Kliff Kingsbury's NFL Career: A Controversial Journey

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00:00 So Cliff Kingsbury had an interesting NFL career that I feel most people have seemed

00:09 to describe as a disaster, which I don't feel is incredibly fair to Cliff Kingsbury.

00:15 They made the postseason in Arizona and again, obviously the jump from Texas Tech to, well

00:21 what, Texas Tech to USC OC to Cardinals head coach, except he never actually was the USC

00:28 OC.

00:30 Obviously that was a bit of a...

00:32 You gotta love that headline.

00:34 The boys are in their bag this week for Super Bowl week.

00:36 Cliff Jump, the new X, what else do they do?

00:40 Here on Pro Football Today we do Cliff Kingsbury hired.

00:43 Where's Toski?

00:45 Wow, I get a wow in there.

00:50 That was a little bit better.

00:51 All right, so here's the deal.

00:52 He was the Raiders offensive coordinator and then, psych, I lied, he's the Commander's

00:58 offensive coordinator.

00:59 I don't know, he didn't clearly check the Super Bowl odds for 2025.

01:03 75-1 on Vegas, 150-1 on the Commanders.

01:08 I'll throw to you first, Ben, but on the Vegas side of this year, because then we'll kind

01:11 of just...

01:12 What in the world just happened with Cliff and the Raiders?

01:15 I don't know.

01:16 It seemed as though that was the natural fit.

01:18 He knows Antonio Pierce.

01:20 It seemed as though that was going to be the way they found their new coaching staff here

01:25 in Las Vegas.

01:26 There are some talented pieces offensively, Devontae Adams being that main linchpin.

01:31 Josh Jacobs still there.

01:32 We'll see what happens at the quarterback position for the Raiders, but very good vibes

01:36 in Vegas.

01:38 Not so great of vibes in Washington at the end of 2023 with how the hiring cycle played

01:44 out for the Commanders, settling on Dan Quinn, who could be a successful head coach in the

01:49 National Football League, once again was a successful head coach in the NFL prior in

01:54 his six seasons in Atlanta, 43-42 the overall record for Dan Quinn.

01:58 But it was very clear their guy was Ben Johnson, who spurned them and others to remain the

02:03 offensive coordinator in Detroit.

02:06 So it's an interesting move for Cliff Kingsbury, but I think it's a fantastic move, Donnie,

02:11 for Washington, for Dan Quinn to be the new head coach, to get an innovative offensive

02:15 guy that is creative in the way that Cliff Kingsbury is.

02:18 And to Kev's point, he had things to not end up working out in Arizona during his time

02:22 as the head coach there.

02:23 But from an offensive perspective, if I was looking to be on the cutting edge, if I was

02:27 looking for a fresh breath, for something to bring an organization into that next era

02:32 like Washington is trying to do, Cliff Kingsbury's offensive system would be that.

02:36 A couple different ways you can look at the Kingsbury situation, too, because again, it

02:39 didn't work out in Arizona.

02:41 But also, he's a high-tech, as I like to call it, offensive coordinator.

02:44 Still got to worry about the defense, the special teams, the media and all that stuff,

02:47 and manager players.

02:48 Sometimes guys like him and Chip Kelly are better off just being coordinators themselves.

02:52 Leave me alone in my room.

02:53 It's going to be dark.

02:54 I'm going to get film.

02:55 I only have to worry about 12 guys on the football team.

02:56 I don't have to answer any questions.

02:58 Let's get after it.

02:59 Now, for me, Cliff Kingsbury going to the Philadelphia Eagles, as they interviewed him,

03:02 I thought was going to be a home run.

03:04 Veteran quarterback, dominant weapons in place.

03:07 You just need to revamp a stagnant offense.

03:09 So then you take a look at where he goes to Las Vegas, and you say, "You know what?

03:13 That's going to be interesting."

03:14 I don't think it's going to work out.

03:15 Quarterback not sure of.

03:16 You're in a division that already is going to have, like, Sean Payton's out there, Jim

03:19 Harbaugh's out there, and Andy Reid is there now.

03:21 So the chances of you going to overtake that division and be dominant, probably slim here.

03:25 I feel the same way a little bit about Washington.

03:26 I don't dislike the hire, but again, it's a new quarterback.

03:30 It's a situation that's very fluid at this point.

03:32 I would have rather seen him go to a team that was entrenched.

03:35 Now granted, he's not going to go to Miami, because that's McDaniel's offense, right?

03:39 But that's the type of team I want him to go to.

03:41 Go to a team that's struggled just a little bit, but has the weapons, and I can give you

03:44 a couple different playsets and looks here that we can be dominant here.

03:48 I'm interested to see if the jury's out for me on the Washington move, but I'm glad he's

03:50 on from Las Vegas.

03:51 I didn't think that was a great fit for him at all.

03:53 (upbeat music)

03:56 [MUSIC]

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