Former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury will soon be interviewing with third and fourth teams this offseason for the NFL offensive coordinator position.
The 44-year-old has already interviewed with the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles for the offensive coordinator position, but earlier this week NBC Sports' Peter King reported that the Pittsburgh Steelers are in talks with Kingsbury. It was reported that there was. The Steelers fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada during last season. Running backs coach Eddie Faulkner will take over the job, and the Steelers are now looking to Kingsbury for the job.
Also, By Albert Brier of Sports Illustrated, Kingsbury is scheduled to interview with the Las Vegas Raiders later in the week for the vacant offensive coordinator position. Mick Lombardi was the offensive coordinator this season, but he was fired and replaced by quarterbacks coach Bo Hardigree.
Kingsbury currently serves as a senior offensive analyst at the University of Southern California Trojans, where he often works with quarterbacks. The Trojans rank third in the nation in points per game (41.8), 10th in yards per game (467.6) and fourth in passing yards per attempt (9.39) this season. , the job is an impressive addition to Kingsbury's resume so far. , tied for fifth in passing yards per game (333), fifth in passing touchdowns (37) and tied for seventh in fewest interceptions thrown (6).
Kliff Kingsbury's lackluster NFL career
However, in his recent appearances in the NFL, he hasn't been able to produce an impressive offense. His last stop there, of course, was when he was the head coach of the Cardinals. During his time in the desert, Kingsbury was regularly criticized for many of his offensive systems and philosophies.
Some of the most common criticisms in the league and media are that his system and philosophy are weak, that he overthinks his play calls, that his refusal to line up under center is hurting the team, and It was said that he did not manage the football well in the important shortstop field. yard spot. The statistics supported Mr. Kingsbury's critics.
Kingsbury's Arizona State offense is tied for 16th and 14th in the NFL (starting first), and tied for 10th and 21st in points per game. It was an uninspiring performance for a coach who was hoping for a young, bright attacking mind to help his team reach its full offensive potential. The year he finished in the top 10 (albeit tied with the Green Bay Packers) was the only season the team made the postseason, losing to division rival Los Angeles by 23 points. In the middle of the day, only 11 points were collected. Rams in one playoff game.
Can Kliff Kingsbury run the ball?
As for what Kingsbury is looking to accomplish if he takes the job in Chicago or Pittsburgh, King added some insight:
“I tell people this all the time about Kliff Kingsbury. You think you're meeting a guy who wants to throw the ball 55 times a game,” King told 93.7 The Fan's The Cook. & Joe Show. “When I first met him after he got the job with the Cardinals, he started talking about how before we were a great passing team, we were going to be a great running team. That year, they led the NFL in rushing. I was either 1st or 2nd.”
“You know, he talked to him. [Chicago] The Bears and he's going to talk to the Steelers. Interesting place. You think, “Wow, they're going rogue, they're becoming revolutionary!” The Bears are a running team and the Steelers are a running team – you know Walter Payton and Jerome Bettis. Let me just say this: If he takes these jobs, I guarantee you it will be a team you can run. ”
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It's a little unclear what King is referring to, since the Cards have never been No. 1 or No. 2 in the NFL when rushing under Kingsbury. They never finished higher than seventh, but the team finished in the top 10 in three of Kingsbury's four years.
But in the Kingdom's final year in Kingsbury, Arizona, they were only 22nd in rushing. To put that in perspective, the first year the Cardinals were without Kingsbury (this past season), the team finished fourth in the NFL in rushing. This was a season with a new head coach, defensive head coach Jonathan Gannon, and a new offensive coordinator, Drew Petzing.
This season, the Raiders rank just 23rd in points per game (19.5) and the Steelers rank just 28th in points per game (17.8). If either of those two teams, or Chicago or Philadelphia, acquire him, they will get a version of the Kingsbury who led Texas Tech's offense to glory when he was Texas Tech's head coach from 2013 to 2018. hope to obtain. The Raiders' offense finished among the top 24 in the country in points per game, with two of them in the top five.
His resume as an offensive mind in college is endless, but he has had little success in the NFL, so if he actually lands the NFL offensive coordinator job, next year could be a big year for Kingsbury's career. It will be of great significance.