PHX
Game Over. Game On.
April 2009
JeAns, JumPers, DevIls AnD DenIm ASU hoops star Derek Glasser
has success in his jeans An AGenTs secreT? Scott Leventhal treats
all his baseball clients like brothers
Boom Boom In Bloom Fred Couples is almost 50 and still having a
great year on the PGA Tour DAron Is rArIn To Go Daron Sutton begins
his third season calling D-Back games JJ AT Home In PHoenIx NASCAR
star Jimmie Johnson has his own race at PIR
KEN YOU BELIEVE IT?Plus: // The Man Who Replaced Barry Bonds //
Garth Brooks and the Coyotes // POST Takes Over HoHoKam Park
>Two years ago the Cardinals were a punch line. >Two
months ago they punched their ticket to the super Bowl. >Head
coach Ken Whisenhunt is the main reason for the spectacular
transformation
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APR 2009
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Ken WhisenhuntAPRIL 2009
i
Ken Whisenhunt did something that nobody really thought was
truly possible lead the Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl, and
within mere seconds of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, at that. But
if you think hes even remotely satisfied, you dont know the best
coach the organization has ever had very well.
By Zack Simon
Photos by Tracy Rasinski82MAY 2009
83www.postphx.com
MAY 2009
Ken WhisenhuntAPRIL 2009
i
of 28 nonstop weeks of your life chasing down a dream that, for
over 20 years, seemed about as likely here as getting frostbite in
august; in the process completely flipping the national perception
of a team that for a long time was considered a joke and putting a
city on the edge of delirium, giving it an incredible dose of civic
pride; it shouldnt come as too much of a surprise when we tell you
Cardinals coach ken Whisenhunt hasnt gotten over the pain of coming
oh-so-close in the super Bowl. not even close. i havent watched the
game, he told us. seriously, he hasnt popped in one minute of game
film from the epic classic with the steelers or been tempted to
watch any of the tv telecast. its still just too darn painful. he
certainly didnt enjoy inadvertently being exposed recently to a
couple peeks at what happened. We were at nFL league meetings and
the very first meeting of the week, the commissioner showed a tape
to the group that summed up the past season. it had a lot of clips
from the super Bowl in it and from our season and it was very
difficult to watch even that, so im not ready to watch the tape
yet. Plus, you couple the fact that nobody thought we could get
there. That was a weekly message that we preached to the team, too,
throughout the playoff run. That nobody though we could do it.
Which then made it even more of an emotional journey because we did
do it. its very difficult right now, but i know in time well be
able to look back and be very proud of it. spend any amount of time
around the Cards coach and youll quickly feel the focused and
intense vibe that emanates from him. its like a force field of
calmness wrapped in a combustible layer of determination and laser
like strategy that lets you experience an impression about him that
is 100% accurate. hes a man thats always in
When you invest every Waking minute
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MAY 2009
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control, in charge and in a constant state of getting done
whatever is needed to accomplish a mission. Cardinals fans have
something right now theyve never, ever had, especially in the 20
plus years theyve been in the valley: hope and pride. They also
have a coach that carries with him a combination of authority,
credibility and accountability and when you add into the mix the
fact that hes also media savvy and truly knows how to sell the
product of Cardinal football, youve got a front-office face of the
organization that has no interest in being a one-hit-wonder.
I want to be here for the long haul, because I want to look back
10 or 15 years and say this is where the Arizona Cardinals became a
very good football team, one that competed year in and year out.
Ken Whisenhuntnow there is another level of sustaining success, and
thats the next big step for our team and organization, Whisenhunt
told POST in the living room of his south Chandler home. Thats what
the good teams do. The passion that drives us now is to prove we
can have continued success. We want to create that atmosphere we
had at the end of the season every game. We have to
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MAY 2009
have a consistent product to do that. take a trip down memory
lane, just a few months back, to the super Bowl party you hosted or
went to. you may have thrown a bowl of guacamole dip at the tv when
the steelers marched down the field and ripped the game from the
Cards. you may have shed a tear of disappointment or two and felt
absolutely sick for the rest of the night but, most likely, your
life returned to normal within a couple days and, heck, for what
nFL fans in the valley have gone through for so long, most people
were pretty okay with the fact that the Cardinals finally got a
whiff of playing ball under the biggest microscope and brightest
lights. moral victories arent what nFL coaches dedicate their lives
to or sacrifice quality time with their families seven months out
of the year for, though. it so hard to get there [to the super
Bowl], Whisenhunt told POST. ive heard people say losing a super
Bowl is the toughest thing you can ever experience in sports. ive
won one, [as offensive coordinator with the steelers] so i know on
the other end of the spectrum how emotional it is to win it and
what that means. ive experienced both, and make no mistake, im
happy we had a chance to go and im proud we had a chance to
represent our city and our fans well in that game. But it is so
devastating because its so hard to get there and when you consider
how close we were to winning it... makes it even that much more
difficult. Theres one thing that makes the difficult aspect of all
this a little less for the Cards coach. he and his wife alice have
a great relationship and are raising two fantastic kids, son kenny
and daughter mary ashley. This is a very close-knit group that
shares the ups and downs and fully understands the demands of this
type of high-profile, nFL lifestyle. you have to have support from
your family. Thats the most important thing. Being able to talk to
your wife is so important, Whisenhunt said. you can see the
connection that ken and alice have. its impressive, and you can
tell teamwork is as much of an understood concept in their
beautiful and cozy home as it is on the field.
