Lose The Super Bowl, Lose Your Job!

The Arizona Cardinals accomplished something last week that they’d never done before. For the first time in their history they reached the Super Bowl. The Cardinals made their historic run through the NFC Playoffs by sending by beating the Falcons and Eagles at home and the Carolina Panthers on the road before falling to Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl. Now, two guys who helped Arizona march through the post-season won’t be there in 2009.

Offensive coordinator Todd Haley just took the challenge of resurrecting the Kansas City Chiefs from the dead and don’t think for a second that he wont try and sweet free agent and Pro-Bowl quarterback Kurt Warner with him. Under Haley the Cardinals were third in the NFL in scoring and set a franchise record with 427 points scored.

Defensively they weren’t quite as good but still good enough to win an NFC Championship. Apparently that wasn’t good enough for Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt who after seeing one Super Bowl coordinator willingly leave kicked the other out the door on Saturday. Defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast was a holdover from the Dennis Green era but reaching the Super Bowl wasn’t good enough to save his job this year.

Regardless of whether its fair or not when you lose in such dramatic fashion as the Cardinals did someone has to be the goat.