Arizona Cardinals go against tradition with coaching hire

The Arizona Cardinals have gone completely out of the box with their hiring of former Texas Tech University coach Kliff Kingsbury

The Arizona Cardinals fooled all of us. In their latest search for a head coach, the hiring of a candidate with NFL experience would’ve been a safe route to travel. After hearing team President Michael Bidwill proclaim that the organization had to get it right this time, it was believed that few gambles would be taken.

So much for that theory. The Cardinals’ decision to hire former Texas Tech University coach Kliff Kingsbury is about as “out of the box” as they come. It’s a splashy choice to say the least, and one that carries with it a ton of risk.

That being said, kudos to Bidwill and general manager Steve Keim for going against convention. Sure, Arizona could’ve brought in a retread. Individuals like Jim Caldwell, Adam Gase and Chuck Pagano had all done the job before, and were there for the taking.

Instead, the Cards went in an entirely different direction. Kingsbury has never coached at the pro level. Bidwill and Keim are counting on the 39-year old’s collegiate experience to carry him through, hoping that what he did in college can translate to a much bigger stage.

Of course, there are those who believe that Kingsbury is not worthy of the oppurtunity that he’s been given. The Ryan Gosling look-alike compiled an unimpressive 35-40 record at Texas Tech. The Cardinals are clearly looking for the next Sean McVay, but finding someone similar to the Los Angeles Rams’ guru may be tougher than it sounds.

Kingsbury does know how to design an offense, however. The former sixth-round draft pick of the New England Patriots has been praised for his work with quarterbacks, in particular. Pat Mahomes, Johnny Manziel, Baker Mayfield, Case Keenum and Davis Webb have all been tutored by Kingsbury.

There’s certainly a possibility that Kingsbury will fail. Nevertheless, Arizona deserves a ton of credit for taking a chance on the up and coming coach. Let the experiment begin.