The first phase of the Arizona Cardinals’ organizational overhaul is complete.
The Cardinals announced on Monday they hired Monti Ossenfort as their new general manager. Ossenfort was the Titans’ director of player personnel for the last three years after a long tenure with the Patriots’ scouting department.
Last week, Cardinals general manager Steve Keim stepped away from the team to focus on his health after going on leave in December. Keim had been the team’s GM for 10 years. Arizona also fired head coach Kliff Kingsbury last week after the team went 4-13 following a playoff appearance last season. Both Keim and Kingsbury signed extensions last year through the 2027 season.
Ossenfort will now be tasked with finding a new head coach. NFL Network previously reported that Sean Payton, the longtime Saints coach who left New Orleans after last season to become an NFL analyst with Fox, has “done homework” on the Cardinals job as he prepares to return to the NFL. Payton is also reportedly a fan of Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray, who suffered a torn ACL on Dec. 12.
Ossenfort’s time with the Patriots also gives him connections to New England linebackers coach Jerod Mayo and former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, who is currently the Steelers’ linebackers coach. Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, who previously was the head coach of the Broncos, is also reportedly a candidate for Arizona’s head coaching job.
Ossenfort had internships with the Vikings and Texans before joining the Patriots as a personnel assistant in 2003. He returned to the Texans a year later as a pro and college scouting assistant before jumping back to the Patriots in 2006 as a scout. He worked his way up to director of college scouting for New England in 2014.