Arizona Cardinals could try to replace Ken Whisenhunt with Andy Reid

The Arizona Cardinals started the season 4-0 before a meteoric collapse led them to a 5-10 record heading into Week 17. They'll be facing a San Francisco 49ers team that needs a win on the road to secure a first-round bye, which means all signs point to a 5-11 season and the firing of Ken Whisenhunt, who has been the Cardinals head coach for the past six seasons.

On the other side of the country, Andy Reid will likely be finishing the season with a 4-12 (or 5-11 if they defeat the Giants, who are needing a win) and will likely be fired, leaving the Eagles in need of a new head coach for the first time since 1999.

Reid has already stated that he wants to coach somewhere in 2013 and according to Sports Illustrated's Don Banks, Arizona may be on his short list of possible teams:

The Cardinals may also have their eye on Reid as well.The Cardinals could choose to pursue Reid as their next head coach, and Reid probably has Arizona on the list of clubs he's most interested in. After all, he would be reunited with quarterback Kevin Kolb, the former Eagle who was dealt to Arizona in 2011, and there is talent on the defensive side of the Cardinals' roster.

Banks also lists the reasons that things may not work out this way as well. On top of the fact that the Cardinals may be deterred by Reid's sizable salary, they have hired high-profile coaches who have taken other teams to the playoffs in the past, Buddy Ryan and Dennis Green, without much success.

Banks believes it might be more likely that defensive coordinator Ray Horton could be promoted to head coach, replacing Whisenhunt, and that if the team decides to part ways with GM Rod Graves, Steve Keim, the team's vice president of player personnel, could get that job:

The far easier and perhaps more likely scenario for the Bidwill family would be to elevate a couple of promising in-house candidates to the organization's top two jobs. Defensive coordinator Ray Horton is seen as a strong possibility to succeed Whisenhunt, and vice president/player personnel Steve Keim is one of the league's most well-respected GMs in waiting. Keim will probably have other opportunities to elicit a job offer this offseason, but if he wants to stay with the Cardinals, Graves' job is probably his for the taking.

Either way, things are likely going to change in both Arizona and Philadelphia. Where Whisenhunt and Reid end up is anyone's guess at this point.