Quickly following news that the Raiders would not be closing the deal to make former Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury their next offensive coordinator under now official head coach Antonio Pierce, rumors are circulating that Kingsbury is now the leading candidate for the same position in Washington, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. After spending 2023 as a senior offensive analyst at USC, Kingsbury’s return to the NFL seems inevitable at this point. 
Two days ago, the NFL world was under the impression that Kingsbury would become the next offensive play-caller in Las Vegas. That story changed this morning with Kingsbury informing multiple people in the Raiders organization that he would not be joining the team. According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, there was “a contractual hang-up” that prevented Kingsbury from following through on those initial reports, and as a result, the Commanders have swooped in, setting Kingsbury in their sights. Arizona Football Daily‘s Mike Jurecki adds that the Raiders offered a two-year contract, whereas Kingsbury was aiming for a three-year pact.
Washington makes sense for Kingsbury for a number of reasons. The Commanders recently landed on former Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as their replacement for former head coach Ron Rivera. Quinn being a defensive coach puts the Commanders in a different situation than teams like the Titans or Panthers, whose offensive-minded head coaches will be calling plays over their respective offensive coordinators. Kingsbury will be handed the keys to a young offense, something he has experience with from his time in Arizona.
The Commanders also make sense because there seems to be a very real chance that the team could draft a former pupil of Kingsbury’s in USC quarterback Caleb Williams. Though Williams has long been rumored to be the No. 1 overall pick and the Commanders sit at No. 2, rumors have picked up recently that the Bears, who hold the top pick, will not be trading down. While that could mean Williams is headed to Chicago to try and displace Justin Fields as the starting quarterback, there have been an equal number of rumors stating that Williams wants nothing to do with the Bears, meaning he could slip down to No. 2 and end up a Commander being coached by his former mentor.
Kingsbury reportedly interviewed with the Commanders and Quinn recently, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, and though neither side seems to have settled on an agreement, both sides seem to be moving in the right direction.
As for Vegas, their search for their next play-caller under Pierce continues. UCLA head coach Chip Kelly, who had been a name to watch in Washington before this most recent news of Kingsbury’s prospects, and former Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy are names to watch, according to Jonathan Jones of NFL on CBS. Getsy was considered a top candidate for the position when Kingsbury was originally announced, and Kelly may shift focus to the Raiders if the Commanders do indeed shift theirs to Kingsbury.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN mentions that Las Vegas recently spoke to former Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, amounting to what could essentially be considered a coordinator exchange should Bieniemy land in Vegas and Kingsbury be hired in DC. He also mentions that the team spoke with former Texans offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton but includes that Hamilton may just be in consideration for a position coaching job.
So, today’s breaking news from Vegas does create a bit of a shuffle, but both the Raiders and Commanders seem to have reacted quickly in the fallout. As a result, Washington could be closing in on their new play-caller, while Las Vegas continues to explore their options.
I thought the Raiders had a better offense
I am all confused about this one
don’t be, it’s all about coaching Caleb Williams. Chicago isn’t drafting him, maybe had hoped LV would trade up.
Washington has chance to get Caleb that’s why
Oooooo okay that makes sense then
That only happens if two other things happen- The Bears love another QB and The Commanders way overpay to move up one spot. Cause the Bears ARE gonna draft a QB.
Trading down to #2 won’t take an overpay unless the Bears want Williams, in which case they wouldn’t trade. It is zero risk and all reward for the Bears since they get he player they would pick at #1 and an extra pick.
Also, don’t assume the Bears aren’t thinking that Fields and Harrison Jr could look a lot like Tua and Hill. It’s actually a reasonable assumption since Tua has many of the same weaknesses that Fields has and those aren’t exposed when you have a WR that can separate like Hill.
Fields is gone. And the price to move one spot to #1 will be set by how many teams want Williams. And teams haven’t even had pro days with QBs yet.
I guess you have to define “overpay”. Many teams need a QB. The fact that being #1 ensures the player you want, maybe an overpay isn’t far fetched
That’s exactly what I meant.
As a Raiders fan, I’m just thankful he’s going to a team I hate.
Now cue the Bears/Commanders rumors.
I don’t know why people assume Williams will end up where Kingsbury goes, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
It’s the other way around. Kingsbury was presumably told Washington would trade up for Williams which is why he bailed on the Raiders and is now the leading candidate at Washington.
It’s really the only scenario that makes sense. If Kingsbury wanted more than the Raiders were willing to pay, Washington isn’t going to immediately make him the top candidate.
Much more likely Washington has a preliminary deal in place with Chicago and wants to sign Kingsbury before confirming it. If Washington was to trade for Williams, they’d want Kingsbury to give him the best opportunity to succeed quickly.
I think it’s just as plausible to draw a link between Caleb Williams training with QB Collective before the draft and the Bears hiring a QB Collective guy to be their offensive coordinator.
As a Washington fan – YES PLEASE!!!
Ahhh, this isn’t hard to put together. The Commanders are gonna try to trade with Chicago for the 1st pick and grab Williams.
“ there have been an equal number of rumors stating that Williams wants nothing to do with the Bears”
Are there? You’d think there would be multiple articles on pro football rumors related sites if this were true.
Only one I know of is what Colin Cowherd said and then back tracked when corrected by Williams camp. I’m not aware of others either.
How come Bienemy can’t even keep a OC job now?
Because in the NFL you need a balanced offense. Bienemy tended to throw too much in KC and got called out on it a few times. He threw too much in Washington for sure!
Good call, BadCo. To support this, per the wonderful web site of Sports Reference – their ProFootballReference section, Washington threw the highest percentage of total plays, at exactly 60.0%. They didn’t run the MOST plays but of the plays they did run, they threw at the highest percentage.
No wonder Sam Howell had to endure all of those sacks. Plus, wasn’t their O-Line not in the best of shape? So, if your O-Line is not up to snuff then why in the hell are you calling the highest percentage of pass plays. This equals, in my opinion, why Bieniemy hasn’t had a whiff of an interview, from at least what we’ve heard.
However, I do want to preface this by saying this assumes all NFL GMs are slicing and dicing the numbers this way to find out simple truths. How realistic might that be??
Sam Howell got sacked a lot because Sam Howell gets sacked a lot. The offensive line didn’t help, but Howell got sacked a ton in college, too. It’s how he plays and a big reason he’s not a long-term starter.
And Washington allowed the most points in football last year. Bieniemy would presumably run more and pass less if they were playing from behind less often.
Humorous that so many think the Bears will draft a QB at #1.
I’m thinking they go for Harrison as he’s clearly the best player available in the draft.
I can imagine Chicago trades down with DC so they can pick Williams and maybe get an extra 3rd round choice to use on Oline, or some package setup where they’re still assured of the WR – that’d give Fields 2 quality receivers.
If they’re going to trade down, they’re going to do it for a lot more than a third, but I think they’re taking a QB.
More likely a 2025 2nd along with the 2024 #2. However, even a 3rd would is all upside if they want Harrison since you get your player & an additional pick. Better than getting greedy and picking Harrison 1-1.
Beware the dangers of Kliff diving.
Why didn’t Kingbury start with the commanders instead of dealing with Vegas if there a plan for Williams?