HC candidates would not be well placed on Kyler Murray of the Cardinals

There is yet another negative report this winter regarding Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.

Pro Football Network draft analyst Tony Pauline reported from the Senior Bowl that new Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort has yet to hire a head coach, in part due to concerns over Murray.

“It’s not because the quarterback has a say in the matter,” Pauline noted. “On the contrary, many of the wanted candidates do not want to take the job knowing that they will be tied to Murray’s hip for the next four seasons.”

The Cardinals rewarded Murray last summer with a five-year contract extension worth $230.5 million with $160 million guaranteed. Arizona then went 4-8 in the 2022 season before Murray was injured on Dec. 12, which required him to undergo ACL surgery that also included meniscus repair.

“Anyone who takes the Cardinals job won’t have any options for the foreseeable future at quarterback,” Pauline added.

Last month, an unnamed Cardinals veteran told NFL insider Michael Silver that it felt like the franchise had “created a monster” by paying Murray so much guaranteed money. Shortly after this story surfaced, Ossenfort appeared to fire on the 25-year-old signalman and other players when he said “ego will not be tolerated in this organization”.

Ossenfort also spoke positively about Murray’s physical qualities during this time.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (h/t Jeremy Bergman) reported last weekend that Murray could miss at least half of next season to recover from his setback. While it’s never known if Sean Payton, DeMeco Ryans and Frank Reich were among the coaching candidates who wanted nothing to do with Murray, all three agreed to gigs elsewhere this offseason.

Meanwhile, Ossenfort will likely have to find a temporary QB1 for Week 1 of the 2023 campaign as Murray struggles to come back from what could become a career-altering issue.