Cards fire Green after 5-11 season
Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:33 pm
Cards fire Green after 5-11 season
Associated Press
TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Cardinals fired coach Dennis Green on Monday after he failed to turn the downtrodden franchise into a winner in three seasons on the job.
Green was dismissed one day after the Cardinals concluded a 5-11 season with a 27-20 loss at San Diego. He finished with a 16-32 record at Arizona. The Cardinals will pay $2.5 million to buy out the final year of his contract.
He was the seventh coach the Cardinals have had since the franchise moved to Arizona in 1988. Green's mission was to turn around the perpetually losing Cardinals, who have had one winning season since 1984, and put a winner into the new stadium when it opened this season.
The stadium, the signing of running back Edgerrin James and the drafting of quarterback Matt Leinart stirred up interest in the team, which sold out every home game this year.
But after a season-opening home victory over San Francisco, the Cardinals lost eight in a row and quickly fell out of the playoff hunt. The skid included close home losses to St. Louis, Kansas City and, most memorably on a Monday night, Chicago.
Green demoted offensive coordinator Keith Rowen after six games and replaced him with Mike Kruczek, one of many shakeups on his staff during his time with the Cardinals. Leinart replaced Kurt Warner after five games and showed great promise.
However, the team's fortunes didn't turn around until the coach finally settled on who should play on the offensive line. Arizona won four of its last seven but it was too little, too late.
Green was out of coaching after his decade with the Minnesota Vikings ended in 2001. He was lured back by a four-year, $10 million contract and the belief that Arizona was on the brink of becoming a successful team.
He made several moves that seemed to backfire, beginning with the abrupt release of offensive lineman Pete Kendall on the eve of his first training camp. In his first season, Green benched quarterback Josh McCown for Shaun King even though the team had won three of its last four. By the time McCown got the job back, the Cardinals had lost three straight.
Green's three teams in Arizona went 6-10, 5-11 and 5-11. He has a career NFL coaching record of 124-115.
