Three reasons the Arizona Cardinals should have moved on from coach
By Sion Fawkes
The Arizona Cardinals retained head coach Kliff Kingsbury for another season.
And now that the Houston Texans have hired David Culley, every coach in the NFL has been replaced with a new hope. Meaning that there are several fantastic names out there who would or have done a better job than Kingsbury.
The Arizona Cardinals didn’t necessarily miss a golden opportunity, but keeping Kingsbury for another year can easily set the team back. Especially with a few successful big names out there capable of taking the Cardinals back to the playoffs.
Kingsbury’s tenure in Year Two with the Cardinals was turbulent at best. After leading the NFC West at 6-3 through nine games that included upsets over the Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills, the Cardinals collapsed, finishing the season 2-5.
You can pin much of the blame on Kingsbury. The coach stubbornly held onto playcalling duties which grew even more questionable as the season wore on. For one, he brought back too many dink and dunk plays that didn’t work early in the season. And far too much mismanagement on fourth down sunk the Cardinals.
Kingsbury, who finished 35-40 in his previous tenure at Texas Tech, was perhaps one of the unlikeliest selections for an NFL head coaching gig. But here he is, entering Year Three and a make or break year. Perhaps Kingsbury learns from his mistakes. Perhaps he doesn’t.
Let’s look at why the Cardinals should have let him go following the 2020 season.