Former NFL head coach Dave McGinnis died Monday, the Titans announced. “Coach Mac,” as he was affectionately known, was 74.
“My heart aches with the loss of Coach Mac, who was so much more than a coach and broadcaster. He was family,” Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said in a statement. “Coach Mac gave so much of himself to this organization over the years, and his passion, loyalty, and love for the Titans never wavered. He cared deeply about the people around him, and that kindness and authenticity left a lasting impact on everyone who knew him. He held a very special place in our family, and his presence in our lives and within this franchise will never be forgotten. We will miss him dearly, and we will always be grateful for the legacy he leaves behind.”
McGinnis served as head coach of the Cardinals, beginning as interim coach in 2000 and keeping the job through the 2003 season. He went 17-40.
“We were deeply saddened to learn of Dave McGinnis’ passing and extend our heartfelt condolences to all who knew and loved him,” Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said in a statement. “As Dave often said, he was a ‘ball coach’ through and through, and no one ever filled that role with more passion, enthusiasm, and charisma.
“Coach Mac truly loved the game and everything -- and everyone -- associated with it, especially his players. He was one of a kind and will be greatly missed.”
McGinnis began his NFL coaching career as the linebackers coach of the Bears (1986-95) before becoming the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator (1996-2000). He went to the Titans as linebackers coach after the Cardinals fired him and was there from 2004-11 before following Jeff Fisher to the Rams, where McGinnis served as assistant head coach (2012-16).
McGinnis most recently worked for the Titans Radio Network.
Cardinals Clips
Chris Payton-Jones, a former cornerback in the NFL and UFL, has died. He was 30.
Via Justin Barney of News4Jax, Payton-Jones was involved in a car accident on Saturday night.
Undrafted out of Nebraska in 2018, Payton-Jones played for the Cardinals, Lions, Vikings, and Titans. He appeared in 29 regular-season games, with six starts.
He played for the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL in 2023. He then played for the UFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks in 2024 and 2025.
“Chris was a beloved teammate and leader in the locker room, who demonstrated the importance of hard work, determination, and resilience throughout his career,” the UFL said in a statement. “As importantly, Chris was always a bright soul who everyone throughout the league enjoyed spending time with off-the-field during his three-year tenure.”
Payton-Jones had retired from football in January.
We extend our condolences to his family, friends, teammates, and coaches.
Kicker Joshua Karty and defensive lineman P.J. Mustipher are back with the Cardinals.
The exclusive rights free agents signed their one-year tender on Tuesday as players reported for the start of the voluntary strength and conditioning program.
The Cardinals originally signed Karty off the Rams’ practice squad on Dec. 23. However, he did not kick for the Cardinals last season as they also had Chad Ryland, who missed six field goals in the six games before Karty arrived.
Karty and Ryland will battle for the job in training camp under new special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial.
Karty was 10-of-15 on field goals and 23-of-26 on extra points last season before the Rams replaced him with Harrison Mevis.
Mustipher was on the Cardinals’ practice squad his first season in Arizona before making the 53-player roster in 2025.
In 15 games last season, Mustipher had 32 total tackles, one tackle for loss and a pass deflection. He was used in rotation with Dalvin Tomlinson at nose tackle.
The Cardinals signed Roy Lopez to replace Tomlinson but needed depth with the uncertainty surrounding Calais Campbell’s future and Walter Nolen III’s return from injury.
Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson is generally recognized as the second-best quarterback in the 2026 NFL draft, behind only Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who’s set to go to the Raiders first overall. So where will Simpson go?
If the betting odds are to be believed, the Cardinals or Jets will trade into the late first round to take Simpson.
The Cardinals are +125 favorites to land Simpson, with the Jets just behind them at +145.
But no one expects the Jets or Cardinals, who have the second and third overall picks, to take Simpson with their own first-round picks. Instead, Simpson’s odds project him to go somewhere in the last eight picks of the draft: His over/under and first-round odds suggest he’ll be between the 25th and 32nd picks.
That would mean the Cardinals or Jets trading up from their own first-round picks, No. 33 and No. 34 overall, to move into the late first round and take Simpson. That’s what the Giants did last year when they traded up from the 34th overall pick to the 25th overall pick to draft quarterback Jaxson Dart. That required the Giants to give up third-round picks both last year and this year in the deal, and that’s probably the kind of trade the Cardinals or Jets would be looking to make.
If the Cardinals or Jets don’t draft Simpson, the team with the next-best odds to take him is the Rams at +425, followed by the Browns at +650 and Steelers at +800.
Arvell Reese may not make it past the second overall pick in the draft later this month, but other teams at the top of the draft order will be ready if he does slip past the Jets.
NFL Media reports that Reese has visited with four of the next seven teams on the draft board, including the three teams slated to pick directly after the Jets at No. 2. The edge rusher has spent time with the Cardinals, Titans, and Giants as well as the Chiefs. Kansas City has the ninth overall pick.
Per the report, Reese has also met with the Cowboys, who have the No. 12 pick.
