Cardinals should consider hiring Mike Leach

Call former Texas Tech head football coach Mike Leach a lot of things, crazy, nutty, eccentric just don't forget to call him an offensive innovator.

Leach figures to be in demand as an offensive coordinator by teams that recognize his talents and the Arizona Cardinals should be on the list.

There are a few reasons why the Arizona Cardinals should consider hiring Leach as their offensive coordinator. First, they don't have one. Russ Grimm and Mike Miller split running game and passing game duties respectively while Ken Whisenhunt calls the plays.

This is a ridiculous set up. Whisenhunt enjoys play calling but he has enough to do during a game. Get a separate designated play caller in there.

Russ Grimm seems a logical choice to replace Jim Zorn as coach of the Washington Redskins. He should have been chosen two years ago when Zorn got the gig. They won't make that mistake again. If Grimm did leave, Leach could slide in as assistant head coach/offensive coordinator.

Another reason Leach should be considered is Whisenhunt likes unorthodox play calling and isn't afraid of the occasional gadget play. Leach certainly is unorthodox but he is also innovative and Whisenhunt is open minded enough to accept that.

Also, the Cardinals run many multi wide receiver sets in a pass-happy offense, which isn't a far cry from the spread offense Leach ran at Texas Tech. Imagine the damage Leach could do with the Cardinals offensive talent.

Unfortunately, there are also a number of reasons why this will never happen.

First, the Cardinals would likely have to pay Leach a healthy bounty to secure his talents. For a team that is reportedly squeezing their strength and conditioning coach on a new contract and made less than attractive two-year offers to existing coaches, paying up for Leach seems unlikely.

Leach's quirky personality may also present a problem. His idiosyncrasies reportedly were a reason why Texas Tech jumped on the chance to fire him when the opportunity presented itself.

Finally, the Cardinals figure to make a playoff run so many college and NFL teams will have a chance to talk to him in the meantime.

Predictions for football teams are often based on additions and subtractions on the field. Often times, changes made on the sidelines can have just as large of an affect and the addition of Leach could prove such a choice for the Cardinals.