After reaching the Super Bowl for the first time in their teams history, the Arizona Cardinals are looking to keep the status they've earned as one of the best teams in the NFL.
And in order to stay the best you need the best, which is why the Cardinals recently hired former Clarks Summit resident John McNulty as their new wide receiver coach for the 2009-10 season.
The job became available after wide receiver coach Mike Miller was promoted to offensive coordinator, following the departure of Todd Haley.
McNulty has spent the last five seasons at Rutgers where he was the offensive coordinator. He said he wasn't looking to change jobs, but the Cardinals came after him with an offer he said he couldn't refuse.
I had a few offers from other teams and they didn't feel right, and then I got to talk to the head (Cardinals) coach Ken Whisehunt, I've known him for a long time they're a team that's moving in the right direction, said McNulty.
It's a chance to coach the best receiver in the league, Larry Fitzgerald, and with Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston, it's the best group in the league. It was a good offer, too good of an opportunity to pass.
Once McNulty made the decision, he took the job on a Wednesday and had to report that Friday.
It's probably the worst, timing- wise for me, we have three kids and a fourth on the way, so it's been tough getting them out here and everyone settled. But once I got here it's just what I thought, it's a great group of guys, said McNulty.
This isn't McNulty's first run in the NFL. The Abington Heights High School graduate was an assistant coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 1998 to 2002 and the Dallas Cowboys in 2003.
He also had a coaching stint with the University of Michigan after graduating from Penn State University.
McNulty said he knows that most people would assume a job with the pros would be one anyone would kill for, but after coaching on both the college and professional levels, he said that both have their good points.
On the offense, the difference is the sophistication, there's a lot more going on with the game on this level, said McNulty.
But I do enjoy watching college players develop before your eyes. You have them all yearround, here you only have them during the season and you're not as involved in their lives, but the football part excited me more here.
McNulty and his wife Kim are the parents of Abigail, Allison and Megan.
