While the Arizona Cardinals have only been at that locale since 1994, the franchise's history is one of the deepest in football history. When searching for the all-time best coaches for the Cardinals, the team's stops in Chicago, St. Louis and Phoenix must all be factored in to fully get the scope of the franchise's storied past.
Although the team has still yet to win a Super Bowl in the modern era, there has been no shortage of quality coaches to don Cardinals red.
5. Norm Barry
The coach for the Chicago Cardinals for the team's first Championship in 1925, Barry is held back on this list at No. 5 due to the fact that he only coached the team for 26 games. And while his 1926 record of 5-6-1 is uninspiring, Barry will always have a place in Cardinals history for leading the team to an 11-2 record in 1925 and a subsequent Championship win.
After his brief coaching career, Barry would become a judge and then an Illinois Senator from 1943 until 1953.
4. Ken Whisenhunt
Whisenhunt may have a losing record in his six seasons as the Cardinals' head coach (45-51) but he did lead the team to some successful seasons, including a surprise Super Bowl appearance in 2008.
In Whisenhunt's first three seasons, the team won eight, nine and then 10 games but were largely a disappointment in the three that followed. An overall lackluster coaching record hurts Whisenhunt's legacy but he did lead the team to its first and only Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.
Whisenhunt's 45 career wins with Arizona also puts him second all-time.
3. Bruce Arians
While Arians never led the Cardinals to a Super Bowl like Whisenhunt did, Arians makes up for it in his overall consistency. Under Arians, Arizona never finished worse than 7-8-1 and were always contenders for a playoff spot.
Arians did make an NFC Championship appearance in 2015. Although he was demolished by Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers in that game, Arians' 49 wins are more than any other Cardinals coach and his .619 winning percentage is better than any Cardinals coach to last more than three seasons.
2. Jimmy Conzelman
The Cardinals haven't won a Championship 1947. If it weren't for Conzelman, that drought would likely be longer. Head coach of the Chicago Cardinals for six seasons, Conzelman's career did not get off to a great start.
Conzelman won just eight combined games in his third season but by 1946, things started to turn around. Behind stars like Charley Trippi and Mal Kutner, Conzelman put together a 20-4 record in his final two seasons as head coach and nearly won back-to-back Championships before losing 7-0 to the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1948 Championship game.
1. Don Coryell
With the team for five seasons while they were in St. Louis, Coryell was one of the best coaches throughout the 1970s and 80s. Like Conzelman, Coryell's career with the Cardinals didn't start off great, as he put together a 4-9-1 in his first season.
However, Coryell was able to quickly turn things around and led the team to 10 wins the next season while being named 1974 AP NFL Coach of the Year.
Coryell being tops on this list may be controversial seeing as he never made it far into the playoffs but considering the team had just eight playoff appearances in the 24 seasons between 1948 and 1973, Coryell's ability to turn the rapidly-declining franchise around is impressive enough.
Additionally, Coryell's offensive system made way for players like Mel Gray, Jim Hart, and Dan Dierdorf into bona fide stars in the 70s and continues to influence the NFL's passing game to this day.
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