The Arizona Cardinals are starting over with new head coach Steve Wilks and wanted to ensure continuity atop the organization.
To that end, the Cards announced Monday they have signed general manager Steve Keim to a contract extension that will keep him in the desert through 2022.
"Steve's performance and accomplishments as Cardinals GM speak for themselves," team president Michael Bidwill said in a statement. "His role in the team's success over the last five seasons is undeniable. This new contract ensures that he will continue to shape our success going forward and we are thrilled about that."
Keim's contract had been set to expire following the 2018 season, though the team held an option year for 2019.
The new deal ties Keim and his new coach at the hip. Both are inked through 2022.
Keim is going into his 20th season with the Cardinals. He was promoted to GM in 2013 after previously working as the Director of College Scouting (2006), Director of Player Personnel (2008), and Vice President of Player Personnel (2012).
Under Keim, the Cardinals have a 49-30-1 record in the regular season, the seventh-best winning percentage (.619) in the NFL since 2013, per the team. The 49 wins the past five years are the most in any five-year span in franchise history.
Heading into the offseason, Keim has several major decisions that will characterize the next iteration of his tenure. The most important is finding a quarterback of the future following Carson Palmer's retirement. There is also the lingering question about whether Larry Fitzgerald will return in 2018. A decision on Adrian Peterson's future with the team is another issue for Keim to tackle in the near future.
