Top 3 reasons the Arizona Cardinals will hold onto Kliff Kingsbury
By Sion Fawkes
Most of the Arizona Cardinals fanbase wants to see head coach Kliff Kingsbury cut loose. But there is still a chance he stays.
The Arizona Cardinals will have a decision to make regarding head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s future. On one hand, they can let him go and find another coach they feel is better suited to turn around this 4-11 team.
On the other hand, they may decide to give the much-maligned head coach one more chance to show that 2022 was an outlier. But why would they keep Kingsbury following such a bad season though? Keep reading to hear the top three reasons.
1 – Injuries
Injuries hit the Arizona Cardinals harder than almost any other team in 2022, and they could be one major reason Kliff Kingsbury stays. This season, just about every key contributor on offense was hurt or in DeAndre Hopkins’ case, suspended, and that can derail an otherwise good football team.
What if the Cardinals had DeAndre Hopkins, Zach Ertz, and Marquise Brown healthy and on the field from Week 1 and onward? Odds are, they would have been a different football team.
2 – Arizona Cardinals players respect him
The 2022 Arizona Cardinals remind me of the 2021 Detroit Lions, a team who has relentlessly played for their head coach despite the bleak circumstances. Team owners want coaches who, even amidst a lost season, can motivate players to give it their all even when there is nothing to play for.
Kingsbury has definitely managed this, given the way the Cardinals refused to give up against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Owner Michael Bidwill will take this point into consideration when evaluating Kingsbury.
3 – Kingsbury has shown flashes of brilliance
Kingsbury is just 43, and he remains one of the league’s youngest head coaches. While headstrong at the moment, especially when it comes to controlling the offense, there have been times where he and the Arizona Cardinals have been impeccable.
In 2020, a mediocre Cardinals team led the division via a tiebreaker at 6-3 by Week 10. In 2021, Kingsbury had this team at 7-0 and 10-2 at multiple points of the season. What I’m getting to is, there are times he has looked like one of the league’s best coaches.
Must Read. Cardinals players have refused to quit on Kliff Kingsbury. light
Consistency is a definite issue, and it is something he has yet to find in his tenure as a head coach. But few coaches in Arizona Cardinals history have gone on runs as successful as Kingsbury’s, and that is something Bidwill won’t ignore.
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