Is it time for the Arizona Cardinals to fire Kliff Kingsbury?
Kliff Kingsbury and the Arizona Cardinals' playoff hopes were dashed by the L.A. Rams after losing 34-11 in the NFC Wild Card round of the playoffs. This led to the question of whether head coach Kliff Kingsbury's job is in jeopardy.
All signs point to the possibility of Kingsbury being on his way out of Arizona. The head coach has been with the Cardinals for three years and has a 24-24-1 record, including last night's loss.
Kliff Kingsbury's teams have a tendency to get off to a fast start, only to falter in the end. Kingsbury and the Cardinals started the season undefeated with a 7-0 record, well on their way to winning the NFC West, until they lost a 24-21 matchup to the Green Bay Packers in Week Eight.
They lost five out of six to end the season, only defeating the Dallas Cowboys during that stretch. The good news for Kingsbury is that this is only his third year as head coach and the Cardinals have shown improvement over time.
Kliff Kingsbury's end to the season as a head coach...
Texas Tech:
• '13: lost 5 of 6
• '14: lost 4 of 6
• '15: lost 4 of 6
• '16: lost 6 of 8
• '17: lost 6 of 8
• '18: lost 5 of 5
Cardinals:
• '19: lost 7 of 9
• '20: lost 5 of 7
• ‘21: lost 5 of 6 https://t.co/t7e0C1rWC7
They made the playoffs in his third year as head coach and finished second in their division.
Kingsbury even hinted that this playoff loss will benefit his team:
“There’s only one way to experience playoff football and that’s to go through it. You just have to go through these moments, learn from it, grow from it and use it as motivation,” he said via 98.7 Arizona Sports.
"Kliff Kingsbury never deserved the job" - Stephen A. Smith
Many in the NFL, including ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, thought that Kliff Kingsbury never deserved the job in the first place and shouldn't have been considered for the position because of his track recod in college. Kingsbury only took the Texas Tech Red Raiders to two bowl games during his time there and had an overall record of 35-40.
Smith said this about Kingsbury in 2019:
"The problem is he (Kyler Murray) has a head coach, in all due respect, who never deserved a head coaching job in Arizona."
Until Kingsbury is able to get past that label, he won't be taken seriously in the NFL as a capable head coach.
Asked about Kyler Murray's NFL potential, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith rips Cardinals' Kliff Kingsbury: "The problem is he has a head coach, in all due respect, who never deserved a head coaching job in Arizona."
247sports.com/Article/Kyler-… https://t.co/0DeXx5N4yW
So if Kliff Kingsbury were to be fired, who could the Cardinals turn to as his replacement?
The obvious name that may pop-up is Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who led the Cowboys to the No. 1 offense in the NFL.
The Cardinals may turn to him, especially if they want to continue to develop quarterback Kyler Murray.
Another name they may turn to is Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who has helped develop Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes into a superstar and also made the Chiefs offense one of the best in the league.
But that's only if the Cardinals are ready to make a move and drop Kingsbury, which may not happen.