Another head coach bites the dust.
The Arizona Cardinals announced Jan. 9 they fired head coach Kliff Kingsbury, just 10 months after giving him a contract extension that was supposed to last through the 2027 season.
The Cardinals also said Monday that general manager Steve Keim “decided to step away from his position in order to focus on his health.”
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) January 9, 2023
Like Kingsbury, Keim signed an extension in 2022 that would’ve kept him with the team through 2027, but now he’s stepping away after being on a health-related leave of absence since December 2022. He joined the Cardinals in 1999 as a college scout, eventually being promoted to general manager in 2013.
The Cardinals hired Kingsbury as head coach in January 2019, two months after his termination from Texas Tech.
The firing comes a day after the San Francisco 49ers blew out Arizona 38-13 in their season finale, which saw the Cardinals finish with a 4-13 record on the season. Kingsbury tallied 28-37-1 overall as the team’s head coach.
Nathaniel Hackett seeing Kliff Kingsbury at the Job Fair next month pic.twitter.com/YRiM2Fn2iQ
— Devine Sports Gospel (@DevineGospel) January 1, 2023
I never really understood why the Cardinals hired Kliff Kingsbury. It’s almost like the team settled after trying and failing to find a flashy head coach. Kingsbury put up a record of 35-40 at Texas Tech, and then all of a sudden he landed a job in the NFL. It just didn’t make any sense, so it’s not exactly shocking to see things go this way. (RELATED: Houston Texans Fire Head Coach Lovie Smith After Only One Season. Did He Give A Middle Finger To Ownership?)
Plus, not only did Kingsbury struggle to produce wins, but he couldn’t even get his team under control. This is the same guy who got screamed at by his quarterback Kyler Murray — and speaking of Murray, him and DeAndre Hopkins nearly got into a scrap earlier in the season. Kingsbury never had control over this team, and they were never going to win under his “leadership” — which he never had a trace of, let’s just be honest.
It’s not surprising whatsoever to see the Arizona Cardinals make this decision, especially after a horrific season.