We’ve all heard the old adage at some point or another: The NFL is a business.
When ESPN’s Adam Schefter’s report dropped Sunday saying Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury was among those being targeted by Oklahoma to fill its head-coaching vacancies, many around the league gave their two cents, including defensive lineman J.J. Watt.
If anyone knows the NFL and the posturing that takes place on a daily basis, it’s Watt.
“Killin’ it on the field and at the negotiating table,” Watt tweeted Sunday afternoon. “I see ya Kliff!”
killin’ it on the field and at the negotiating table.
I see ya Kliff!
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) November 28, 2021
Kingsbury is currently in the his third season of a four-year contract he signed back in 2019 that includes a fifth-year team option.
Kingsbury isn’t the highest paid NFL coach by any means, but has told reporters about his desire to turn the franchise around with quarterback Kyler Murray as recent as Week 11.
“I’d rather have [my career] tied to (Murray) than about 99.9% of the quarterbacks in the NFL,” Kingsbury said ahead of the Seattle Seahawks game. “I just have always thought his upside, his top-top, is as good as anybody that I’ve ever seen. It’s been fun to work with him and try to figure this thing out.
“We butt heads — we’re both Leos and super competitive — so we’ll butt heads and go at each other at times, but we both know it’s from a great place,” the head coach added. “At the end of the day, he knows I’m tied to him, he knows we’re tied together, and we just got to find a way to get it done. We both approach it from that aspect.”
There’s also the fact that Kingsbury enjoys being able to focus more on the Xs and Os and being fully engulfed in all things football, whereas the college ranks bring about scholarships, recruiting and academics, among other things.