Steve Keim (born September 8, 1972) is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...
executive and former player who most recently served as the
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all ...
of the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division, an ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
(NFL) from 2013 to 2022. He was promoted to the position in January 2013 after spending the previous 14 years in various executive positions with the Cardinals.
Playing career
College
Keim played for
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universi ...
, where he started 36 consecutive games at left guard. He was a two-time all-
Atlantic Coast Conference selection and was named the offensive freshman of the year in 1991. During Keim's senior year, he was named captain and the N.C. State offensive line MVP. He subsequently earned a degree in Business Management.
Professional
Keim signed with the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pl ...
(
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the maj ...
) in 1996, and
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Comm ...
(
CFL
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...
) in 1997.
Executive career

Keim originally joined the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division, an ...
in May 1999 as a college scout for the Eastern United States. He was promoted to Director of College Scouting in 2006 and later to Director of Player Personnel in 2008. In May 2012, Keim was promoted to Vice President of Player Personnel before being named General Manager on January 8, 2013.
For the 2013 season, Keim was selected as Pro Football Talk's NFL Executive of the Year.
For the 2014 season, Keim was selected as NFL Executive of the Year by The Sporting News and a second year by Pro Football Talk.
On February 23, 2015, the Cardinals announced a new 4-year deal with Keim which will keep him with the Cardinals through the 2018 season.
On February 12, 2018, the Cardinals announced that Keim signed a contract extension with them through the 2022 season.
On March 2, 2022, the Cardinals announced that Keim signed a contract extension with them through the 2027 season. On December 14, the Cardinals announced Keim would be taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team.
On January 9, 2023, Keim stepped down to focus on his health.
Personal life
Keim currently resides in
Chandler, Arizona
Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the ...
. Keim has a daughter, Sloane, and three sons: Carson, Brady and Warner. Keim is a native of
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in P ...
and is of
German descent.
On July 4, 2018, Keim was cited for extreme DUI after reportedly having a 0.19%
blood-alcohol concentration
Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes; it is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume or mass of blood. For example ...
in Chandler.
Keim subsequently pleaded guilty on July 17, 2018. The Cardinals suspended Keim for five weeks and fined him $200,000 as a result of the conviction.
Awards and honors
Keim was inducted into the
in 2004.
References
External links
Arizona Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keim, Steve
1972 births
Living people
American football offensive guards
Arizona Cardinals executives
NC State Wolfpack football players
National Football League general managers
Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism