Sean Payton didn’t want to work with Arizona Cardinals’ QB Kyler Murray
NFL legend and Fox analyst Terry Bradshaw shed some light on Sean Payton’s NFL coaching choice at Tuesday’s Super Bowl Experience, and Arizona Cardinals fans may find his comment about Kyler Murray very interesting.
When asked why Payton, a former Fox analyst, didn’t take the Cardinals coaching job, Bradshaw said, “Arizona? No, that quarterback. He doesn’t want to work with the quarterback.”
The quarterback Bradshaw mentioned would, of course, be Kyler Murray, Arizona’s franchise quarterback.
Newsday’s Tom Rock interviewed Bradshaw, and the former NFL quarterback explained why Payton took the job with the Denver Broncos, though Bradshaw didn’t exactly give that team’s quarterback a glowing review either.
When asked if Payton would rather work with Russell Wilson than Murray, Bradshaw replied, “I don’t think so (laughs) but you know what, that’s all he’s got. He has no choice. But I’ll tell you one thing, he’ll bring out the best in him.”
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Interestingly, Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline recently reported that NFL coaches may not want to coach Kyler Murray, and that could be why the team’s search for a new head coach is taking so long.
“Why is the Arizona Cardinals head coaching job taking so long? If you believe what people are saying in Mobile, it’s because of Kyler Murray — and not because the quarterback has a huge say in this matter,” Pauline wrote from the Senior Bowl in Alabama. “Many of the desired candidates are reluctant to take the job knowing they will be tied to Murray’s waist for the next four seasons. Murray signed a five-year, $230 million contract in late August, and for all who do, the Cardinals job will not take up any options at quarterback for the foreseeable future.”
The Cardinals’ next coach might also be away from Murray as the team’s coach for a while in his freshman season, according to a recent report as the quarterback recovers from a non-contact ACL injury sustained on Dec. 12 against the New England Patriots has suffered .
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“To my knowledge, he’s going to take his time getting this thing 100% right,” NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport said recently. “He’s young. He’s had a long career. He won’t rush so don’t be surprised if we don’t see him at the start of the season or maybe even at half-time. This injury needs to heal perfectly.”
In his report, Rapoport suggested that Murray’s recovery time has become a major talking point in the Cardinals’ interview process regarding their search for a new head coach.
The Cardinals are believed to consist of two finalists, Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, after former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores lost the defensive coordinator position with the Minnesota Vikings had accepted.
If Payton had indeed spurned the Cardinals over Murray, it would have represented a change in his opinion of the Arizona QB.
Last month, NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero wrote that Payton is a “Kyler Murray fan.”
Payton has also spoken glowingly about Murray in interviews about the quarterback in the past, saying ahead of the 2019 NFL draft, “Man, he’s explosive. He’s one of those players, you know, Madden used to say he never was. It’s so hard to push him because he can flush to the right, can make a play, to the left. You can feel the attitude he is playing with. … His film is too good. After all, if I say he’s too good. And I like him.”
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Reach Jeremy Cluff at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: NFL Legend: Kyler Murray on Why Sean Payton Isn’t the Arizona Cardinals Coach