Join our team! aDVertiSinG SaLeS
Im happy for my family. Having the success we had creates strong
attachments to the city for our family. Thats whats important to
us. Ken Whisenhunt
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letter to Don KMAYal, [email protected] or fax (480)
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im happy for my family. having the success we had creates strong
attachments to the city for our family. Thats whats important to
us. Whisenhunt also has close professional relationships hes
developed over the years, as an nFL player and assistant coach,
that he can lean on. heres another impressive thing about his
personality: he does leans on those relationships. seeks them out,
appreciates input and isnt interested in acting like he invented
the game of football or is smarter than everybody else with a
headset. one man in particular who ken leaned on over the past few
months, in regards to some of the off-field issues he had to deal
with, is his old boss Bill Cowher, the former head coach of the
steelers. ill give you an example, Whisenhunt explained. We went
through some things with hines Ward in Pittsburgh in regards to a
contract deal with him, and there were times last year during
training camp when a situation with anquan [Boldin] developed. i
called Bill a number of times. another example is in Pittsburgh, we
had a quarterback competition
MAY 2009
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Ken WhisenhuntAPRIL 2009
i
Win or lose, Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt has a great
family he shares all of it with. From left is son Kenneth Jr., wife
Alice, Ken and daughter Mary Ashley.
between kordell stewart and tommy maddox i was involved in. That
experience and how we handled it as a staff, working with Coach
Cowher gave me great reference when we were going through that on
our team. at some point, the page has to be turned and the pain of
the super disappointment has to be channeled and churned into
something positive. Thats the stage the Cards coach is at now, and
thats another area hes got a strategic advantage over a lot of his
peers. hes had a lot of things on his plate lately that have
required a tremendous amount of his time. his coaching staff got a
face lift. There was a little thing to deal with called a new
contract for his star quarterback. a draft to prepare for. more
personnel issues that will pop up from now until training camp.
They key is using every little experience or nugget of experience
as a morsel of motivation. Just like ken masterfully used the
implication that nobody gave the Cardinals a chance to rally his
team and inspire and challenge them to make history and start
building something special. ask anyone thats been to the top of the
mountain handling success is sometimes tougher than achieving
it.
There are going to be more distractions this season, Whisenhunt
said. Well have more night games, more national tv games, more
media scrutiny. The question is how will our team handle that? That
is something we didnt do well at the end of regular season so
hopefully we learned our lesson. The playoffs were a great lesson
on what we have to do on a weekly basis and im excited because i
believe our team has crossed a big bridge and taken a big step in
handling the challenges that are going to come our way. The bottom
line, Cardinal fans, is this: last year was no fluke. it was
special and memorable, magical and ultimately gut-wrenching, but,
its pretty clear just getting to the super Bowl wont be celebrated
because anything but a super Bowl win wont be tolerated. Whisenhunt
and his family enjoy living here, its become home, and all we can
hope for is that the Cardinals treat him properly and do everything
they can to make sure the best coach this organization has ever had
doesnt leave until hes retiring. i think when you look over a
career, we had success in Pittsburgh when we were there, and we had
success on a short term basis here in arizona. i
think the way you measure greatness, not for myself but for a
football team, is sustained success. so yes, i want to be here for
the long haul, because i want to look back 10 or 15 years and say
this is where the arizona Cardinals became a very good football
team, one that competed year in and year out. The city has been
great to us, its a great place to live, and this is a very good
football town, Whisenhunt told POST. its also a good golf town, and
its no secret ken is very good at the game, and simply loves to
play for the therapeutic relief if provides, along with the fact it
allows the ultra-competitive coach to find a release for that
desire to always want to get better, and yes, win. hey, he took the
Cardinals to the super Bowl! a feat that, literally nobody ever
thought was possible. Just for that, he shouldnt have to ever pay
for a round of golf in the valley again. take solace in the fact
that coming close is of no interest to the man leading the
Cardinals. he wants to win at the highest level, on a regular
basis. When he does, you can bet on the flight back from wherever
the super Bowl is that hell be watching the game tape then heading
home to enjoy with his family a replay of the tv broadcast on their
Dvr.
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