Colt McCoy didn't want coaching change but hopeful Cardinals make right choice

Cardinals backup quarterback Colt McCoy said it “stinks” that the team felt it had to move on from head coach Kliff Kingsbury, adding he thinks the organization has the “pieces” to be a successful franchise that can challenge for the NFC West title and make a run in the playoffs next season.

“It’s always hard because you spend so much time with these guys. Everyone has the same goal and everybody works hard at it,” McCoy said Tuesday while co-hosting Off Campus on SiriusXM’s ESPNU Radio. “Sometimes, it doesn’t work out for whatever reason. I felt like we faced a ton of adversity as a team this year with injuries and just things that were kind of out of our control. And now we have a coaching change and that just stinks, whether you’re a first-year player or whether you’re going into year 14 like me.

“As an older player, you don’t really want to go through it. I was really tight with Kliff, but it’s just part of the business. Hopefully, we make some really good decisions this offseason as far as the Cardinals’ organization goes and we get back on our feet and give our best crack at it next year.”

In addition to relieving Kingsbury of his duties after four seasons as coach on Monday, team Owner Michael Bidwill also announced that General Manager Steve Keim was stepping don from his position and has resigned to focus on his health.

More:Bidwill said there was no 'disconnect' with Kingsbury; Cardinals simply had to make a change

“It definitely is a change for everybody,” said McCoy, 36, who has one more year left on his contract with the Cardinals. “As a player, you’ve just got to trust Mr. Bidwill and the direction he wants the organization to go in. I think a GM is equally as important as a head coach in the landscape of the NFL these days. You kind of want to have some camaraderie, like it’s meshed, it’s jelled together and we’re on the same page.

“There’s going to be change. Who knows what decisions we make, whether we go in-house or somewhere outside? Players aren’t going to make that decision. One thing I do know just from me is that I love this place, I love the organization, I love the fans and I do think we have the pieces to really be a successful football team and find ourselves competing for the division and making a run in the playoffs and I hope we collectively as an organization just figure it out.

“We’ll just let it play out the way it’s supposed to play out.”

McCoy suffered a concussion a week after replacing starter Kyler Murray, who suffered a torn ACL, and he missed the last three games of the season. Arizona finished 4-13, tying the franchise record for most losses in a single season.

He was asked if still wants to play for the Cardinals.

“As you get older in the game, you always sit down and think about and analyze things that went wrong last year, things that went right and ask yourself, ‘Do I want to go through this again?’ ” McCoy said. “Do I want to put in all the effort, the time and the energy? I know what it takes to get ready for a season.

“For me, that’s a good evaluation, that’s kind of what you do for the next month or so. You have a close eye on what happens in Arizona and hopefully we get it all right. I love my teammates and the organization, and I’m sure we will.”

Have an opinion on the Arizona Cardinals? Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic.com and follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals QB Colt McCoy addresses state of the team following big moves