After an abysmal 2022 season, the Arizona Cardinals have fired their Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury. The decision to part ways was made public on Monday January 9th, one day after a humiliating 38-13 loss to division rival San Francisco 49ers. This loss capped off a 4-13 season, the worst season in the Kingsbury era. Kingsbury had received mixed reviews during his time as head coach of the Cardinals, but multiple late-season collapses, combined with a horrible 2022 season, proved to be too much and ultimately led to his demise.
Kliff Kingsbury was hired by the Cardinals in January 2019 to replace Steve Wilks, who had been the head coach for the 2018 season, and posted a 3-13 record. The Cardinals’ 3-13 record was the worst in the NFL and allowed the Cardinals to get the number one draft pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. A few months after Kingsbury’s hire, the Cardinals used the number one draft pick to select quarterback Kyler Murray from the University of Oklahoma. Kingsbury had previously been the head coach at Texas Tech. He was 35-40 in 6 seasons with the Red Raiders.
Kliff Kingsbury’s first season in Arizona was 2019. The Cardinals started the season 3-3-1, but collapsed in the second half of the season to finish 5-10-1. This was an improvement over their record from the year prior. Kyler Murray was named Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Cardinals started 5-2 in the 2020 season, but a late season collapse led to an 8-8 record and the Cardinals missed the playoffs despite a 3 game improvement. The Cardinals got off to another hot start in 2021 as they went 7-0 to begin the season. However, they stumbled down the stretch. They finished the season with an 11-6 record and barely qualified for the playoffs. They lost to the Los Angeles Rams 34-11 in the wild card round. Kingsbury was given a contract extension as result. This proved to be Kingsbury’s only winning season in his tenure. The 2022 season was a catastrophe for the Cardinals. They had to play their first 6 games of the season without wide receiver Deandre Hopkins as he was dealing with a 6 game suspension due to a positive PED test. Then they had to deal with injuries to quarterback Kyler Murray, tight end Zach Ertz, and punter Matt Prater. These obstacles proved to be too much to overcome for the Cardinals as they posted a 4-13 record. This was Kingsbury’s worst season. Kingsbury had a 28-37-1 record in 4 seasons with the Cardinals. The Cardinals also parted ways with General Manager Steve Keim, who had been the GM since 2013.
It’s unclear who the Cardinals might pick as their new head coach, but two candidates are already at the front of their list. They could go with Vance Joseph, who is currently the team’s defensive coordinator or they could look outward. Former New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton is an option that is being considered.
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