100 Things Cardinals Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die by Kent Somers

Author:Kent Somers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Triumph Books
Published: 2016-07-20T04:00:00+00:00

45. Matt Leinart

The Cardinals didn’t try to contain their glee or temper fans’ expectations when they drafted quarterback Matt Leinart with the 10th overall pick in 2006. They thought the star from the University of Southern California would be taken well before they had a chance. When he fell to them, the Cardinals rushed to turn in Leinart’s name as their pick. “It took us about two minutes,” general manager Rod Graves said that day. Coach Dennis Green was thrilled. “A huge pick,” he said.

In a telephone conversation with Leinart that day, Green was even more effusive. “Coach Green was fired up,” Leinart said. “He said it was a gift from heaven.” That proved to be hyperbole. In four years as a Cardinal, Leinart played in only 29 games with 17 starts.

In 2010 Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt benched Leinart in favor of Derek Anderson. After Leinart voiced his unhappiness with the move, the Cardinals cut the “gift from heaven.”

Leinart’s years with the Cardinals were filled with disappointment. He was the victim of injuries, bad coaching, poor personal decisions, and a lack of arm strength.

Leinart went on to play a season in Houston and one in Oakland. By 2013 he was out of the NFL. His career started with some promise. As the 10th overall pick, he started 11 games as a rookie. The highlight was nearly pulling off an upset of the powerful Chicago Bears in the opening season at University of Phoenix Stadium.

That 2006 team, however, was poorly coached, and Green was fired at the end of the year. His replacement, Whisenhunt, hadn’t drafted Leinart, and the relationship didn’t start well. The two first met on the streets of Miami’s South Beach at the Super Bowl. Later that spring Whisenhunt criticized Leinart’s work ethic, but the quarterback opened that season as the starter.

A fractured collarbone ended his season prematurely, and in 2008 Whisenhunt opened the job to competition between Leinart and Kurt Warner.

Leinart’s cause wasn’t helped when photos of him partying in a hot tub with girls hit the Internet. “We talked about the level of scrutiny, not only at that position, but who he is just because of having played at a high-profile college team and having been a Heisman Trophy winner,” Whisenhunt said at the time. “You would be naïve if you didn’t think those things would be of interest. We obviously reinforced there’s a standard we hold all our players to that we expect them to keep. I’m obviously disappointed that those pictures showed up.”

Leinart’s tense relationship with Whisenhunt, however, went beyond the photos. Whisenhunt believed in competition at every position—even quarterback. As a result Leinart never felt the coach had any confidence in him. The situation boiled over in August of 2010. Warner retired after the 2009 season, and Leinart was the heir apparent.

But Whisenhunt became increasingly disenchanted with Leinart as the preseason progressed. So in late August, he announced that Anderson, signed that spring, would start over Leinart. Incensed, Leinart came off the practice field one day and held an impromptu press conference just behind Whisenhunt’s usual spot.

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