[Chief Rum]

Team Staff

I thought I would start off with the staff, since they will be the most unfamiliar of this Cardinals team.

Head Coach

NAME: Deion McKeever
AGE: 64
SALARY & YRS: $1.76 M/2 years left

Overall: I have Deion coaching my team! Well, not quite. Get a load of this guy. 64 years old. Hello, Marv Levy! What, Chuck Noll wasn't available? Overall, I can't complain. The guy has only three ratings below Average in the 14 ratings he has listed, although he doesn't have too many great ratings either. McKeever has the sixth highest contract among all head coaches in the NFL.

Offense/Special Teams: He is almost average across the board, but he is Very Good with Quarterbacks. That could be key. Unfortunately, one of his Fairs (all three of his below average scores are Fairs) is in Offensive Playcalling.

Defense: His other two poor ratings are in the front seven, the Defensive Linemen and the Linebackers. Ouch. He is Excellent with the Secondary, though--his best overall rating--and Good with Defensive Playcalling.

Intangibles: This is his highest area. He scores Good or better in all categories. He is Good with Young Talent, Motivation and Discipline. Even better, he is Very Good in Injury Avoidance.

Offensive Coordinator

NAME: Charles Lyons
AGE: 41
SALARY & YRS: $1.06 M/2 years left

Overall: Lyons looks pretty solid. He only has one below average rating, a Fair in Injury Avoidance. Even his defensive ratings are solid. I figure this guy is a possible future head coach, although I will have to get a good look at the rest of the league before I am sure. He's at the lower end of the pay scale, as the 18th best paid offensive coordinator in the league.

Offense: Lyons isn't particularly great with any position group. He is Good with receivers and backs, and Average with the line and the quarterback. He is also good with special teams. His best quality is he is Very Good with Offensive Playcalling (I hope Coach McKeever lets him make the calls then).

Intangibles: Other than the Injury Avoidance, once again, Lyons is solid in this category like McKeever. He is Very Good with Young Talent, Good with Motivation and Average with Discipline.

Defensive Coordinator

NAME: Norbert Darius
AGE: 64
SALARY & YRS: $490 K/5 years left

Overall: Five year contract to yet another 64-year-old? Is this guy even going to outlive his contract? Sheesh, at least he is signed up cheap. At under $500 K, Darius is one of the cheapest-signed coordinators int he league, coming in at 29th out of the 32 DCs. He has some good ratings in spots, but is probably the worst of the three coaches overall.

Defense: He matches McKeever with an Excellent in the secondary, so if our defensive backfield fails, it won't apparently be from coaching. He is also Very Good with linebackers, fortifying an area McKeever is weak in. His worst rating is on the defensive line, where he is Average. He also matches that with an Average in Defensive Playcalling. These are two key areas that move him down a little lower than the other two.

Intangibles: Typical hard-boiled old coach, it seems. Good with Discipline, but just Average with Young Talent and Fair with Motivation. He also has a Fair Injury Avoidance like Lyons, and I can't think that will bode well for us.

Lead Scout

NAME: Vincent Caldwell
AGE: 67
SALARY & YRS: $350 K/1 year left

Comments: Wow, another member of the coaching staff of the AARP. In fact, Caldwell is the oldest of the four staff members. Fortunately, he does seem to have some skills, particularly on offense. He is rated Good at judging all three skill position spots and then moves up to Excellent for the line. He is also Excellent with the defensive line, making him a great judge of the guys in the trenches. His Average with Linebackers is his worst rating, and he is Good with the secondary. The only area I really don't like is that Young Talent is Average. Since I figure to be a developing team, I could use a scout with better abilities in this area. Not surprisingly, a scout that skilled costs some moolah--Caldwell is actually the highest paid lead scout in the NFL.

CR