Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury stated on Thursday that he would love one other alternative to be a head coach “sooner or later,” per ESPN’s John Keim. The success of the Commanders offense this season, in addition to the speedy growth of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, might be going to get him that chance, whether or not it’s this offseason or in a future season.
However NFL groups needs to be skeptical about giving Kingsbury one other alternative to run the entire present given what now we have seen from him previously in that position
It’s not that Kingsbury is a foul soccer coach or does not know what he’s doing in designing an offense or calling performs.
He has executed an incredible job with each parts this season and helped construct a Commanders offense that has been the most effective within the NFL. That has helped the workforce make its first journey to the playoffs because the 2020 season and dramatically change the long-term outlook of the franchise.
The issue is Kingsbury’s two makes an attempt at being a head coach — one in faculty with Texas Tech and one within the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals — didn’t go significantly effectively.
In six seasons with the Purple Raiders, he had simply two profitable seasons, by no means received greater than eight video games in a season and completed with three consecutive shedding seasons. General, he was 35-40 in working this system.
Issues didn’t get a lot better within the NFL, the place he had only one profitable file in 4 seasons with the Cardinals, compiling a 28-37-1 file.
Between the 2 head-coaching jobs, his general profitable proportion is just .446 over 10 years, whereas his groups developed a foul status for getting off to quick begins after which constantly fading within the second half.
That’s not precisely a small pattern dimension of video games, both. It’s a full decade as a head coach with similar outcomes.
Kingsbury addressed that on Thursday and acknowledged there have been issues he might have executed otherwise in Arizona, and he cited some classes he has taken from Commanders head coach Dan Quinn this season.
“I do not suppose I set the inspiration [in Arizona] the best way I might do it after watching DQ and the way he set the inspiration from day one,” Kingsbury stated, through Keim. “These are the requirements, that is what we wish, that is what we will be. I positively might have executed a greater job of that and type of as soon as you do not lay it out like that, it is onerous to place it again in.”
It’s true that coaches can study from their errors, and that have could make a world of distinction. Perhaps he did take one thing away from these experiences at Texas Tech and Arizona, and from this expertise underneath Quinn.
Additionally it is true that some coaches are higher off in additional specialised roles as an alternative of working the entire present.
Some individuals are supposed to be Batman, and a few individuals are supposed to be Robin. Being a head coach isn’t just about schemes, X’s and O’s and playcalling. You should have a hand in all three phases of the sport, set the tone, handle the locker room, handle personalities and make each massive in-game resolution and pregame resolution. It’s a lot, and never each coach could make it work. Even when they’re nice at one specialised space.
NFL historical past is loaded with coaches who excelled constantly as coordinators however merely couldn’t make it work as head coaches.
It’s comprehensible as to why Kingsbury desires one other likelihood. He would possibly get it. However NFL groups ought to pay attention to the chance they’re taking after they do it.
