Head coach Ken Wisenhunt and general manager Rod Graves have both signed contract extensions with the Arizona Cardinals until 2013.
Arizona head coach gets new deal until 2013, GM also signs
Head coach Ken Wisenhunt and general manager Rod Graves have both signed contract extensions with the Arizona Cardinals until 2013.
Wisenhunt's deal reportedly puts him in the top five earners of coaches in the NFL, with it worth around $5 million per season on average.
The former Pittsburgh offensive coordinator took over from Dennis Green in 2006 and led them to the Super Bowl in Tampa three years later, where they narrowly lost out to the Steelers.
"It is exciting that they think enough of me as a coach to do this," said Wisenhunt. "The important thing is we have a system in place that's produced pretty good results the last couple of years."
The woeful Cards had just one winning season since 1984 before the arrival of Wisenhunt, and had won just one play-off game since 1975.
Turnaround
Together, Graves and Wisenhunt turned things around in the desert and they claimed the NFC Championship before playing their part in a thrilling Super Bowl XLIII.
Another play-off win came in after the 2009 season but they were then beaten by eventual champions New Orleans in the Superdome, which was no disgrace, and the aim is to keep the team in and around the play-off picture year after year.
"The outstanding work of these two individuals has been a vital part of the organisation's accomplishments," Cardinals president Michael Bidwill said in a statement.
"Rod and his staff have done an exceptional job in evaluating talent and building a roster that will produce sustained success. Obviously Ken Whisenhunt's achievements as a head coach speak for themselves."
Wisenhunt has not yet had a losing season in Arizona, going from 8-8 to 9-7 and then 10-6 last year, while he is 4-2 in the play-offs.
A big challenge will come next season though with the retirement of quarterback Kurt Warner, with serious question marks about his back-up Matt Leinart.
