Todd Haley Exclusive: Cardinals’ Super Bowl OC Talks Marvin Harrison Jr., Kyler Murray, Offensive Scheme
Todd Haley rose to prominence as offensive coordinator of the Super Bowl-bound Cardinals in 2008, and later became head coach of the Chiefs.
Haley recently joined the Arizona Football Daily podcast with Mike Jurecki and still follows the NFL closely. He took some time out this week to discuss Marvin Harrison, Jr., Kyler Murray and the Cardinals’ scheme.
Q: Marvin Harrison, Jr. is a talented guy who seems to be in his own head at this point. You were a wide receivers coach, so how would you try to get him out of a funk like that?
Todd Haley: “I have strong opinions on it, just watching from the outside. I don’t know the inside, what goes on at practice, but I coached that position and had a lot of success, even as a coordinator, with the receivers. Keyshawn (Johnson) with the Jets, Larry (Fitzgerald) and Anquan (Boldin) with the Cards, Dwayne Bowe had 15 touchdowns one year. AB (Antonio Brown).
“The key with these guys – because they are a little different, they walk to the beat of a different drum – you’ve got to get them targets. And the earlier, the better. Yes, scheme comes into play, and the quarterback still has to read the play the correct way, but everywhere I was with big-time potential receivers like Marvin is, I’d make sure to have a little box on my call sheet with a couple guaranteed ways to get the ball in his hands early. Simple screens, out of the backfield, something. You get him involved early. When I came off the field and Antonio Brown didn’t have 15 targets – he was getting 20, 22 targets some games.
“The quarterback generally wants to throw it to the guy he can trust, so (Harrison, Jr.) has to hold up his end of the bargain, but when guys know the ball is going to keep coming, it takes a little pressure off them and they start to gain confidence.
“If I’m game-planning, every play the first read would start with him. It’s not going to go to him every time, because the defense can dictate that, but (I’d try). (Trey) McBride is awesome. I think he’s great. But the ball is going to come to him naturally as things break down. That’s the way it works for tight ends. He’s going to get his 8, 10, 12 targets organically with how the game plays out.”
Q: You mentioned Keyshawn, A.B., Anquan, Fitz – those guys had extreme confidence in what they could do. Do you worry Marvin is starting to second-guess himself? Is there a concern that this could snowball?
TH: “It’s a game of confidence, especially at that position. A lot of guys do push-ups if they drop the ball, blah, blah, blah, but that’s college stuff. I took the pressure off because I said, ‘The ball is going to keep coming to you. If you drop one, no big deal. What I want you to do is catch the critical ones – like the touchdown he caught – when the nuts are on the line. Make that play.’ It’s why the target thing I mentioned is so critical.
“With Kyler it is a little different. When there is a safety over the top, we could run deep outs, deep ins, deep curls. But I had the quarterbacks that could stand in the pocket and see, and make those throws. I don’t know with Kyler, being a little undersized, if it’s not tougher. He’s got to break out of the pocket.
“He is phenomenal at that, but Marvin’s a guy who, at Ohio State, didn’t have to deal with a lot of what we call scramble pass. There are set rules, and it’s something we practiced. There were plays in practice where I would say quietly to the quarterback, ‘Break out to the right.’ It might be 7-on-7 or a team drill, but on this one I want you to hold the ball even if No. 1 is open and scramble to the left. Specific rules come into play, and some guys are just more natural at it than others.
“If you haven’t done it a bunch, which I’m sure Marvin didn’t at Ohio State – I’m making a blanket statement because they tore everybody up – then it’s something he’s got to get better at. There are big plays to be had in those situations. We see other guys do it. When Josh Allen breaks out of the pocket, those guys take off and you can visibly see it. I don’t know if I always see it (in Arizona), and that tells me it’s something to work on more than you are.”
Q: From a pure talent standpoint with Marv, do you still believe in the high ceiling?
TH: “Yes. I have no doubt this guy can be a big-time player. And I haven’t spent any time with him, but he appears to be a thoughtful, humble guy. You’re not seeing some of the antics from some other guys when they don’t get it. We’re seeing A.J. Brown posting Tweets about it. We see that all the time. He is unique in that way, because it appears that he’s a thoughtful, intelligent guy that cares, and takes it on the chin repeatedly. Sometimes that can work a little against you, but I love it. I love it. This guy can be a big-time player. I have no doubt.”
Q: There is some chatter right now about Kyler, and if this marriage in Arizona is going to be long-lasting. What do you think about the long-term nature of the pairing?
TH: “I can’t really answer that. They made a huge investment in him, and the guy is obviously really talented. I love to watch him play. This is going to be a big part of that – if all of a sudden Marvin comes to life because of the things we talked about, people are going to get pretty excited. I love McBride, love the commitment to the run.
“So I can’t really comment on the long-term deal there with Kyler, but I know he’s a little different player. There’s a reason why there aren’t a lot of undersized guys that make it at that position. But he’s unique because of his athletic ability, and when he throws it, he’s really accurate. He can make all the throws. I was really excited with the addition of Marvin. I thought it was a great pick. But they’ve got to bring it to life.”
Q: How do you feel about their scheme? Locally, a lot of people are unhappy with it, but obviously we don’t know schematics at the level you do.
TH: “Ah, I don’t know. It’s not like I’ve studied their scheme, and then who they’re playing. With Kyler, it’s going to be restricted a lot more to the gun. I was always big on getting the quarterback under center, creating a real conflict for the defense, especially the linebackers. But you’ve got to deal with the players you have and play the best you can to their strengths. Without being there, without being at practice, I can’t really answer it.”
Kyle Odegard has been a professional journalist for two decades, with four years of experience in the sports betting industry. He was a beat writer for the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals from 2013-2021 and previously covered MLB, NFL, NBA, college football and more for the East Valley Tribune newspaper in Tempe, Arizona. Kyle has broken multiple national stories about the Arizona Cardinals and his work has been referenced by numerous publications, including Sports Illustrated, the Daily Mail, the New York Post, Yahoo!, FOX News, MSN and Pro Football Talk.