TEMPE — If you ask Kliff Kingsbury, he’ll say he’s vindicated by what Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray has shown this season.
The former Cardinals head coach is back in the Valley for a game against his former pupil this week, and he said it’s been fun to see a more confident look to Murray.
“At the end of last year I thought you could see the confidence getting back in the knee as he made a bunch of plays and played really well, and he’s played great this season,” Kingsbury said at Arizona State University, where the Commanders have practiced this week. “They’re a couple plays away from being undefeated.”
“You see the speed, the quickness. The competitive nature is there. It’s been great to see the guy I basically banked my entire career on what he would be and I still believe in it. It’s cool to see him playing as well as he is.”
Kingsbury added that despite how things ended, he has “nothing but good memories” in Arizona.
“That’s why I still got my house here, I love it out here,” Kingsbury said. “I’ve always been grateful to Michael (Bidwill, Cardinals owner) for giving me the opportunity that he did, first fired college coach to ever get that opportunity.
“The guys in that building are some of my closest friends, and I continue to watch those guys play. James Conner, Budda (Baker), they still inspire me.”
Where has Kliff Kingsbury’s journey taken him since leaving Cardinals?
From when he initially left Arizona with a one-way ticket to Thailand, Kingsbury said he underwent a perspective change. He first spent a year as an analyst under head coach Lincoln Riley at USC, before he was two NFL teams’ choice for offensive coordinator this past off-season.
He said over time away from the NFL, he watched a ton of film and talked to other offensive minds, such as Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken who transitioned from back-to-back national titles at Georgia to the Ravens.
Kingsbury said the biggest difference between head coaching and coordinating is how much more relationship-building can happen with your side of the ball as a coordinator.
“You’re spread pretty thin as a head coach between your staff and all members of the team,” Kingsbury said. “It’s been cool to just get to know those guys a little bit on a deeper level and spend more time in that room consistently.”
Kingsbury and the Commanders head into State Farm Stadium on Sunday for a 1:05 p.m. MST matchup with the Cardinals. Listen to play-by-play coverage on the Arizona Sports app, online or on 98.7.