He will be 34 years old in November, but Arizona Cardinals quarterbacks coach Israel (everyone calls him Iz or Izzy) Woolfork is on the rise and has the vibe of an old soul.
A wide receiver at Grand Valley State where Chuck Martin was head coach, Woolfork became a graduate assistant at Miami (Ohio) when Martin became head coach there and then coached running backs at Miami from 2015-2017 and became the wide receivers coach in 2018.
In the 2021 offseason, he was with the Cleveland Browns as part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship and then in 2022 worked with Browns quarterbacks coach Drew Petzing within the Bill Willis Coaching Fellowship.
The big break came last year when Petzing became the Cardinals’ offensive coordinator and Woolfork was named quarterbacks coach.
To say he hit it off with quarterback Kyler Murray would be an understatement. Friday, he talked to the media after the final practice of the week. Here is that conversation.
Q: Where do you say Kyler Murray’s confidence is three weeks into the season?
A: I think he grows day by day. Obviously, it comes with practice reps and continuing to learn from mistakes. Build on the good, watching tape and just going out there and get reps with the guys. I think as we continue to grow together, get more reps, the connections with the receivers, offensive line protection; all that stuff will come together.
Q: We’ve seen some really good things with Kyler and Marv’s (wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.) connection. And then also some not as good things. Only 10 of 22 completions when he targets him. What have you seen with that connection and what do they need to do to kind of get to where they can be?
A: I think the connection’s ever growing. And I’m happy where it’s at and it will continue to get better. I mean, 10 of 22, I think Marv has 198 yards. That’s a pretty good average for 10 catches and they’ve had a lot of close plays, so they are out there and practicing. They had a great day at practice and will continue to build on it Sunday and then each week it’s looked better and better.
Q: After what Kyler experienced last year and then from the offseason until now, how important has that entire timeframe been?
A: It’s good. As you said, experience is the best teacher I believe and he’s been out here and actually this offseason was his first offseason being at, able physically to go out there and do what we’re asking him to do other than stuff in rehab and each week you just see his growth, his maturation and him just turn into a complete quarterback, which we all want.
Q: So what did the starting point this offseason look like for you as the quarterbacks coach and then Kyler now that you got the full offseason, where did you guys even begin? Was it how you ended last season or was it square one?
A: Square one was, we looked at everything. We watched every pass attempt he had. We watched the good, we watched the bad. We set out five goals for this offseason; how he can improve. We made sure we implemented those drills and we had times during the offseason where we made sure we implemented that stuff from learning, watch other quarterbacks who may do those skills at a high level. And then when we got on the practice field, we made sure we emphasized those things, so when we turn on the tape, what are five tangible things that we can watch. Hey, you did better at this, need to improve on this and continue to grow.
Q: Can you share those five goals with us?
A: Oh, it’s just simple stuff. We always talk about rhythm, we talk about tempo on drops. We talk about communication in and out of the huddle. Ball placement. Try to create more explosive plays down the field and then continue to run when things are breaking down. Just simple things like that that he was doing at a high level before, but after the injury and in the rhythm, getting back we needed to continue to do.
Q: How has the personal relationship grown between you and him over all this time since last year.
A: It continues to grow day by day. I know how he works; he knows how I work. I love the guy to death. He comes into the building every day ready to work. He takes coaching very well, he’s super competitive and as a coach that’s all you can ask from a person that comes in with a great attitude. He’s competitive and wants to be the best at his position. And he’s very skillful and a really good athlete. I’m a very lucky guy.
Q: How would you evaluate or describe is a better word, his relationship with Jonathan (Gannon)?
A: (laughing) That’s two guys; I think they’re two peas in a pod, honestly. JG is a very competitive person who’s high energetic. He loves; he loves football, and you look at K1, that’s who he is in a nutshell. The guy lives and breathes football. As much tape as he watches other quarterbacks around the league. He’s texting me a play from Baltimore scoring against Dallas. A red-zone route where (Rashod) Bateman scored on like, I don’t know what type of route it was and he’s like, ‘Hey, you ever look at this?’ I saw it but like, just picking up on different things like that. Those guys eat, breathe football and they want to be the best at what they do. He wants me to be the best coach in the NFL; Kyler wants to be the best quarterback.
