Ken Whisenhunt
Before his second season, Whisenhunt made the experienced Kurt Warner his starting quarterback. In Whisenhunt's first season, Warner had split time with the team's younger quarterback Matt Leinart, although Warner started the final 11 games of the 2007 season after Leinart suffered a season-ending injury. This was a good decision because Warner put up good numbers in leading the Cardinals to a 9 win and 7 loss regular season record in the 2008 season. This was good enough to win NFC West Division, the Cardinals' first division title since 1975, when the team played in St. Louis, Missouri. Whisenhunt's second season was also the Cardinals' first time in the playoffs since 1998. After beating the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers in the first two rounds of the NFC playoffs, the Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship on January 18, 2009 and advanced to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history to face the Pittsburgh Steelers. This gave Whisenhunt an opportunity to play against the team he used to be the offensive coordinator of. The Cardinals lost the game 27-23. Whisenhunt credited the Steelers' players and staff with the win, but also said penalties were one of the reasons for the loss.