Sean Payton didn’t want to work with Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray

NFL legend and Fox analyst Terry Bradshaw shed some light on Sean Payton’s NFL coaching choice at the Super Bowl Experience on Tuesday and Arizona Cardinals fans might find his comment about Kyler Murray to be very interesting.

When asked about why Payton, a former Fox analyst, didn’t take the Cardinals’ coaching job, Bradshaw said: “Arizona? No, that quarterback. He don’t want to work with the quarterback.”

The quarterback Bradshaw mentioned would of course be Arizona’s franchise quarterback, Kyler Murray.

Tom Rock, of Newsday, interviewed Bradshaw, and the former NFL quarterback opened up about why Payton took the Denver Broncos’ job, although Bradshaw didn’t exactly give that team’s quarterback a glowing review, either.

When asked if Payton would rather work with Russell Wilson than Murray, Bradshaw replied:  “I don’t think so (laughing), but you know what, that’s all he’s got. He’s got no choice. But I’ll tell you one thing, he’ll get the most out of him.”

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Interestingly, Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline recently reported that NFL coaches might not want to coach Kyler Murray and that could be the reason why the team’s search for a new head coach is taking so long.

“Why is the Arizona Cardinals head coach job taking so long to fill? If you are to believe what people in Mobile are saying, it’s due to Kyler Murray — and it’s not because the quarterback has a large say in the matter,” Pauline wrote from the Senior Bowl in Alabama. “Rather, many of the desired candidates don’t want to take the job knowing they’ll be tied to the hip of Murray for the next four seasons. Murray signed a five-year, $230 million contract in late August, and anyone who takes the Cardinals job will have no options in the foreseeable future at quarterback.”

The next coach of the Cardinals also might not have Murray for a while in his first season coaching the team, according to a recent report, as the quarterback recovers from a non-contact ACL injury he suffered on Dec. 12 against the New England Patriots.

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“My understanding is that he is going to take his time until this thing is 100% right,” NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport  recently said. “He is young. He’s got a long career. He’s not going to rush, so do not be surprised if we don’t see him to start the season or maybe even by the midway point. This injury has to heal perfectly.”

In his report, Rapoport suggested that Murray’s recovery time has become a major talking point in the Cardinals’ interview process regarding their search for a new head coach.

The Cardinals are believed to be down to two finalists, Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, after former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores accepted the defensive coordinator position with the Minnesota Vikings.

As for Payton, if he did in fact spurn the Cardinals because of Murray, it would have represented a shift in his opinion of the Arizona QB.

Last month, NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero wrote that Payton was a “Kyler Murray fan.”

Payton also spoke glowingly of Murray in interviews about the quarterback in the past, saying before the 2019 NFL draft: “Man, he’s explosive. He’s one of those players as you know, Madden used to say, he was never it. It’s so hard to rush him because he can flush to the right, make a play, to the left. You do feel a poise that he plays with. … His film is too good. Ultimately, when I say, it’s too good. And I like him.”

Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Terry Bradshaw: Kyler Murray why Sean Payton not Cardinals head coach