Former Cardinals executive Terry McDonough predicts Michael Bidwill's time as owner will end

Former Arizona Cardinals front office executive Terry McDonough, who has filed a grievance case with the NFL against team owner Michael Bidwill, is making his first public comments since the situation came to light and claims Bidwill’s time as owner “is going to come to a quick and abrupt end.”

“Bidwill’s days of owning the Cardinals will soon be coming to an end, and he has NOBODY to blame but himself and his horrific behavior towards so many people. And that is ON the record,” McDonough said in a text message to Doug Franz, host of the Doug Franz Unplugged podcast.

McDonough indicated to Franz during the text messages that Franz was free to quote the entire conversation and on Monday, Franz ran with it via his broadcast partner, WTSMTV.

McDonough predicted to Franz that Bidwill’s time as owner of the Cardinals will end, "Whenever I speak and ESPECIALLY, when Steve Wilks speaks,” referring to the one-time, former head coach of the Cardinals.

In his grievance claim to the NFL, McDonough, the team’s former vice president of player personnel, accuses Bidwill of gross misconduct, including cheating, discrimination and harassment. ESPN was the first to report on the grievance earlier this month.

The allegations include that both McDonough and Wilks were coerced by Bidwill into using burner phones to communicate with then-general manager Steve Keim during Keim’s five-week suspension in the summer of 2018 after pleading guilty to extreme DUI in Chandler. McDonough claims he still has the phone, which he says contains the evidence of the cheating scandal in addition to other documentation.

Keim, according to Bidwill, stepped down as GM at the end of this past season for health reasons and resigned from the organization. Wilks was fired after one season as head coach.

“Do you have any idea of how heinous Michael Bidwill’s actions were toward Steve Wilks?” McDonough said in his text to Franz. “Bidwill love me right up until that point. From Keim’s suspension on, EVERYTHING changed.

“The only thing I did was let Bidwill know I was going to expose him for his atrocious treatment of Steve Wilks. That’s why I suddenly disappeared. He couldn’t fire me because he knew I had him dead in his tracks. And that’s why he came out with all that BS about me.”

McDonough is seeking damages for breach of contract and emotional distress. The Cardinals have strongly denied his claims in a detailed response to multiple media outlets, including The Republic, calling the arbitration filing “outlandish.”

“We are reluctantly obliged to provide a public response along with broader context for some disappointing and irresponsible actions by Terry McDonough,” said Jim McCarthy, an external public relations advisor to the Cardinals. “Claims he has made in an arbitration filing as wildly false, reckless, and an opportunistic ploy for financial gain.

“Our position was consistent with many efforts we’ve made to accommodate Terry during his time with the team, despite difficulties in his personal life and his often volatile demeanor toward colleagues,” the statement from McCarthy continued. “That’s why we are addended to see that Terry is now lashing out at our organization with disparagements and threats that are absurdly at odds with the facts. This unnecessary vindictive action by Terry was intended to malign his co-workers, our owner Michael Bidwill, and our team with outlandish accusations.”

Second voice: Another former Cardinals executive weighs in on Michael Bidwill, supporting misconduct claims

McCarthy’s statement included attacks on McDonough’s character, which McDonough claims were directed by Bidwill as retribution for him not accepting a settlement offer from Bidwill.

“I am not going anywhere,” McDonough said in one portion of his text exchange with Franz, adding of Bidwill, “He brought all of this on himself. His biggest mistake is this: He never thought he was going to be held accountable for his cruel and uncivilized behavior towards many people.”

McDonough’s grievance, according to ESPN, contends other charges against Bidwill, such as treating a Black employee and two pregnant women poorly, citing the owner “created an environment of fear for minority employees.”

Bidwill has not spoken publicly about McDonough’s grievance and according to McCarthy, and intends to let the NFL handle the case internally.

More: Arizona Cardinals' Michael Bidwill joins long list of NFL owners with off-field accusations

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Terry McDonough makes first public comments on Michael Bidwill