Ken Whisenhunt: Arizona Cardinals' Head Coach or Saboteur-in-Chief?

, Whisenhunt was forced to promote Warner—or lose credibility in front of the team, fans, and the press.

THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN PUTTING YOUR QUARTERBACK ON A ONE-GAME LEASH...IS TO ANNOUNCE THAT HE'S ON A ONE-GAME LEASH.

When announcing the final result of the sham competition, Whisenhunt went wishy-washy. Once again, he became Ken "Weaselhunt." And rather than talk up the victor, he went on to concede only this:

"We've decided at this point that the person that best gives us the chance to win next Sunday at San Francisco is Kurt Warner. So, he will start for us at San Francisco, and I think we just said we'll just see how that goes...."

"Once again, when it comes down to what we feel is the best situation for us in our opener against San Francisco ... I felt like it was Kurt."

Huh?

So after throwing 21 touchdowns in the final eight games and winning the eight-month offseason quarterback competition, Warner gets rewarded with one start—and a road game at that? Can anyone name a quarterback in recent memory who began the season with a one-game anvil hanging over his head?

This is incredibly foolish on Whisenhunt's part. And does anyone actually believe that such a weak setup provides either Kurt Warner or the team with the confidence required to play their best? Of course not. Ken Weaselhunt owes his team—including Kurt Warner—better.

Later in the press conference, when asked about Matt Leinart, he responded with:

"I have no doubts, when it's his turn this year to play, that he'll respond the same way."

Let me see if I've got this straight:

The Cardinals haven't yet played a game this season, and he already knows with certainty that Leinart will see the field...that he is certain that his starting quarterback will either fail or get injured?

Is coach "Weaselhunt" actively trying to sabotage the season?

His words certainly aren't helping the team to prepare to win. So what is his motivation here? Is he more concerned with soothing Matt Leinart's fragile "psyche" than putting his starting quarterback in the right mindset?

Is he more concerned with maintaining his inappropriate concern with Rod Graves' job and the Bidwills' marketing goals—to the detriment of his own players?

"Weaselhunt" should remember this above all else: On average, throughout the last four decades, the Bidwills have fired their head coach every 2.8 years. 

So, he'd better focus on winning and let go of his desire to cross the line into management or to play amateur psychologist to a perpetually immature Matt Leinart. Frankly, with at least three losses last season directly attributable to major coaching-blunders, he has enough on his plate to worry about.

If he's interested in keeping his job, then he needs to keep his focus on coaching the team through a winning season and making a run to the playoffs.

The rest is not his concern.

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