Arizona Cardinals: 5 off-season acquisitions set for stardom
By Avery Duncan
2. Kliff Kingsbury – HC
Coaches can be stars too, especially during the offensive, creative era that drives the current NFL landscape. Kingsbury is no exception to the rule, as the coach and his philosophies have been a hot topic of debate around league circles before the Cardinals even hired him.
Kingsbury’s past is well noted. From his ties to Mike Leach to time in New England to failure’s as the head-coach and heir apparent to Leach at Texas Tech, Kingsbury is a name engrained in football lore. Why? He’s a direct descendant of the famed Leach Air Raid coaching tree, and his offenses show that with its gaudy stats and production of star quarterbacks.
Many wonder if Kingsbury’s high-profile offense will take off or implode. In a league driven by offensive innovation led by Sean McVay, Andy Reid, and Sean Payton, the Cardinals and Kingsbury hope that his Air Raid offense can take the league to the next step of groundbreaking NFL innovation.
If Kingsbury can properly run his record-setting offense in Arizona, the Cardinals will be must-see TV, in turn, creating a young, coaching star similar to the likes of Rams’ head coach Sean McVay. However, there is a risk to be run with hiring a bold, creative, yet potentially innovating 39-year-old coach; if it doesn’t work out, he will be the first to blame, and likely the first out.