The first big move of what is expected to be an extremely busy offseason for the Cardinals was made on Tuesday afternoon with the announcement that Steve Keim will be the team's new general manager.
Immediately after Rod Graves was fired from his post, Keim's name was attached as a possible replacement. He got some interest from other teams across the league, but with continuing to scout for the organization for the upcoming draft, it wasn't very likely for him to end up elsewhere. Morocco Brown, the Director of Player Development for the Redskins, was the only other person interviewed for the position.
Keim has been with the organization since 1999 where he joined the Cardinals as a regional scout. For years, he was the Cardinals main scout for the eastern part of the country. Since May of last year, Keim has been the Vice President of Player Personnel.
Keim's first big decision as general manager will be the hiring of the Cardinals head coach. Michael Bidwill continues to interview candidates and the timetable on when a new head coach will be hired remains to be seen.
One thing is for sure, Keim as general manager will be a drastic change from what the Cardinals have had for the last several years. Graves was general manager in name, but many of the roster moves were decided on by Arizona's head coach for several years now.
Given his background and resume, that probably won't be the case with Keim taking over. Keim should be making the decisions on the roster while the new head coach, whoever it will end up being, will have the sole job of coaching the players on the roster.
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