At the end of the 2024 season, Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury was as hot as any NFL assistant out there. He also ended up being a victim of his own success, to some extent.
By the time the Commanders wrapped up their surprising postseason run with a loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, there was only one NFL head coaching job left, with the New Orleans Saints, which Kingsbury quickly made it clear he wasn’t interested in.
Almost one year later, that head coaching buzz around Kingsbury is still there — although not quite as loud — and there’s a good chance he’ll have a shot at whatever jobs end up open because he won’t be distracted by a playoff run.
That’s because the Commanders are 3-7 headed into Week 11 against the Miami Dolphins in Madrid, Spain, although Kingsbury has remained mostly absolved from the blame because of the continued absence of quarterback Jayden Daniels and wide receiver Terry McLaurin.
Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton thinks Kingsbury would still be a good candidate for the recently vacated job as head coach of the New York Giants, who fired fourth year head coach Brian Daboll on Monday, November 10, after a 2-8 start.
“Though the Washington Commanders offense has regressed this season, it’s hard to blame Kingsbury with Daniels sidelined because of injuries,” Moton wrote on November 11. ” … If the Giants prefer someone with a more extensive resume, Kingsbury could be an ideal candidate. He was the lead skipper of the Arizona Cardinals for four seasons and led them to the playoffs with an 11-6 record in 2021. The 46-year-old offensive coordinator also has a track record of developing collegiate quarterbacks.”
If we’re being effusive, you might say few coaches in football history have had as much of a knack for coaching quarterback — and identifying elite quarterback talent — as Kingsbury has throughout his career.
Incredible History of Coaching Elite QBs
Kingsbury’s history of coaching great quarterbacks is a road map to the last decade-plus of college football and NFL superstars. Daniels, who was named NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2024, is just the latest to join that group.
Kingsbury starred at quarterback for Texas Tech and won a Super Bowl as Tom Brady’s backup on the New England Patriots in 2003 before going into coaching, starting as an assistant at the University of Houston in 2008.
At Houston, Kingsbury worked his way up to offensive coordinator as the Cougars led the nation in scoring average (49.8 points) and yards per game (599.1) in 2011 as quarterback Case Keenum broke NCAA career records for completions (1,546), passing yards (19,217) and passing touchdowns (155).
Kingsbury spent one season as Texas A&M’s offensive coordinator, in 2012, when quarterback Johnny Manziel became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy.
He left the Aggies to become the head coach at Texas Tech, where future No. 1 overall pick, Heisman Trophy winner and 2-time Pro Bowler Baker Mayfield was his first quarterback — only to be replaced by 3-time Super Bowl champion and 2-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes.
Kingsbury was the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals from 2019 to 2022. He selected Kyler Murray at No. 1 overall in the 2019 NFL draft, coached him to NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and even engineered a playoff team around Murray in 2021.
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