Monti Ossenfort has overseen one of the worst rebuilds in recent NFL history, and it’s time for the Arizona Cardinals to move on.
The fourth-year general manager took over a bad team at the beginning of 2023. Four years later, it is somehow even worse.
Arizona fell to the Lions in a non-competitive matchup on Sunday, dropping to 1-4 on the year with the second-worst point-differential in the league.
The season is over in mid-October, and Ossenfort’s tenure as GM should be done as well.
Arizona is last in the NFL in points allowed per game, giving up 32.4, and the offense is a mediocre sort that just traded away one of its main weapons in Marvin Harrison, Jr.
Ossenfort got a decent return from the Texans for MHJ, bringing back a second-round pick in 2027, but there is no way he should be employed to make that choice next year.
In fact, the Cardinals need to blow it all up — again — at the trade deadline, and Ossenfort cannot be the one calling those shots.
He is now 16-40 during his tenure, and even worse, the long-term outlook is frightening.
The Cardinals have no plan at quarterback, a defense with few impact players, and an offense that lacks game-breaking pieces.
The contrast in team speed between the Lions and Cardinals on Sunday was striking, and all the roster flaws land squarely on the shoulders of Ossenfort.
Time For Another Teardown
The Cardinals’ outlook is exceedingly bleak. They have been trying to build up for years and the team is nowhere near mediocrity.
So what’s the plan? Sell off any useful veteran pieces at the trade deadline and hope that the tank job is good enough the rest of the way to land a franchise quarterback in the draft.
Safety Budda Baker and edge rusher Josh Sweat are going to return pennies on the dollar compared to their value in recent years, but saving some cap space and getting draft capital is the optimal move at this point.
Mike LaFleur has been dealt a horrible hand out of the gate, and it’s hard to know if he will amount to a good head coach, but for better or worse, he’s the one who will be here in the future.
Team owner Michael Bidwill has to let him make the personnel decisions at the deadline, which is why Ossenfort should be fired as soon as possible to avoid any team-building conflicts.
Carson Beck Needs to Start
As for the quarterback position, Jacoby Brissett hasn’t been terrible this season, but the Cardinals clearly can’t win with him.
They are now 2-15 since he took over early last year, as the sample size has now reached the equivalent of a full season.
So, yes, let’s get as long of a look as possible at Carson Beck, the third-round pick who dazzled in the Hall of Fame Game.
I don’t have high hopes for Beck, as he has limited tools and upside, but there’s no harm now in seeing what he’s got. Either the Cardinals hit on their lottery ticket, or he continues the long tradition of losing in the desert.
It’s Time for the Cardinals to Fire Monti Ossenfort