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06 Feb 2009

Arizona Fires Pendergast

Um, what? Didn't this team just completely turn around its pass defense and make it within minutes of winning the Super Bowl? Now they lose both coordinators in one day, one by choice? What exactly was Clancy Pendergast doing wrong? Was this just a personality conflict with Ken Whisenhunt? Nothing is official yet, but one rumor has Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler as Pendergast's replacement.

Posted by: Aaron Schatz on 06 Feb 2009

23 comments, Last at 10 Feb 2009, 2:26pm by BucNasty

Comments

1
by Theo :: Fri, 02/06/2009 - 9:13pm

Well. You know the defensive DVOA and the DYAR, so go ahead.
I thought he did pretty well with a pro bowl safety (Wilson), a 2nd year corner playing safety (Rolle) and a rookie (DRC) and special teamer (Hood) playing corner.
So overall I think the material was there.

2
by Mr Shush :: Fri, 02/06/2009 - 9:17pm

I've always been a little dubious about Pendergast, myself. I'm a huge fan of mixing things up on defenses, with plenty of wacky zone blitzes and whatnot - none of this Tampa-2 nonsense for me, thankyou very much - but where the masters of the art (LeBeau, Johnson, Phillips) always seem to call the perfect play at the perfect time, Pendergast sometimes seemed to me to be calling plays almost at random. 3rd and 13? How about a double safety blitz, with Dockett dropping into a deep zone? What's that you say, Magic 8-Ball? Outlook good? Well gosh dog, let's do this thang!

I actually think this Cardinals defense is pretty damn talented, and that they have largely under-performed that talent level. Good on Wisenhunt for spotting a case of good results, bad process, and having the balls to act on it.

19
by Yaguar :: Sat, 02/07/2009 - 3:19pm

I'm skeptical of him, too. He gets lots of points with announcer types for his "creative blitzes" and stuff, but the results just aren't there, despite some damn good talents like DRC, Wilson, and Dockett.

3
by DaveInTucson :: Fri, 02/06/2009 - 9:38pm

1) The second half of the NFC Championship game wasn't exactly a shining moment for the Cardinals defense.

2) Neither is the Steelers last 78-yard 8-play drive for the game-winning score.

3) That goal-line stand where the Cardinals' defense held the Steelers to a FG was pretty amazing. Maybe Pendergast got the blame for A.Wilson's "unnecessary roughness" penalty that gave the Steelers three more tries at a TD?

I have a blog where I post objective, predicive power rankings of NFL teams.

4
by Tundrapaddy (not verified) :: Fri, 02/06/2009 - 9:48pm

I'm not so sure about the move. He did lead a turnaround in the playoffs, so I would think that might have bought him a reprieve.

I don't get coaches/firings, sometimes. Green Bay's DC gets a great product, but his squad fails on a single 4th-23 play; buh-bye.

Arizona's DC gets an underachieving squad to somehow turn it all around in the playoffs, helping the squad get to the Super Bowl; buh-bye.

Guess the job (in)security is why they make the big bucks.

5
by Sophandros (not verified) :: Fri, 02/06/2009 - 9:57pm

Just when you think they've turned the corner, the Cardinals are who we thought they were.

6
by black president (not verified) :: Fri, 02/06/2009 - 10:29pm

Pendergast is very creative, but I'm inclined to agree that this is deserved based solely on that final Pittsburgh drive in the SB. Watching him dial up ineffective 5 and 6 man pressures one after another was absolutely maddening, and I'm saying this as someone who had no rooting interest in either team. That was absolutely not the situation to be leaving huge spaces in coverage.

7
by DGL :: Fri, 02/06/2009 - 10:29pm

I blame the spirit of the Pottsville Maroons.

8
by Doug Farrar :: Fri, 02/06/2009 - 10:40pm

According to the linked AZCentral article, Whisenhunt was interested in bringing Butler to Arizona when he left Pittsburgh, but was convinced to stick with Pendergast (plus, the Steelers wouldn't let Butler go). Could be as simple as a case of, "I just got this team to the Super Bowl, and I want my guy in here."

