The Arizona Cardinals fired Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury after four seasons.
It has been decided. Kliff Kingsbury is not a head coach, college or professional.
Look. We knew that even before Kingsbury was hired by the Arizona Cardinals in the first place in 2019. Despite surpassing his third year on the job, Kingsbury leaves Arizona with a dismal 28-37-1 record on the season. regular and a gruesome postseason loss to division rival Los Angeles Rams last year. Kingsbury is not Pete Carroll, Jim Harbaugh or Jimmy Johnson.
Although he hasn’t been as big an NFL disaster as Urban Meyer, Bobby Petrino or Matt Rhule, Kingsbury seems to be more in the vein of a Butch Davis, Doug Marrone or Steve Spurrier.
As the Head Ball Coach once said, “It’s not your fault. It’s my fault for putting you in the game.”
NFL executives were certainly surprised when Kingsbury was extended last season.
The Cardinals secretly hoping Kingsbury will get another head-coaching opportunity next year for financial reasons is so incredibly sad. But then again, it’s their fault for putting it in the game…
The idea of Kliff Kingsbury being a head coach is better than the reality.
Look. Kingsbury is not going to be out of work for very long. He’s shown during his coaching career that he’s a savvy attacking mind, but he’s probably best served as a coordinator. His stints at Houston and Texas A&M were enough to convince his alma mater to give him a chance to lead the Texas Tech Red Raiders. He went 35-40 over six seasons in Lubbock with Patrick Mahomes.
Is Kingsbury a candidate to follow Nick Saban’s method of rehabilitation in Alabama? May be. Alabama needs to turn the page on Bill O’Brien. The Crimson Tide attack completely changed the narrative of a few of its predecessors, including Lane Kiffin, Brian Daboll, Mike Locksley and Steve Sarkisian. Kingsbury could also find work in two other places: Mississippi State and New England.
Presumably new Mississippi State head coach Zach Arnett will want to keep the spirit of Pirate Mike Leach alive in Starkville. Kingsbury played for Leach at Texas Tech. He would be more than well equipped to bring a new version of the Air Raid. As for the New England Patriots, he played for Bill Belichick at Texas Tech. Nor is he Matt Patricia…
Ultimately, a co-ordinating role at college or professional level will serve Kingsbury well at this stage of his coaching career. He’s in his early 40s, so he’s got plenty of time to totally reinvent himself. Remember, Carroll failed twice as a head coach in the NFL before ending up at USC. Today, he is considered one of the few head coaches to have thrived at both levels. So there is some hope here.
Arizona gave it an old-fashioned try by signing Kingsbury in 2019, but the Cardinals paid the price.
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