Following Monday’s dismissal of Kliff Kingsbury, the Arizona Cardinals are looking for a new head coach and an online bookmaker has put out odds on who might be the next coach
If the odds are correct, then a former Arizona assistant is the clear favourite. According to odds posted by BetArizona.com on Monday afternoon, Byron Leftwich, offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is the betting favourite to become the next head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.
Arizona Cardinals new next head coach betting odds and favorites list
Arizona let Leftwich go from his positions as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator in 2018. The oddsmakers at Bovada offer him +350 odds of taking over as Cardinals’ head coach (22% chance).
Eric Bieniemy, the current offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, is the second favourite to replace Kingsbury in Arizona with odds of +400 (20%).
VOTE: Who would you prefer as the next coach of the #AZCardinals? (Potential candidates: https://t.co/Lr9vctrbfX) @azcentral #BirdCityFootball
— azcentral sports (@azcsports) January 9, 2023
It is predicted that current Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh would finish in fifth place with chances of +600 (14.3%), followed by former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton at +550 (15.4%). At +900, current Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph rounds out the top 5. (10%).
The Arizona Cardinals (and other NFL teams) have been discussing hiring Payton and Harbaugh for months. The Cardinals’ front office is full of Joseph’s biggest fans.
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) January 9, 2023
BetArizona.com also lists odds for three other coaches: Kellen Moore, offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, at +1150 (8%), DeMeco Ryans, defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, at +1900 (5%) and Bruce Arians, former Cardinals coach and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers consultant, at +9900 (1%), a huge longshot.
All you need to know about Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Phoenix. The Cardinals have been around since 1898, making them the NFL’s oldest franchise. However, they have also been one of the league’s least successful teams, winning just two titles (1925 and 1947).
A neighbourhood club from Chicago’s South Side, the Cardinals were originally known as the Morgan Athletic Club. In 1901, the team’s namesake, Cardinal Red, was born when founder Chris O’Brien received a shipment of worn-out jerseys originally worn by the University of Chicago Maroons football team.
Taking their new name from the Chicago street where their field was located, the Racine Cardinals competed in a loosely organised “league” comprising other Chicago-area amateur clubs. The Cardinals were so well-liked that they were invited to join the American Professional Football League (the precursor to the NFL) when it was created in 1920, thanks to their consistent level of success.
Following the 1922 addition of a franchise from Racine, Wisconsin to the NFL, the team’s name was changed to the Chicago Cardinals. The Cardinals won their first NFL title in 1926, three years after finishing with an 11-2 record in 1925.
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