Simply put, the Arizona Cardinals offense has been a disaster this season with head coach Kliff Kingsbury calling the plays.
Very few NFL coaches sign contract extensions before they grace the top of the leaderboard in the possibility of being the next head coach fired. Then again, few coaches who win zero playoff games and zero division titles receive contract extensions. Only the Arizona Cardinals can pull this off, and it’s probably a huge reason why they’ve been rebuilding since 1947.
Either that, or the fact Michael Bidwill is the latest in a long line of Bidwills to claim the 1925 NFL Championship belongs to the organization when in fact the Pottsville Maroons were the better team that year. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, just read about the 1925 NFL Season and it will tell you all you need to know.
Anyway, let’s get to the good stuff. Earlier this week, Kingsbury implied he may give up playcalling duties. A stark contrast from what he’s said in the past. However, Kingsbury may be the first college coach out there to figure out that the college game doesn’t work in the NFL. Something that’s plagued the likes of Urban Meyer, Chip Kelly, Lou Holtz, Bobby Petrino, and countless others.
Even Pete Carroll didn’t become a legendary NFL coach until his third attempt in the league. At which point, Carroll finally figured out a thing or two about being an NFL head coach. And maybe, just maybe, Kingsbury has also figured out a thing or two.
Will the Arizona Cardinals finally get a new play-caller?
In the words of Kliff Kingsbury himself, here is his take on the matter:
"“I am open to anything that helps us score more points and helps us win. We will see where it all goes, but yeah, whatever it takes to win, I’m all for it.” – via Pro Football Rumors."
I’ve been a harsh critic of Kingsbury for a while now, even calling for the Arizona Cardinals to give the fourth-year coach an ultimatum of hiring an offensive coordinator, or at least a play-caller, or get out. While Kingsbury has been behind some explosive offensive outings, inconsistency and stagnation have led to the ill-fated three offensive-point performance against the Seattle Seahawks last week.
And this has come at the heels of a string of poor offensive outings dating back to Week 1’s 44-21 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Kingsbury was also unable to help the offense light up the scoreboard following DeAndre Hopkins’ injury concerns last season, where Kyler Murray and company struggled without its team’s star receiver.
With a returning Hopkins, this time from a suspension, plus a recent trade for Robbie Anderson, Kingsbury is out of excuses. If the Arizona Cardinals offense gets it together these next few weeks, there is a chance Kingsbury stays on as the play-caller.
If not, then Kingsbury may start looking for someone else to call the plays as early as this season, and next fall at the latest. This leads me to believe the Cardinals will keep the coach on for at least one more year, assuming Kingsbury follows through to give playcalling duties to someone else.