When new head coach Dan Quinn hired Kliff Kingsbury as his new offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders, it was met with plenty of skepticism. Some loved the move, while others were critical of the hire.
Some reacted as if Kingsbury had kicked their pet. Why the vitriol regarding Kingsbury? It was always important to remember that Washington hired Kingsbury to run the offense — not to be the head coach.
Kingsbury has been praised for his work with quarterbacks over the years, having worked with Patrick Mahomes, Johnny Manziel, Baker Mayfield, and Caleb Williams in college and Kyler Murray in the NFL. While some of the criticisms regarding his offense with the Arizona Cardinals are valid, Washington’s hope is Kingsbury will be much better having to focus only on the offense.
So what happened in Arizona?
We spoke with Jess Root, managing editor of Cards Wire, who answered a few questions for us on what happened during Kingsbury’s time with the Cardinals.
What went wrong for Kingsbury in Arizona?
Jess Root: Ultimately, it was a combination of not taking the next step, late-season collapses, and not being able to deliver. I really thought highly of Kingsbury as a head coach. He never publicly criticized players. His stars all spoke highly of him. They won games. However, the trend of late-season collapses followed him from Texas Tech to Arizona. There were reasons why like constant injuries, but the fanbase had no confidence in him.
Was his offense a true “Air Raid” offense? It looks like he ran the ball more than most true Air-Raid systems.
JR: No, it was not a true Air Raid offense. It was based on it. The offense was run almost exclusively from the shotgun. Kingsbury himself said he doesn’t believe there is anything being under center you can’t do from the shotgun.
Were Arizona's rushing numbers inflated due to Kyler Murray?
JR: Kingsbury likes to run the ball and was really adaptable. However, the key to running the ball was that they would do it from ahead. I wouldn’t say the rushing numbers were necessarily inflated, but the effectiveness of the run game was because of Murray. Kenyan Drake was really good when he was in Arizona. The combination of James Conner and Chase Edmonds was deadly (but they never played a game together in the second half of the 2021 season). But the offense is about getting the ball to playmakers and letting them make plays.
Is Kingsbury’s reputation as a "QB Whisperer" still intact?
JR: I think he still should get credit. Kyler Murray was playing at an MVP level for half of the 2021 season. An aging Colt McCoy thrived with Kingsbury.
How do Arizona fans view Kingsbury now?
JR: The end of his time in Arizona was not a success. I still think he could be a good head coach. But this is the next best thing. He will be working under another coach’s framework of accountability. The league universally views him as an offensive genius. He will get to work with a rookie QB in someone else’s system and will be able to focus on gameplay on offense. His scheme tends to be more talent-dependant.
