The NFL world was shocked when the Arizona Cardinals hired former Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury as their new head coach. Kingsbury had recently been fired at Texas Tech and signed on to become the offensive coordinator for the USC Trojans. However, Kingsbury backed out of that pledge to USC to seek potential NFL opportunities.
No one believed one of those opportunities would be a head coaching position. Kingsbury coached the Cardinals for four seasons, leading them to a 28-37-1 record and one playoff appearance. Kingsbury and quarterback Kyler Murray appeared to be on different pages late in his Arizona tenure.
In 2023, Kingsbury returned to the college game, serving as an offensive analyst at USC for his good friend Lincoln Riley. He worked with 2024 No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams that season and the pair developed a close bond.
Kingsbury returned to the NFL in 2024, choosing the Washington Commanders. This time, Kingsbury would be an NFL offensive coordinator. He chose Washington over other jobs, particularly because he wanted to work with No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels. While Kingsbury was hired before Daniels was drafted, it was common knowledge from January through April that the Chicago Bears were taking Williams with the No. 1 overall pick.
In his first season with Washington, Daniels and Kingsbury proved to be the perfect match. The Commanders had one of the NFL's top offenses, finishing 12-5 and advancing to the NFC championship game. It was Washington's best season in 33 years. Kingsbury was all of a sudden a hot name again.
Kingsbury, happy in Washington, chose to skip any potential head coaching openings and return to the Commanders and work with Daniels for another season. If the Commanders repeat their 2024 success, and there's every indication that they will, Kingsbury could have his pick of jobs in 2026.
Moe Moton of Bleacher Report recently named eight NFL coordinators who could get a head coaching job after the upcoming 2025 season. Kingsbury made the list.
Kingsbury led a top-seven offense in scoring and total yards. In Week 3, Daniels had a breakout performance on Monday Night Football in a 38-33 road win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Daniels is an incredible talent, though Kingsbury deserves credit for designing an offensive system that allowed the young signal-caller to get off to an impressive career start. The Commanders had one reliable receiver, Terry McLaurin, and 34-year-old tight end Zach Ertz as the primary targets in a passing offense that ranked ninth in touchdowns.
Kingsbury has head coaching experience that will boost his resume. As the Arizona Cardinals' lead skipper, he helped Kyler Murray make two Pro Bowl rosters and led the club to a playoff berth in 2021.
Teams that plan to take a quarterback early in the 2026 draft will hold Kingsbury in high regard based on what he's done with Murray and Daniels, assuming the Commanders signal-caller builds on a strong rookie campaign.
Daniels is a phenomenal talent, but the combination of him and Kingsbury was perfect. Daniels is willing to put in the work. He gets in the building before anyone else, stays later, and works with coaches and teammates on the game plan. Kingsbury fits the same mold. Not only did Kingsbury bring Daniels along at the right pace, but he also knew when to allow Daniels to have control of the whole playbook.
Kingsbury acknowledged he'd like another shot at being an NFL head coach. But he isn't just going to settle for any job to have a job. He understands that if the perfect job — at least to him — doesn't come along, he's in a perfect spot, coaching one of the NFL's next big stars and working for a head coach (Dan Quinn) who gives him complete control of the offense.
