Le Journal

The Arizona Cardinals head coaching search continues, but it seems like based on the candidates that they have requested second interviews with they are looking for another defensive minded head coach. Today it was reported that they have requested a second interview with Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile. The #AZCardinals are bringing in #Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile for a second, in-person interview tomorrow for HC, sources say. He's flying in tonight.Jax's emergence was spurred, in part, by Campanile's unit — No. 1 against the run. AZ gets another look. pic.twitter.com/xrk79suOaC— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 21, 2026 This may seem like a bit of a situation out of left field, but the Cardinals have already interviewed Campanile once and are bringing him back for a second round of interviews. Here is some good info on Campanile: 2019 – Michigan linebackers coach under Jim Harbaugh2020 – Linebackers coach under Brian Flores for Miami Dolphins2021 – Linebackers coach under Brian Flores2022 – Retained as LB’s coach under Mike McDaniel2023 – Retained as LB’s coach under Vic Fangio (new Dolphins DC)2024 – LB’s coach and run game coordinator under Jeff Hafley for Packers2025 – DC for Jacksonville Jaguars Campanile was in charge of hiring his own staff with the Jaguars, and has worked under a load of talented play callers in the NFL on the offensive side of things, so he should have some ability to put together an impressive offensive staff. Here is what I was told by a Jaguars beat writer: Think he’s a much better candidate than UdinskiSuper smart scheme and not sure I’ve ever met a coach players like moreWould be massive blow to jags This would be an interesting hire, what would you think?

The Quarterback Crisis Nobody Wants to Confront There has never been a time in NFL history when quarterbacks entered the league with more physical tools. Arm strength is stronger, size is bigger, speed is faster, and athleticism is off the charts. Every draft class seems to produce a new wave of prospects who can throw the ball 70 yards in the air and outrun linebackers in space. On paper, this should be the golden age of quarterback play. Instead, the opposite has quietly become true. Sustained excellence at the position has become increasingly rare. Rookie success is often fleeting. Second-year regression has become almost expected. Teams cycle through quarterbacks at an alarming rate, burning high draft picks on players who look promising early and are exposed just as quickly. The league is full of talented passers, yet remarkably short on quarterbacks who can consistently diagnose defenses, control games late, and perform at a high level when structure breaks down. This is usually framed as an individual problem. The quarterback “wasn’t good enough.” He “couldn’t process fast enough.” He “didn’t develop.” But when the same pattern repeats across draft classes, systems, and franchises, the issue stops being individual and becomes structural. This is not a coincidence. It is the product of a developmental pipeline that is no longer aligned with what the NFL actually demands from its quarterbacks. The modern quarterback arrives in the league more physically prepared than ever. He just arrives far less intellectually prepared for the job he is being asked to do. College Football Didn’t Evolve — It Simplified The foundation of this problem begins in college football. Over the last fifteen years, the sport has undergone a near-universal shift toward spread offenses. What was once a landscape of mixed systems — pro-style, West Coast, option, power, and spread — has become almost entirely dominated by one philosophy. RPO-heavy designs. Half-field reads. First-read concepts. Quick game built to get the ball out immediately. Offenses structured to minimize mental load rather than expand it. This shift is often described as evolution. In reality, it is simplification. College offenses are no longer designed primarily to teach quarterbacks how to read defenses. They are designed to make quarterbacks functional as quickly as possible. With the rise of the transfer portal and the acceleration of recruiting and NIL, coaches no longer have the luxury of building multi-year developmental tracks. Quarterbacks arrive and are expected to start immediately. Transfers arrive and must be playable in weeks, not years. Freshmen are promised playing time before they ever take a college snap and coaches must follow up on that promise as schools put millions into these freshmen. In that environment, complexity becomes a liability. Systems must be installable quickly. Reads must be simple. Progressions must be shallow. The goal is no longer to develop a quarterback over three or four seasons, but to extract production as fast as possible before the roster changes again. The result is an entire generation of quarterbacks who are highly efficient within a simple structure, but rarely asked to command it or evolve in it. Transfer Portals, Roster Chaos, and the Death of Progression The rise of the transfer portal didn’t just change where quarterbacks play. It changed how quarterbacks are taught. In previous eras, continuity was assumed. Quarterbacks stayed in the same system for multiple seasons. Coaches layered complexity year by year. Protections became more advanced. Pre-snap responsibilities expanded. Progressions became deeper. By the time a quarterback reached his third or fourth season, he was not just more experienced — he was more educated. He had failed, adjusted, learned, and grown within the same framework. That model no longer exists. Quarterbacks now move frequently. Offensive coordinators change constantly. Playbooks are rewritten…