Every December, usually right before Christmas, Ken Whisenhunt passes out boxes of frosted gourmet cookies to members of the news media that regularly cover the Arizona Cardinals.
It fully appears the cookies will be coming and the pink slip, alas, will not.
A day after the Cardinals suffered their worst defeat in franchise history and extended their losing streak - now at a staggering nine games - to the longest in nearly 70 years, there was Whisenhunt on Monday, still addressing reporters with the same title of Arizona's head coach.
If the Bidwills were going to fire him, they would have done it by now and they surely would have done it on Monday following that 58-0 disaster at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.
Whisenhunt, though, reiterated during his weekly news conference at the team's Tempe training facility that he has been told nothing by ownership about his future with the Cardinals and seemed to imply that as far as he knows it's still business as usual.
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This is what he had to say when asked whether he believed things will remain status quo, which they appear to be for now:
"I control things that I can control. … I understand this business. I have a job to do. I feel disappointed we haven't done it. My biggest disappointment is for our fans. They've been so good to me and to us. I feel like I've let them down for not being able to do what we want to do.
"But it's not from a lack of effort and it's not from wanting to do it the right way."
Many fans, though, seem to have had enough. They want change, not apologies. And following this latest "effort," which went down as fourth-biggest shutout in the NFL since 1940, all it seems they're getting is the same old Cardinals.
"It's frustrating," quarterback John Skelton said. "It seems like all year we've been having to deal with good and bad - a lot more bad than good."
Everything that could go wrong did for the Cardinals on Sunday, from the eight turnovers committed by the offense to a poor performance by a defense that looks as though its spirit has broken.
But the biggest problem continues to be the inconsistent and seemingly incapable play at quarterback.
Whisenhunt wasn't prepared to name his starter for this Sunday's game against the visiting Detroit Lions. If Kevin Kolb isn't medically cleared from his rib injuries, it will be Skelton or rookie Ryan Lindley.
The bigger question is what will the Cardinals do at quarterback next year? The NFL has seen an influx of young players at the position who have come in as early-round draft picks and set the league on fire. With a likely top 10 pick in next April's draft, is that a trend the Cardinals must follow, regardless of who is the head coach?
"Well, you've got to look at all options," Whisenhunt said. "I don't know what's going to be available via the draft or free agency. … There's no question that's something that has to be looked at and addressed. (We) tried to, continue to try to."
Extra point
• The Cardinals claimed quarterback Brian Hoyer off waivers from the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday. Hoyer was with the Steelers for three weeks while Ben Roethlisberger was injured.
Up next
• Who: Lions at Cardinals
• When: 2:05 p.m. Sunday
• TV; radio: Channel 11; 1290-AM
