, both linebacker Chandler Jones and safety Budda Baker were named Pro Bowl starters. And once Peterson returned and younger players adjusted, the unit as a whole worked more cohesively.

There were other changes. Coaches and players both talked about simplifying things during practice as a way to improve communication. A few players shifted positions, and other stepped up when veterans like Terrell Suggs and D.J. Swearinger were let go.

Linebacker Jordan Hicks, who led the team with 150 combined tackles in his first season in Arizona, sees this offseason being more straightforward under Joseph’s direction. He heralded Joseph’s playcalling. Without having to focus on installation, the Cardinals look to build off how they performed in that final stretch.

“It’s huge, it’s huge,” Hicks said Monday. “In my experience, the second year in a defense is probably the biggest jump you make in a progression of a defense. So, between year one and year two, to have the same terminology, to be able to go into the offseason with a foundation to build on, it makes all the difference.”

Defensive lineman and captain Corey Peters, who has been around to see the changes at coordinator, felt good about the plan forward as well.

“I like Vance,” Peters said Monday. “I think he definitely has the room, and the guys like him. So having another year in the system to kind of learn the different things we need to learn and to see the looks, I think that’s only going to help us out.”

Joseph was also helpful to Kingsbury in bringing his own experience as an NFL coach, as Kingsbury worked through some of the nuances that the NFL brings.

Kingsbury did say that if he is making any coaching changes, he’ll look to do that “over the next couple of days.”

A report is out that the Cardinals have let go of defensive line coach Chris Achuff and assistant special teams coach Randall McCray, but Kingsbury would not confirm that.