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When the Arizona Cardinals fired Kliff Kingsbury in January 2023, the coach who jumped from the college game to NFL head coach had developed a reputation.
He was a sharp play-caller with creative offenses that had helped jumpstart 2019 first overall draft pick Kyler Murray’s career. Opposing coordinators wondered how to stop the looks he threw at them early each season, the time in the college trenches fueling Kingsbury’s creative and diverse schematic wrinkles.
But midway through the season, a shift would occur. Opposing coordinators competing at the game’s highest level would begin to solve the problems that the Cardinals gave them. One team would counter Arizona’s game plan with success, and the next team would follow that blueprint — often adding its own trump card.
Defenses have made key adjustments against Jayden Daniels and the Commanders in the past three games. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
The result: In four years with Kingsbury as their head coach, the Cardinals’ winning rate always trailed off in November and December. Arizona won 56.9% of their first nine games across those years (20-15-1). Afterward: They won just 26.7% (8-22) to close the season.
The difference and repeated nature of the annual drop shaded Kingsbury’s coaching reputation, fair or not. He took the 2023 season off before Dan Qunn hired him to coordinate the Washington Commanders’ offense during a cycle in which Kingsbury had plenty of suitors.
Kingsbury deserves a share of the credit for the remarkable rookie year of Jayden Daniels, whom the Commanders drafted second overall before he had the best career start. But the coordinator also can’t escape the reality that has followed him from Arizona to Washington.
The Commanders’ production and ability to win games is dipping after a strong start to the season. Their third straight loss, a 34-26 loss to a reeling Dallas Cowboys team, reflects that.
And while the accountability goes far beyond Kingsbury, Daniels’…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/with-upset-loss-to-cowboys-commanders-at-risk-of-falling-into-kliff-kingsbury-trap-053507814.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-11-25 05:35:00
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