At a time in the NFL season in which you would not imagine that the Cardinals would have any news, but the results of the AFC and NFC Championship games directly affect the Cardinals in their offseason. With the Green Bay Packers defeating the Chicago Bears to reach the Super Bowl, their players will not be representing the NFC in the Pro Bowl this next Sunday. Likewise, with the Pittsburgh Steelers reaching the big game because of a 24-19 victory over the New York Jets, there may be more waiting in the Cardinals search for a defensive coordinator.
The Cardinals now have two more representatives in the Pro Bowl. Earlier in the week it was announced that defensive lineman Darnell Dockett would replace Vikings defensive lineman Kevin Williams. Williams withdrew from the game.
With the Packers advancing to the Super Bowl, their Pro Bowl receiver Greg Jennings will not make the trip to Hawaii. This means that Larry Fitzgerald will be headed to Hawaii for the game.
Fitzgerald and Dockett will accompany Adrian Wilson to the Pro Bowl. If you were to have had to guess at the beginning of the season which of the Cardinals would have made the Pro Bowl, these three players would have been those guys. They are the team leaders and faces of the franchise.
Another ramification of the Super Bowl is that it may be a couple more weeks before there is a decision made in the replacement for Bill Davis as defensive coordinator.
Ken Whisenhunt has planned to speak with some candidates from teams that are out of the playoffs at the Senior Bowl this weekend, but the names of those candidates are still unknown. With the Steelers in the Super Bowl, Whisenhunt will not be able to speak with Keith Butler, Dick LeBeau (whose name has emerged as at least a possibility because of his contract status and relationship with Whisenhunt) or any other member of the Pittsburgh coaching staff until after the big game.
Unfortunately, this means that what we have to look forward to is a lot of speculation about names without any actual sources. The Cardinals have kept things very close to the vest. the one thing that will be entertaining is hearing the inevitable questions from the national media to LeBeau about a possible move to the desert.