Getty Image / Matthew Stockman
The Arizona Cardinals invested heavily in their team this offseason.
They gave massive contract extensions to their GM, head coach, and starting quarterback after a successful 2021 season.
They also traded their first round pick in the 2022 draft to add Hollywood Brown.
Unfortunately none of those investments paid off this season. The Cardinals are currently 4-10 and expected to be picking in the top 5 of next year’s draft.
To make their struggles worse, some of their issues can be traced directly to the recipient of one of those contract extensions.
Kliff Kingsbury has been the subject of much scrutiny this season as the former offensive coordinator’s offense has struggled despite having one of the league’s most dynamic quarterbacks.
That has led many fans to call for him to be fired after this season.
Now it seems he may grant that wish for them.
According to a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Kingsbury could step down after the season because of a roster that isn’t designed to run his offense and deteriorating relationships in the organization.
Inside Kliff Kingsbury dynamic in Arizona, w/ palpable tension with QB1 in the building, a GM w/ far less presence in 2022 and questions from some close to him about whether he walks away.
‘This is not sustainable’
From @joshweinfuss and mehttps://t.co/94JGoIC0tG
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) December 23, 2022
Kingsbury’s future with the Cardinals has long been rooted in his relationships with three key people — quarterback Kyler Murray, general manager Steve Keim and (owner Michael) Bidwill. All three of those relationships have soured to varying degrees the past two years.
Signing Kingsbury in the first place was a pretty big gamble for the Cardinals. His losing record in 4 of 6 seasons as the head coach of Texas Tech didn’t exactly make him a sure thing as an NFL head coach.
It has seemed that they were wrong to make that gamble over the last 4 years and now it looks like the Kingsbury experiment could be coming to an end.
I don’t think Arizona Cardinals fans will be too upset if that happens.