Arizona Cardinals: Keim not giving straight answer on Kingsbury

One week ago, Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim gave a cryptic answer of whether he was confident in head coach Kliff Kingsbury. 

Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim continues to remain cryptic over head coach Kliff Kingsbury. Last Friday, Keim appeared on Burns and Gambo, and said the following regarding his overall confidence in the Redbirds head coach.

"“I think Kliff has done everything in his power and at times, we’ve had enough meetings and internal discussions, you see the film and the different things that are taught and the mistakes that are made. I am confident our coaching staff is doing a good job of trying to put these guys in positions to succeed.” – via AZCardinals.com."

Not necessarily a ringing endorsement for Kingsbury. One week prior to his interview on Burns and Gambo, on November 4th, Arizona Sports reported something similar after Keim appeared on Wolf & Luke. During his appearance, Keim said he felt the Cardinals were inconsistent as an offensive unit. Here is a snippet of what he had to say:

"“The inconsistency on offense would have to be the alarming thing when you know you have a number of talented players on that side of the ball,” – via Arizona Sports."

And if you remember it right, I wrote a small piece regarding the fact that Keim had taken notice of the Cardinals offensive woes. In that article I also cited mental errors the team had also made, as they are once again one of the NFL’s most penalized units, among other issues.

Arizona Cardinals general manager mum on Kingsbury’s future

While Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com did report that Keim called Kingsbury, “a great football coach and an excellent playcaller,”  he didn’t elaborate beyond that. And when you look at the full interview, you do not hear an endorsement that the supposed offensive guru would be back on the sideline in 2023.

For context, I remember back in 2017, when the Cleveland Browns were going through their 0-16 campaign that owner Jimmy Haslam was quoted in saying he’d be bringing back then-head coach Hue Jackson for a third season. While Jackson was ultimately fired, he did return for half the 2018 season before Cleveland handed him his walking papers.

This isn’t to say Kingsbury is on thin ice, but when you read between the lines, it’s clear that Keim is staying tight-lipped on the subject, even if he did have good things to say about Kingsbury in the interview. Besides Kingsbury, Keim impressed me in the fact that he also bore responsibility for the current state of the Arizona Cardinals. He had this to say:

"“I certainly own it. It’s a roster I put together and you hope that roster becomes a team at some point and plays in unison and we have not done a good enough job yet. I should’ve done a better job creating depth and putting a better squad together. But I do have faith in the guys. I have confidence we can get this thing turned around.” – via AZCardinals.com."

As you know, Keim’s drafting record has been nothing spectacular since he took over as the Cardinals general manager in 2013. And while there does seem to be a ray of hope in regard to his drafting, it is refreshing to note that at least someone in the Cardinals front office is owning up to playing a part in the team’s misfortunes.

Article Source: Steve Keim Talks Own Responsibility, Kliff Kingsbury by Darren Urban

Article Source: Cardinals GM Steve Keim ‘alarmed’ by lack of offensive consistency by Alex Weiner

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