Michael Bidwill: Cardinals ‘aligned on getting this thing right’ in 2024
Apr 17, 2024, 9:03 AM
“When the tide comes in, all the boats in the harbor float higher.”
Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill is all for the other professional teams in the state finding success.
For the Phoenix Suns, that was a trip to the 2021 NBA Finals. The Arizona Diamondbacks are coming off a run to the World Series. Through it all, the more exposure for the state and the teams in it, the better.
When looking at his own franchise, though, playoff berths and sustained success have been hard to come by in recent years, with a Wild Card exit in 2021 the only postseason action Arizona has seen since an NFC Championship berth in 2015.
And while the first season under head coach Jonathan Gannon and general manager Monti Ossenfort ended with a 4-13 mark, Bidwill believes Arizona isn’t that far off from making their own postseason noise sooner rather than later.
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“I think in Year 2 with Jonathan Gannon and Monti Ossenfort, they’ve done a great job,” Bidwill told KTAR News’ Mike Broomhead on the Amazing Arizonans podcast. “Monti with the talent. We just finished with free agency and we’ve got five starters that he has now brought to the team. He was smart with how he managed our salary cap, we’re getting ready for the draft now. The draft capital that he was able to pick up last year and the trades that he made, I really feel confident that he’s going to select the right players and we’re going to hit the ground running and come out the chutes much stronger than people are expecting.
“I’m anxious to get us back there and I know Monti and JG are,” the owner added. “We’re really aligned on getting this thing right this year and it’s exciting.”
On top of Ossenfort’s work in free agency, Bidwill came away impressed with how his team fought in Year 1 under the new regime despite knowing full well it was on the outside looking in on the playoff picture.
Seeing quarterback Kyler Murray return to form from a torn ACL and how Arizona responded because of the signal caller’s presence only added to the positives for Bidwill.
“It was a big setback when Kyler got injured. You can see the difference once he came back in 2023 and how much better the team got,” Bidwill said. “Even when we were out of the playoff race, this team still was fighting and wanted to win and did win some pretty tough games on the road in hostile situations.”
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