Cardinals Awards: Coach of the Year

Coming into the 2024 season, many expected the Arizona Cardinals to live and die by their offense, with the defense set up to struggle consistently.

There was little talent on the defensive side of the ball. Outside of safety Budda Baker, there weren't any household names, and Arizona's defense was anything but serviceable in the dismal 2023 season.

But as we continue our series of postseason team awards here at Cardinals On SI, the 2024 Coach of the Year award goes to the man who engineered a surprising season from the Arizona defense: young defensive coordinator Nick Rallis.

To read our picks for other awards, you can click on the links below:
Offensive Player of the Year
Defensive Player of the Year
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Comeback Player of the Year

Granted, some of the credit should also go to head coach Jonathan Gannon, a defensive-minded head coach with a penchant for developing defensive backs.

That has certainly shown in some of the results, with Baker and cornerback Garrett Williams having excellent years, and some development from some of the younger players, such as safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson and cornerback Max Melton.

Even the veteran Sean Murphy-Bunting took a poor season and began to turn it around as the year progressed.

But ultimately, it was the coaching and creativity of Rallis that allowed this Cardinals defense to perform well above their sub-par talent level.

It certainly wasn't perfect, and there were games where Arizona struggled to make any sort of defensive impact, but the jump from 2023 to 2024 was extremely noteworthy, despite very little talent being added, and severe injuries to three starting tier defensive linemen.

Despite some of the handicaps, and a lack of sack production from the pass rush, Rallis was able to coach this unit to respectable results.

A year ago, in the 2023 season, Arizona's defense ranked 31st in total points and points allowed per game (26.8). They surrendered the eighth-most total yards (6,047), and dead last in rushing yards allowed per game (143.2).

They were more respectable in the pass, allowing 212.5 passing yards per game, though they still fell well outside the top 10.

But in 2024, Rallis and his unit began to turn a corner. They gave up 126.4 yards per game on the ground, moving up near the middle of the pack, while ranking 14th in total passing yards. They allowed over four fewer points per game (22.3), jumping from 31st to 15th in scoring defense.

Granted, Arizona was blown out on multiple occasions, but the Cardinals' defense stepped up in some big games.

They shut out the Detroit Lions in the second half, allowed only 23 points over two games with the Los Angeles Rams, and even managed to not allow a touchdown in five games in 2024, holding their opponents out of the end zone in three straight games from week 9-12.

With young, talent-starved defenses, inconsistency can strike. The Cardinals' defense was streaky at times, but they showed their grit and potential, generally played penalty-free, and showed impressive development throughout the course of the season.

Those numbers (and a good portion of Arizona's 2024 wins) are a testament to the job Rallis did. His creativity of scheme created pressures without premiere pass-rushers and helped elevate the games of many players, especially the linebackers and defensive backs.

Overall - with, of course, a nod to Gannon - Rallis deserves recognition for what he was able to do, considering what little supreme talent he had to work with.