In one of the most shocking coaching decisions in recent history, the Arizona Cardinals have hired former Texas Tech Head Coach, Kliff Kingsbury. Kingsbury, who was hired by USC in December as an offensive coordinator (OC), was blocked from interviewing with NFL teams by the University. Two days ago, the new OC was seen interviewing with NFL teams, an obvious indication that he had abandoned his new job. Sooner than anyone expected, the former Tech coach was hired by the Cardinals yesterday morning, on a four-year deal with an option for a fifth year.
The decision to hire Kingsbury is one based on the recent success of Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback, Patrick Mahomes (a product of Kingsbury’s at Tech). The logic is there for the organization; Kingsbury produced a successful Quarterback (QB) at Tech in Mahomes, while the Cardinals need help developing their upcoming second year QB out of UCLA, Josh Rosen, who struggled to find his feet in his rookie year in the NFL. On paper, this sounds fine, a QB-strong coach, with experience, but upon further thought, one can find that any reasonable thought seems to be missing for the Cardinals. Kingsbury coached his team to an abysmal 45-50 record through six years in Lubbock, which included only three seasons in which the team was able to make a Bowl, with only one of those years ending with a Bowl victory (2013 Holiday Bowl). Kingsbury was fired from Tech at the conclusion of the 2018 season, after winning only five games.
The former Tech Coach would have benefited, and been more suited to be an Offensive Coordinator for the USC Trojans. Instead, he will take the reigns of a struggling NFL squad, hoping to turn their luck around, or at at least adequately shake things up. This upcoming Cardinals season is sure to be an interesting one to say the least.