The NFL Cardinals yesterday announced the promotion of VP/Player Personnel Steve Keim to GM. Keim was named Dir of College Scouting in '06, promoted to Dir of Player Personnel in '08 and promoted to VP/Player Personnel in '12 (Cardinals). In Phoenix, Kent Somers notes Keim "replaces one of his mentors" in Rod Graves, who was fired Dec. 31. Keim last year interviewed for the Rams GM job, and Cardinals President Michael Bidwill estimated that "between a quarter and a third of the teams in the league have been interested in hiring Keim." Keim said that he "realized Arizona was home when he returned recently from job interviews." Finding someone to replace fired coach Ken Whisenhunt is Keim's "first order of business." Bidwill said that the final decision on roster decisions would "be a collaborative effort." Bidwill said of who will have the final say over the roster, "We’ll make Cardinal decisions and we’ll be a better team for it. I think Steve’s got ideas that are a little bit different than Rod (Graves). Obviously, they are different people" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 1/9). Also in Phoenix, Dan Bickley writes of Keim, "He's not [former Bills, Panthers and Colts GM] Bill Polian, but he is a solid choice to replace Graves." Keim is "well-respected in NFL circles." However, there "won't be much of a honeymoon" for him. Keim has "been with the organization for 14 years," and was part of a "draft process that has passed on two Hall of Fame players in the past decade" in Vikings RB Adrian Peterson and Ravens LB Terrell Suggs. He is "remotely attached to the ongoing quarterback debacle" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 1/9). The REPUBLIC's Somers in a separate piece wrote Keim as a scout "might have often felt he lived on an island." But as GM, Keim is "going to feel like he lives in a display case: still alone, but plenty of people outside peering in, judging" (AZCENTRAL.com, 1/8).
