The Cardinals are about to miss the playoffs for the third time in four seasons under Kliff Kingsbury, leading to natural questions about the head coach’s future in Arizona. Multiple team sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Josh Weinfuss that they could see a path where owner Michael Bidwill will give his head coach another year at the helm, “due in part to injuries ravaging the roster and a personnel department in flux.”
On the flip side, Fowler and Weinfuss detail an increasingly ugly situation in the locker room, especially between Kingsbury and star quarterback Kyler Murray. While the QB was recently lost for the season with a torn ACL, the relationship between the duo had “grown increasingly distant” throughout the 2022 campaign, with Kingsbury described as “extremely frustrated” with his signal caller. In particular, the HC was wary of Murray’s “negativity” and his ability to influence others in the building.
The Murray-Kingsbury dynamic dates back a decade when the coach tried to recruit the QB out of high school. However, the two have gone periods this season without interaction, with one source saying the relationship seems “particularly bad this year.” As a result, passing game coordinator Cam Turner was forced to serve as a buffer between the two prior to Murray’s injury.
While sources say the relationship between Kingsbury and Bidwill hasn’t been without tension, the owner still may be willing to give his head coach the benefit of the doubt. Sources said Kingsbury hasn’t necessarily been given the resources to succeed, and the constant offensive injuries has left the head coach “miserable” since he can’t run his preferred system.
“He knows that it’s not a situation that lends itself to him being happy and successful and at his best for that organization, which he wants to be,” a source said. “They won’t let him. They won’t let him be great.”
A source told ESPN that Kingsbury wanted to fire offensive line coach/run game coordinator Sean Kugler long before he was dismissed for an incident in Mexico City. While the coach had already “lost opportunities to contribute to offensive planning,” it was believed that Bidwill didn’t want to fire Kugler and eat his contract, with Kingsbury supporters pointing to this anecdote as proof of the coach’s limited control in Arizona.
On the flip side, while the owner still meets with the head coach before and after games, the organization generally holds Kingsbury responsible for the W/L record. Ultimately, the Cardinals are 28-34-1 in Kingsbury’s three-plus seasons with the organization, with only a single playoff loss to show for their efforts. Kingsbury still has five years left on his contract, and the organization inked Murray to a $230MM extension prior to the 2022 campaign.
He gone
I think he wants be
I can think of many HC/QB relationships from the past that weren’t always sunshine and smiles but still resulted in success. Kingsbury’s big problem is he is such a convenient “fall guy” for those in the organization above him.
If they’ve had a “very bad relationship” this season, they’ve sure done a good job completely hiding it on “Hard Knocks”.
If he can win 1 game w Trace McSorley, should give an extension.
Part of the reason and problem is Murray acts like a selfish jerk who thinks he’s all that and a bag of chips. QB and Coach have to work together and have a good relationship in order to win and not in spite of each other
Exactly correct! Murray is a spoiled QB who everytime something doesn’t go his way he throws a little fit like a child. He dogs his WRs for routes ran and his OLine for missed blocks. That is fine, they should be reprimanded. But in the locker room or the huddle. Not in the open in view of cameras and the crowd. Does the Oline put him on blast for an INT thrown? If so I’m not seeing it. And I’ve seen KM come to the sidelines and straight up ignore Kingsbury when he trying to talk to him. That’s not right, and it would piss me off too as a HC. Sorry situation to be in as a coach. Good luck…
At some point Kliff might be coaching at some college and Murray will be out of the league…
The Cardinals organization is a mess – and there is nothing they can do to fix it – as they already caved to the Prima Donna QB.
The Cardinals from Day 1 in the NFL have been a train wreck. The entire Bidwell family is beyond cheap and really don’t care about anything but the bottom line. Murray is a hot headed punk. You just don’t see this type of behavior in the quality organizations. Murray starting his pouting and fit throwing would of never been tolerated in the top organizations. This just shows you how bad it is from the top on down. The owner can’t afford to pay signing bonus, the GM when not drunk makes bad decisions one after another. The coach is clearly over matched and the the punk QB is allowed to continue to act a fool.
Murray made the pro bowl two years ago. So barring something like an injury or something he won’t be out of the league anytime soon.
Is anyone surprised by the season results? last offseason was a clown show in AZ. Both KM and the Cards ‘scrubbed’ each other all their SM media accounts. Then the front office taunted KM by resigning both the GM and HC only to have him wait months for his deal. The whole off season was about as mature as watching two high school freshman fight over a girl in 9th grade. Immature!
Kingsbury is a joke, who should have never been given an NFL job. Guy is more worried about running around with hot women than winning football games. Steve Wilkes should have been given more time and Cardinals would be in a lot better shape. Need to go hard after DeMeco Ryan’s a real leader of men. Not a glorified pretty boy like Kingsbury…