The Arizona Cardinals have not yet made changes to the roster in the offseason. However, changes are happening within the organization.
They are shaking up the executive level and also making moves in non-football operations.
First reported as layoffs by former Cardinals reporter Kyle Odegard, the Cardinals have fired three executives.
According to ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss, the Cardinals fired chief financial officer Greg Lee, vice president of business development Mike Iaquinta and vice president of digital content and creative Tim Delaney.
Delaney’s X (formerly Twitter) bio now says “Former VP of Content & Creative for the Arizona Cardinals.”
Another VP, vice president for corporate partnerships Steve Ryan, will leave on his own later this year.
Weinfuss reported that two members of the social media team also left. Per Odegard, the total number of employees let go was in double digits.
The Cardinals are reorganizing things. They hired 40 new employees and have moved non-football operations like ticket sales from the Dignity Health Arizona Cardinals Training Center, the team’s headquarters for decades, to another space nearby.
According to Mike Jurecki, it is across the street from the team’s headquarters.
They have a new chief operating officer since August — Jeremy Walls — so these changes could be a change in vision.
Per Weinfuss, an internal email from Walls to employees said the team was, with the moves, seeking to “modernize our approach, strengthen our culture, invest in our people and provide clarity for the future.”
Team owner Michael Bidwill has come under fire with multiple reports of being difficult to work with and harsh to non-football employees.
Moving non-football operations should create some separation between him and that part of the business, in addition to keeping non-football employees separated from the coaches and players, which is something the team has tried to do either purposely or as an unspoken expectation for years.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