It seems unlikely that Reese will be available if Dallas stays put, but the Cowboys do have a pair of first-round picks this year — the Chiefs do as well — so they could try to make a jump up the board if they are convinced Reese is their guy.
Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey is one of the top prospects in the 2026 draft, a likely top-10 pick.
He spent the week visiting with the Cowboys and the Chiefs and took a top-30 visit to the Cardinals the week after the Scouting Combine, NFL Media reports.
The Cardinals draft third, the Chiefs ninth and the Cowboys 12th.
Dallas, though, also has the 20th overall pick, so it could seek to move up to select Bailey, who would fill a big need.
Bailey has also visited the Titans, according to Jim Wyatt of the team website. The Titans draft fourth overall.
Bailey, 22, began his collegiate career at Stanford before transferring to Texas Tech for his senior season. He earned unanimous All-America honors and was Big 12 defensive lineman of the year.
In his four-year college career, Bailey totaled 163 tackles, 42 tackles for loss, 29 sacks and 10 forced fumbles in 46 games.
Offseason programs will start getting underway around the NFL next week.
The ten teams that hired new coaches this offseason will be eligible to start working with their players on Monday, April 6. The Ravens are the only team that has set that as their first day of work while the Cardinals, Falcons, Bills, Browns, Raiders, Dolphins, Giants, Steelers and Titans have set Tuesday as their opening day.
All of those teams will also be able to hold a voluntary minicamp later in the spring. Every team is also scheduled to hold a rookie minicamp and a mandatory minicamp over the course of the next few months.
The first two weeks of work for all teams is limited to meetings, strength and conditioning, and physical rehabilitation only. The three-week second phase allows for on-field work, but no full-speed team drills while the third OTA phase allows for team drills, but there is no live contact allowed at any point in the offseason.
Most of the 22 teams with returning coaches will be opening their offseason programs on April 20 or 21. The Broncos have set May 4 as their first day.
The decision of quarterback Kirk Cousins to sign with the Raiders removes from the board a potential backup option for the Rams. And it potentially kicks the door a little wider for a return by Jimmy Garoppolo.
Via Nate Atkins of The Athletic, Garoppolo is currently “weighing a few options” as he plans his next move.
He doesn’t need to rush; since entering the league in 2014, Garoppolo has made $156 million. His days as a starter are likely over, but there’s still a need for him.
The Cardinals were interested. After talks hit a snag, Arizona pivoted to Gardner Minshew. It’s still possible, in theory, that Garoppolo could supplant Jacoby Brissett there.
The Packers also need a veteran backup. They were interested in Cousins. Perhaps they could also be interested in Garoppolo.
He also could wait. Injuries happen. Urgency could lead to better financial offers. Now 34, he doesn’t need to rush into the wrong spot. He can wait for the right one, whenever and wherever it may emerge.
Carson Beck and Ty Simpson are making some of the same stops as they make the pre-draft rounds of NFL teams.
NFL Media reports that Beck and Simpson are both slated for meetings with the Cardinals and Dolphins ahead of next month’s draft. Both quarterbacks have also spent time with the Jets already.
Simpson had a brief meeting with the Cardinals at the Combine as well and their head coach Mike LaFleur called him a “good dude and we’ll see where it goes.”
Beck has also met with the Steelers while Simpson has spent time with the Browns as he works to find a home in the NFL.
It became obvious late last season that Kyler Murray had played his final game for the Cardinals. The team kept him on injured reserve with a foot injury, with his last of five starts in 2025 coming on Oct. 5.
Mike LaFleur, though, wouldn’t discuss Murray’s future after his hiring as the team’s head coach.
Now that the Cardinals officially released Murray, who signed with the Vikings, LaFleur addressed Murray’s departure after seven seasons.
“Like I’ve said about Kyler, a lot of respect for him. Wish him the best,” LaFleur said Monday at the NFL owners meetings, via Donnie Druin of SI.com. “Did some good stuff here, but sometimes it’s time for change for both sides. Again, wish him the best. Will never wish ill will on anybody.”
Murray, the No. 1 overall pick in 2019, played under two head coaches in Arizona. He will not play for LaFleur.
He leaves after one playoff appearance, two Pro Bowls, 121 passing touchdowns, 60 interceptions and 32 rushing touchdowns.
“Like I just said, it’s one of those things where it’s good for both parties to part ways if you will,” LaFleur said. “Again, we wish him the best. He had a lot of success here. I know when I was on the other sideline, albeit [I’m not] Robert Saleh or one of the defensive coaches — he was a problem. Again, wish him all the success, but we felt like this was the best thing to move forward.”
The Cardinals signed Gardner Minshew to join Jacoby Brissett in the quarterbacks room, and the team could draft a quarterback to join them.
“Let’s call it what it is: The quarterback position is the most important position in all of sports. We know that,” LaFleur said. “So there were lengthy conversations in so many different aspects of [the position], and there will continue to be until we figure out how we have the most perfect room possible. I like where we’re at right now, but like we said, if there’s a guy to add, we’re going to add [him].”
