Three reasons the Arizona Cardinals should have moved on from coach

Mismanagement on fourth down

Let’s get one thing straight. If a coach goes for it on fourth down and they convert, they look like a genius. And Kingsbury’s gutsy playcalling definitely kept the Cardinals in a few games when most coaches would have punted the ball away.

So kudos there. But what about all the times when Kingsbury left opponents with a short field and the opponents capitalized?

Or, when Kingsbury should have went for it, and didn’t? Times when you told yourself, “Kingsbury’s leaving the offense out in this situation,” only to see him try for a field goal (and missed) or punt and fail to give the Cardinals another chance?

The Miami game jumps out, where Kingsbury failed to convert a fourth and one. Miami capitalized on the short field and it left the Cardinals scrambling with a late fourth-quarter drive. Another fourth and short late in the game, Kingsbury sent Zane Gonzalez to try for a field goal. Gonzalez, struggling with kicks as it was, saw his kick fall short.

And let’s not even get started on the season finale against the Los Angeles Rams when Kingsbury punted late in the fourth quarter while down by 11 points. It nullified the Cardinals’ playoff hopes and sent them packing into the offseason, wondering what could have been.

Again, Kingsbury’s gutsiness won the Cardinals a couple of games. But far too often, he called the wrong play at the wrong time. Going for it when he should have punted. Kicking the field goal with a struggling kicker and punting when going for it made more sense.

And in-game decisions aside, we haven’t even discussed a plethora of questionable play calling throughout games. Including his bringing back the dink and dunk passing attack after Kyler Murray sprained his AC joint.

Sure, it’s smart to keep your quarterback healthy. But Kinsbury had a solid committee in the backfield. However, he mismanaged the committee and other offensive players collectively. Which we’ll discuss in the next section.