Q: How much do you guys talk outside the facility. And is he always texting or are you like, “Hey man, I’m with my family, give me a break.”
A: My phone’s always on me. But like you said, especially you start getting into Thursday night games, Friday, Saturday with college football, Sunday early games when we play later. Different things pop up and I want him to go out there and look at things. And if they fit what we do for my philosophy, instructional system, let’s see if we can put it in our offense. But he can call me all the time. (Laughing) Like my wife knows that if Kyler calls, I answer. But he’s very respectful. And then we just talk about stuff outside of football: family. friends, music. Could be shoes. Could be anything goofy. But he’s my guy.
Q: Without getting too much into details, what’s it like with those times post-game sitting at his locker when you’re talking, especially after maybe things haven’t gone so well.
A: It’s useful. Perception is a big thing and usually when we’re in a situation, we usually just see it out of our eyeballs. And I think it’s important for you to just kind of express yourself. Hey, what do you feel? What do you think happened? And like, you just experienced it. Then, 24 hours later, you watched it outside of your body. Do you still feel the same way you felt after the game? And a lot of times perspective changes, based off of you getting a bird’s-eye view instead of just from inside your helmet. I just always think like with me especially as a player, when you go home, you don’t really talk about after a game. You can have a million thoughts that run through your head. So getting that off your chest, being able to talk to somebody and getting a different opinion on what you thought, I think that helps kind of cope with stuff and kind of build on. And then the next day kind of grow from.
Q: How much in-game communication is there?
A: A lot. After a series, you go through the pictures. We talk through a lot of that stuff. And then just … I’m not out there. I think what I see and I think how the game’s going. He’s living it so, “Hey, what do you feel? What do you see? Did you see the corner right here? Where were your eyes? Do you see space here?” Just kind of picking up. And I think it’s a collaborative effect between me and Drew being on the same page of what the defense is doing.
Q: How many people are on your (phone) always pick-up list?
A: My wife, Kyler Murray, Jonathan Gannon, Drew Petzing and cut the list off there. (Everybody laughs). Oh, my mom, too!
Q: Kyler and Drew both talk so much about the ball going where it needs to go and the importance of that. How do you make sure that that’s happening? What is that process like? What does Kyler have to be doing to make sure of that?
A: We always say, “Listen to your feet.” And we preach about timing and footwork in our offense and how everything ties in together. And if you take the correct drop with your eyes in the right spot, the ball goes where it needs to be. You know when to scramble, you know when the ball should be checked down and different things like that. I thought last week was a perfect example of sometimes not listening to our feet and our eyes and we’re going to grow from that and learn from that. Just listen to your feet.
Q: What are the biggest adjustments that might not be obvious when you’re down to your third- or fourth-string right tackle?
A: I think you don’t want to completely change the identity of who you are as an offense. Because obviously there are different things you can help that person and whatever scheme you’re trying to run for that day. But also, these guys are professionals that we do trust, whoever gets in the game. I think they’re here for a reason, we have nothing but total faith in those guys to go out there and perform.
Q: How much progress have you seen from Clayton (Tune) since last year? And also, what have you seen from Desmond (Ridder)?
A: I was talking to Clayton today. It was crazy. We’re throwing routes on air and his timing where catches used to be toe-taps at the back of the end zone where now it’s hitting guys two or three yards from the back of the end zone because he knows where guys are, his feet are connected with his arm, he’s more balanced, he’s making smarter decisions. And then Des, got here in April and then I think, week to week, you just get a better understanding of what we’re trying to do. So it’s not just going out there and thinking, it’s reacting because you know what the defense is doing.
So those guys have been attacking and they’ve been pushing each other. We’re in ST (scout team), you guys are not iron. Practicing we’re on ST. Those guys are on a separate field and they’re running through our script like they’re the starting quarterback. You’ve got two backups doing that and pushing each other like that, you put yourself in position to have success in our quarterback room.
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