The Washington Commanders have officially hired former Arizona Cardinals head coach, Kliff Kingsbury as their next offensive coordinator. Kingsbury now makes his NFL return after missing out on the entire 2023 season. He marks the first major hire under Dan Quinn’s tenure, stacking their staff with a notable name. Kingsbury was expected to become the Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator, but that fell through after contract talks halted.
He officially withdrew from the team and now he finds himself in a new system in Washington. After quickly becoming a favorite for the Commanders, it wasn’t long before landing another job. He will be under Quinn, after spending the last three seasons with the Dallas Cowboys as defensive coordinator. The Commanders and Quinn were interested in UCLA coach, Chip Kelly but Kingsbury sounded more of an intriguing name for them.
They also looked into the San Francisco 49ers tight ends coach Brian Fleury and many others for the job. This isn’t the last for their hires, they are also getting Joe Whitt Jr. as the Commander’s new defensive coordinator. Whitt now follows Quinn, who worked with him in Dallas as the passing game coordinator and secondary coach. Let the speculation set in, it looks like the puzzle is coming together for USC’s Caleb Williams’ arrival to Washington.
Kingsbury coached Williams last season and he was considered a standout quarterback at Gonzaga High School in Washington D.C. The Commanders hold the No. 2 overall picking and could draft Williams who is just behind the Chicago Bears at No. 1.
The Commanders are hiring Kliff Kingsbury as their new offensive coordinator, per multiple reports pic.twitter.com/mHqKCxby2Z
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) February 5, 2024
Washington Commanders Hire Kliff Kingsbury as Next Offensive Coordinator
It’s All Coming Together for Caleb Williams’ Arrival in D.C.
The Commanders have been struggling to look for their franchise quarterback since Robert Griffin III was lost to injury. He showed some promise light, but that was short-lived. Washington has been stumbling from quarterback to quarterback, looking for their future. They may no longer have to look further once if they decide to draft Williams with the No. 2 pick.
Kingsbury spent six seasons as the head coach at Texas Tech where he coached both Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield. He compiled a record of 28-37-1 record with the Arizona Cardinals. His resume puts on a promising stride for the future to transform Washington’s offense. Williams’ arrival to the Commanders would be like icing on the cake for what’s to come.
Despite that, Kingsbury will be tasked with turning the offense around and helping quarterback, Sam Howell. Howell is in his third year with the team, so it’ll be interesting to see what Washington does with him if they draft Williams. The Commanders went 4-13, but Howell threw for 3,946 and was a starter for the first time in his NFL career. They could keep him as the backup since he still put impressive stats on paper.
What’s Next for Kingsbury?
Other than his task of transforming the offense, he will need to focus on this upcoming free agency for now until the NFL Draft in April. Some big names pending to be free agents, so he and Quinn need to play big to grab some weapons for Howell and potentially for Williams. The Commanders already have some names like Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson.
However, they could keep loading up with new names that fit with the offensive scheme just like they did with the staff surrounding Quinn.
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