Philadelphia Eagles legend Donovan McNabb made it clear he’s convinced the Arizona Cardinals should not hire New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka as their new head coach.
“Absolutely not,” McNabb answered when asked about the topic during an appearance on Fox Sports 910 Phoenix, per Donnie Druin of FanNation’s All Cardinals. “I say that with all kindness to Mike Kafka. I don’t think it’s the right move for him. Because now it goes to the position where [Matt] Nagy was going into Chicago with Mitch Trubisky, where he’s not able to implement his offense, his style of play with a guy that he brought in.”
While with the Chicago Bears, Nagy and then-general manager Ryan Pace eventually replaced Trubisky with 2021 first-round draft pick Justin Fields. Chicago fired both Nagy and Pace in January 2022.
“You have a quarterback you have to make a decision with,” McNabb continued. “Kyler Murray’s coming off an injury, so it makes it tough for a guy like Mike Kafka. Now as far as the position they should look for, I think they should go defensive-minded.”
McNabb added that the Cardinals’ latest reset “has to start with a defensive-minded head coach.” Kafka and Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo are considered the two finalists to win the Arizona job.
It was reported last week that top-tier coaching candidates don’t want to “be tied to the hip of Murray for the next four seasons” after he and the Cardinals agreed to a five-year contract extension reportedly worth $230.5M with $160M guaranteed last summer.
Murray underwent successful ACL surgery that included some meniscus repair in early January, and it’s believed he could miss at least half of the 2023 season while recovering.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Chad Henne have campaigned for the Cardinals to choose Kafka, a former assistant coach with Kansas City. McNabb indicated Kafka would be better off waiting until next offseason to explore other opportunities at that time.
