Kliff Kingbury’s history with Patrick Mahomes lends credence to the question: Could Kingsbury be on staff in KC next year?
Black Monday is becoming as much of a tradition in the NFL as Black Friday is in retail across the U.S. Every year, as the regular season comes to an end, teams who have failed to live up to expectations let go of an array of leaders—coaches, general managers, and coordinators to name just a few. The Arizona Cardinals were on that list of franchises who experienced disappointment in 2022 and underwent a changing of the guard with the firing of head coach Kliff Kingsbury on Monday. General manager Steve Keim also stepped down from his role with the team.
Where the Cardinals go from here is anyone’s guess. They are locked into a relationship with a franchise quarterback whose discipline has been called into question and who will be throwing to a group of receivers as short as he is if the rumors about Deandre Hopkins being traded this off-season are true. J.J. Watt is retiring, leaving their defense with little leadership in a division where they’ll need to at least try to slow down the San Francisco 49ers if they want a chance at making the postseason anytime soon. But that’s for them to worry about.
Arizona won’t be fully left out of the NFL playoff picture in 2022, though, as Super Bowl 57 will be played on the Cardinals’ (somewhat questionable) home turf at State Farm Stadium next month. Andy Reid, Eric Bieniemy, and Matt Nagy could certainly be in attendance for that game if the Chiefs’ offensive charge holds up throughout the AFC playoffs as it did during the regular season.
Could it be the last time we see those three on the sideline together? And how do we come full circle back around to the role that Kliff Kingsbury could ultimately play, if it is in fact the swan song for one of those three in K.C.?
It’s no secret to anyone that Kingsbury and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes have an outstanding relationship. Kingsbury recruited Mahomes to Texas Tech and was his head coach throughout Mahomes’ stay in Lubbock. To say the duo worked well together would be an understatement. Mahomes’ production and performance in Kingsbury’s offense propelled him into the top 10 of the 2017 NFL Draft while the team’s offensive success spearheaded by Mahomes pushed Kingsbury from the helm of a mid-tier Big XII program all the way to the head coaching spot in Arizona. It was mutually beneficial, even if their results in Lubbock from a team perspective were middle-of-the-road at best.
Mahomes’ endearment to Kingsbury probably stands out more than anything. In an interview earlier this season before the Chiefs took the field in their season opener against the Cardinals, Mahomes had this to say about Kingsbury:
"“It’s someone that taught me a ton. Not only about football, but about life. He got me out of high school, where I was a baseball player trying to play football, basically trying to be on my own, he helped me become who I am today."
Later on in the interview, Mahomes credited Kingsbury with being the “first and only” major college coach in Texas that gravitated towards the Whitehouse High quarterback in the recruiting process. Mahomes and Kingsbury are notably still chummy, hanging out in the off-season and staying in communication—in a non-tampering fashion, of course.
The fit would be there for Kingsbury to plug in and work naturally with the Chiefs’ signal caller, but isn’t Matt Nagy already there doing just that? Well, yes, but that’s not the piece we need to worry about. Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy has spent parts of the last several playoff runs interviewing for various head coaching vacancies league-wide. His pedigree as O.C. in K.C. has without a doubt vaulted a resume that was impressive before but hasn’t been enough to land him a gig just yet.
Call it the wrong opportunities at the wrong time. Cite his personality as “not a fit” for certain franchises or locker rooms. Whatever narrative you want to follow, the rubber just hasn’t met the road in E.B.’s negotiations with other franchises so far. But that will inevitably change at some point, and he is sure to draw attention this offseason with several clubs including the Cardinals, Panthers, Broncos, and Texans looking to fill head coaching positions. It’s also worth noting that the Chiefs only have Bieniemy under contract for this season, so an extension would have to be negotiated and agreed upon by both parties in order for Bieniemy to be back in Kansas City next year.
Will E.B. stay or will he go? Only time will tell that. But it would not be a complete shock to see the Chiefs offensive staff made over next year with Matt Nagy regaining the helm of the offense as coordinator under Reid, and Mahomes and Kingsbury reigniting their bromance with Kliff as Mahomes’ QB coach. Just giving you a little mental snack to tide you over as the Chiefs rest up this week and wait to see who they will face in the divisional round of the playoffs at Arrowhead Stadium next weekend.