Kliff Kingsbury’s Coaching Style Has Gone From Offensive Genius To Just Plain Offensive

We need to talk about Arizona Cardinals head coach (for now), the “offensive genius” Kliff Kingsbury.

On Sunday, Arizona faced off versus Seattle and their #32 rated defense. The Cardinals managed a field aim on their opening drive. They did not score an offensive point after that. 

Hey Kliff, 3 details on offense may possibly have been ample to get a win in Seattle if you have been enjoying the Mariners, but this is the Seahawks, buddy.

I’m not questioning the strategy to hire Kliff Kingsbury in the first put, however there were being plenty of explanations to query it at the time. 

You have to remember, he experienced just been fired from Texas Tech for not becoming able to recruit or mentor a functional defense. 

His offenses were being under no circumstances the difficulty. In the NFL, you can place the protection in your coordinator’s arms, the recruiting in your GM’s palms, and just emphasis on undertaking the one particular matter that you have confirmed you can do at a high amount- manufacture factors.

It is also vital to keep in mind that when the Cardinals chose to get into a bidding war with the New York Jets for Kliff Kingsbury, they have been coming off owning the worst yardage offense and next worst factors for every match in the past 10 several years. 

GM Steve Keim did not fret about the charges that had been sunk into possessing Head Coach Steve Wilks and quarterback Josh Rosen in their initial many years- he blew it all up for Kliff Kingsbury, and paired him with #1 total select Kyler Murray.

And for a moment, it labored.

The Cardinals enhanced in points per video game 3 seasons in a row, likely from 32nd in 2018 underneath Wilks to 11th previous year. In equally 2020 and 2021, the Arizona Cardinals also had a best 8 offense in whole yardage.

Regardless of the reality that the Cardinals concluded 2-4 right after the bye last calendar year, and bought certainly embarrassed in the playoffs, Steve Keim, Kliff Kingsbury, and Kyler Murray all obtained 5 12 months extensions. 

Rapidly forward to nowadays, the Arizona Cardinals are 16th in full yards, and 22nd in details for every game. In spite of major the league in plays operate for each travel, they’re outdoors the major 10 in points for each generate.

And they’ve entirely forgotten how to begin games. They’ve put the ball in the conclusion zone on offense in the initial 50 % just two times in the last 9 contests. This video game was the initially time they’ve scored in the first quarter all time.

At 2-4, the Cardinals are a person Hunter Renfrow overtime fumble absent from currently being 1-5, and if we’re currently being honest, a no-get in touch with for offsides that led to a match-shifting decide-6 towards Carolina gave them a boost that you can’t particularly attribute to the “offensive genius” of Kliff Kingsbury. 

If it wasn’t for defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, and a contact of good luck, this group could possibly be winless.

But hey, at least the Cardinals can toss the ball downfield, correct? Since that’s the a person rationale you’d hang on to Kingsbury regardless of regression in all places else.

Nicely, it turns out they only have two 300+ property passing games in their final 21 video games, but not for deficiency of trying. Kyler Murray is next in whole pass attempts this year, but dead last in yards for every attempt at 5.8, and he does not have a solitary passing perform for a longer period than 32 yards.

The Arizona Cardinals are shelling out Kyler Murray Patrick Mahomes cash to toss monitor passes. 

The ordinary air yards of a Kyler Murray move try this period is 6.5 yards. 

Kliff Kingsbury turned Kyler Murray into who we believed Jalen Hurts would be, in the meantime Jalen Hurts looks like the NFL’s MVP.

When a coach fails his gamers with his schemes, the reputation of people gamers can be irreparably damaged. The narrative about Kyler Murray is currently being established in stone proper now, and it is likely to be really hard to adjust people’s minds.

On Thursday evening, the Cardinals will host the New Orleans Saints in an endeavor to stay away from their 9th consecutive house reduction- a streak that started out on a Thursday night final year. They’ll have Deandre Hopkins again immediately after serving a six-sport suspension for a positive PED exam, and except if totally everything about the Cardinals seems to be different, from 1st-fifty percent electrical power to pushing the ball down the field, it should be Kliff Kingsbury’s previous game as Arizona’s head coach.

That is, except Michael Bidwill, Steve Keim, and the NFL in common have distinct specifications for a white head coach than the black head mentor they had no challenge kicking to the curb following 1 time. 

At minimum Steve Wilks never went a entire season’s worth of game titles with no acquiring a acquire at house.

Let that sink in.