9
by Theo :: Fri, 02/06/2009 - 11:03pm

...and I think it's the secondary coach's job to learn the position etc. It's the DC's task to place them well on the chess board

10
by Tom Gower :: Fri, 02/06/2009 - 11:44pm

First coordinator to be fired after a trip to the Super Bowl since Les Steckel (TEN O, SB XXXIV)?

11
by Robo-Hochuli (not verified) :: Sat, 02/07/2009 - 12:18am

Uh...Ron Rivera?

13
by tuluse :: Sat, 02/07/2009 - 2:34am

Rivera didn't really get fired. His contract ended, and he simply wasn't offered a new one.

18
by Robo-Hochuli (not verified) :: Sat, 02/07/2009 - 12:48pm

I know that, but I don't think that's a worthy distinction.

When your D-coordinator fields a top unit for two years in a row and then doesn't get offered a new contract, that's being fired.

12
by Raiderjoe :: Sat, 02/07/2009 - 1:12am

Goodo chance Pendergas go to Raiders. Always loking for good coaches in Oakland. T Cable can maybe find sopt for Pendergas as assistant linebackers coach or quailty control.
Penderhas p[retty good, Cardinals defense is Cardina;s defense. not exactly team you looking gfor to get ghigh rkings in all degfensive categoreis.. good job by prnderhas just to get team to wgedee it go, which is Suer Bowl.

16
by billycurley :: Sat, 02/07/2009 - 10:57am

I could not agree more with the above comment.

23
by BucNasty :: Tue, 02/10/2009 - 2:26pm

You can actually see the exact point where the liquor kicks in/Al Davis goes into cardiac arrest.

14
by Mr Shush :: Sat, 02/07/2009 - 7:02am

Let's assume we really can just throw out weeks 13-16 when evaluating the Cardinals defense last season (and I think we can). Equally, though, I think we should pretty much chuck out the Panthers game on the basis that that was at least 80% Delhomme, rather than great defense. That leaves us with a likely "true" pass defense DVOA for the 2008 Cardinals somewhere around the 5 to 10% mark, with a run defense around -10 to -15% (NB You can't just sum these to get total defense - pass defense is much more important). The question is, do you think the Cardinals' defensive personnel ought to be capable of better than that? I think I do. Moreover, I have a specific problem with Pendergast in terms of mechanism: as I said above, I think his play-calling could generously be described as erratic. I can see plenty of worse ideas than replacing him with a guy you've worked with before and therefore know, who has learned at the feet of a master.

15
by The Anti-Dave (not verified) :: Sat, 02/07/2009 - 10:04am

I thought his name was Clancy

17
by JoRo (not verified) :: Sat, 02/07/2009 - 12:23pm

It is Clancy....

20
by The Anti-Dave (not verified) :: Sat, 02/07/2009 - 3:30pm

Given some of his tendencies, I'll admit it would've been funnier for his name actually to be Chancy

21
by Mystyc :: Sat, 02/07/2009 - 3:54pm

It sort of pisses me off that coordinators from the Super Bowl teams are given free passes, even when they aren't good. As a Steelers fan, I would actually love if Bruce Arians (our OC) were canned, but there's zero chance of that because of how the season turned out. Obviously I'd rather have the trophy and Arians than neither, but it's irritating that Arians gets to keep his job when he only called one good game all year, no matter how well-timed it was, and especially considering it was Dick LeBeau who put him in that position in the first place.

Arizona was an offensive team. Defense was a weak point (unless the Cardinals are going to retain their playoff improvement like the Giants did after last year, which Whisenhunt apparently doesn't think they will). What's wrong with trying to improve your weaknesses, no matter what you achieved the previous season? I will be sad to see Butler go if he's tapped (and given Whiz's track record, he will), but for the Cards, it's probably a good idea.

22
by Craig Yetsko aka Craig Wolf (Penn State Class of '98) (not verified) :: Sun, 02/08/2009 - 2:38pm

Pendergast was an average coordinator. I don't think any Cardinals fans wanted him to be burned at the stake, but he didn't make anyone get excited, either. Now the Cardinals can move in the right direction and get a good coordinator or get that Keith Butler guy from the Steelers team.

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