Vance Joseph, Adrian Wilson vetted as top minority head coach, GM candidates
Every NFL offseason, the head coaching carousel begins. It happens with general manager positions as well. This coming offseason, it will be no different. There will be vacancies.
Also occurring every year is the discussion about the lack of minority hirings for those positions.
The NFL is trying to improve that. According to USA TODAY Sports’ Mike Jones, the league provided all 32 teams with a list of 11 vetted minority head–coaching candidates and 20 minorities who should be considered for front-office positions.
Two Arizona Cardinals appear on that list.
For head coach, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph makes the cut. He has improved the Cardinals’ defense each of the last two seasons after the first year in 2019 was a struggle. He was head coach of the Denver Broncos previously.
For general manager and other football operations positions, Adrian Wilson, who is the team’s vice president of pro personnel. He has moved up the ladder within the organization from being a scout to having no real title to having an important one.
An interesting omission is Quentin Harris, the Cardinals’ vice president of player personnel, who is essentially the No. 2 to GM Steve Keim.
Many in the building believe Joseph could land a head coaching job this offseason, although he has said he isn’t looking for one. He will be particular about the next one he gets.
If either were to land a coaching or GM position, they would be big losses to the Cardinals, but they would be rewarded. Currently, the league awards draft picks to teams who have minorities who get hired as general managers or head coaches.
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