Over the last 15+ years, Kliff Kingsbury has become one of the most respected offensive minds in football. Currently offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders, Kingsbury has applied his expertise to various NFL and collegiate coaching roles.
Let’s take a look at each of Kingsbury’s coaching stops.
Kliff Kingsbury Coaching Roles
Kingsbury, a former professional quarterback, was selected by the New England Patriots in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He also spent time with the New Orleans Saints, Denver Broncos, and Buffalo Bills during his brief NFL career.
Additionally, Kingsbury played for two Canadian Football League franchises and spent one season in the now-defunct NFL Europe.
Kingsbury switched to coaching in 2008 and has coached in some capacity every year since.
University of Houston (2008-2011)
Kingsbury joined the University of Houston in 2008 as an offensive quality control coach, a position he held through the 2009 season. After working one season as the Cougars’ quarterbacks coach, Kingsbury was promoted to co-offensive coordinator/QBs coach in 2011.
Kingsbury held play-calling duties that season, which saw Houston lead the nation in most offensive statistics while averaging 50 points and nearly 600 yards per game. Quarterback Case Keenum enjoyed a stellar career under Kingsbury’s leadership, leading the country in passing yards three times and touchdown passes twice.
Texas A&M (2012)
In 2012, Kingsbury agreed to join Texas A&M as the program’s next offensive coordinator. His quarterback that season was redshirt freshman Johnny Manziel, who went on to win the Heisman Trophy.
Kingsbury’s lone season with the Aggies was a rousing success. Texas A&M’s offense led the SEC — and ranked top 15 nationally — in rushing, passing, scoring, and total offensive yards.
Kingsbury was named a finalist for the Broyles Award, given yearly to the best assistant coach in college football.
Texas Tech (2013 – 2018)
Kingsbury spent the next six seasons as the head coach at Texas Tech.
The Red Raiders started 7-0 in the 2013 season before losing their final five games. Walk-on freshman Baker Mayfield began the campaign as the starting quarterback but was later supplanted by Davis Webb.
From 2014 through 2016, Kingsbury coached Patrick Mahomes, who led the nation in yards and passing touchdowns in his final two seasons.
Kingsbury left Texas Tech with an overall record of 35-40, including 19-35 in Big 12 play.
Arizona Cardinals (2019-2022)
In late 2018, Kingsbury joined USC to be the Trojans’ new offensive coordinator. However, he resigned a month later to pursue NFL opportunities, a search that ended with Kingsbury landing a head coaching gig with the Cardinals.
Arizona posted a losing record in Kingsbury’s first season before finishing .500 in 2020. After a playoff berth in 2021, the future seemed bright for Kingsbury and the Cardinals.
However, in 2022, Arizona finished last in the NFC West, and Kingsbury was fired after the season. He then spent a year with USC as a senior offensive assistant before joining the Commanders in 2024.
So, what led to Kingsbury’s firing? Well, it’s complicated.
First of all, the results weren’t great. The Cardinals earned a winning record in just one of his four seasons on the job, and Arizona’s offense significantly regressed in his final season.
In 2021, the Cardinals ranked 11th in scoring, eighth in yards per game, and 10th in both rushing and passing yards per game. In 2022, Arizona plummeted to 21st in scoring, 22nd in yards, 18th in passing yards, and 22nd in rushing yards.
However, Kingsbury’s dismissal wasn’t just about wins, losses, and statistics. His relationship with franchise quarterback Kyler Murray also played a crucial role.
In December 2022, ESPN published a scathing story about the deteriorating relationship between Murray and Kingsbury.
“It’s not good,” a Cardinals source told ESPN. “It seems particularly bad this year.”
“They’re cordial,” another team source said. “It’s not the relationship you want from your quarterback and coach.”
Murray, who suffered a torn ACL in Week 15 of the 2022 campaign, signed a lucrative contract extension the previous summer. The Cardinals couldn’t have moved on even if they’d wanted to, leaving Kingsbury as the fall guy.
General manager Steve Keim resigned after Kingsbury was fired. Months later, in a team-produced video, Murray said he approved the leadership changes.
“I’m thinking of stuff that I wasn’t part of, like the draft, who we were gonna get, young players coming out,” Murray said. “The whole [2022 season] was [expletive]. It happened for a reason. The things we were doing weren’t sustainable for success.
“It was necessary, and, in turn, good will come out of what happened.”
Here’s a full breakdown of Kingsbury’s coaching record with the Cardinals.
- 2019: 5-10-1, fourth in NFC West
- 2020: 8-8, third in NFC West
- 2021: 11-6, second in NFC West (0-1 in playoffs)
- 2022: 4-13, fourth in NFC West
- Overall regular season: 28-37-1
- Overall playoffs: 0-1
USC (2023)
After being fired by the Cardinals, Kingsbury joined USC to serve as a senior offensive analyst under head coach Lincoln Riley for the 2023 season. Kingsbury spent the year working with Caleb Williams, who became the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Washington Commanders (2024-Present)
Early last offseason, the Commanders hired Kingsbury as offensive coordinator under head coach Dan Quinn. Before accepting the job, he negotiated for the same role with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Kingsbury’s leadership of the offense and work with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels helped the Commanders become one of the NFL’s top success stories in the first half of the season.