Just a week after giving former defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast his walking papers, the Cardinals have replaced him with a former underling. Bill Davis, who has served as the team's linebackers coach for the past two seasons, will now take the reins as the defending NFC Champs' defensive coordinator. Davis is not a rookie coordinator, as he held this job with the 49ers in 2005-2006. His defenses were ranked 32nd and 26th, respectively, during those years. In fairness, though, it's not like they were loaded with all-world personnel.
The Cardinals defense does have some talent, as they showed through the playoffs. The problem was that they were sub-par at best during the regular season. It's possible that the way the defense played in the postseason was an illustration of how greatly they underachieved for the first 16 games, in Ken Whisenhunt's mind, which would lead to Pendergast getting whacked. It's also being reported that Whisenhunt didn't even want Pendergast on staff in the first place, and that now he's just finally getting his way.
Regardless, they will be a new defensive boss in Arizona next season. Considering the Super Bowl run and ensuing gutting of the staff --though, losing offensive coordinator Todd Haley wasn't his own doing -- expectations are really going to be sky-high for Whisenhunt's job performance in 2009.
