Michael Bidwill: Cardinals to ‘pause’ coaching search until after Super Bowl

The Arizona Cardinals will not be hiring a new head coach until after Super Bowl LVII, owner Michael Bidwill said Friday.

Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro first reported the expectation on Tuesday.

“It’s Super Bowl weekend and the entire NFL is focused on the Super Bowl, so we’re going to pause throughout the rest of the weekend and get restarted on this on Monday morning,” Bidwill said after his grandmother, Violet, was honored at the Merlin Olsen Hall of Fame luncheon.

“We’re excited about the great progress we have made,” he added. “Every bit of advice has been ‘take your time’ and we have. I’m sure there are some frustrations with some of our fans, but we want to make the right decision, not the fastest decision.”

The Cardinals are down to two head-coaching candidates in Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka.

Bidwill said that three coaches had second-round interviews scheduled and that two took place this week.

MMQB’s Albert Breer reported that Kafka’s second interview was held via Zoom on Tuesday, while Anarumo met with the team on Friday, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Brian Flores was reportedly set for an interview on Wednesday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. However, Minnesota announced on Monday that Flores would become the Vikings’ new defensive coordinator.

“In the history of all Super Bowls, there has never been a team that is doing a GM search, a coach search and then hosting a Super Bowl just a few weeks later, so we’ve been really busy planning,” Bidwill said.

“Monti (Ossenfort) the new GM, has been fantastic. Everyone is working well together. You can already feel the new energy as he is restructuring things.”

Follow @jwa1994