The Washington Commanders have hired former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury as their new offensive coordinator, days after he withdrew from another.
NFL Network's Peter Schrager initially reported that the two sides had agreed to terms on a deal prior to the Commanders' confirmation, sharing a video of Kingsbury being greeted by newly hired head coach Dan Quinn.
The Las Vegas Raiders were previously expected to hire Kingsbury, 44, as their offensive coordinator, however, the coach withdrew from consideration last week. Kingsbury had also previously interviewed for the offensive coordinator position with the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles.
Kingsbury was fired by the Cardinals last January, which NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport described as feeling "more like a mutual parting than anything." The 44-year-old had signed an extension running through the 2027 in March 2022, coming off his best season as the Cardinals' head coach since being hired in 2019.
Arizona finished the 2021 season with an 11-6 record for second-place in the NFC West, before being eliminated by the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wild Card playoff round. The Cardinals had improved their record from the previous season during Kingsbury's past two seasons, finishing with a 5-10-1 record during his first season and 8-8 in 2020.
But the team fell short of expectations in 2022, finishing with a 4-13 record, which was the third worst among all 32 NFL teams and missed the playoffs for the third time in Kingsbury's four-year coaching tenure. Kingsbury, who played quarterback at Texas Tech and as an NFL backup, had previously worked as a quarterbacks coach -- as well as an offensive coordinator -- at Houston and later Texas A&M, as well as the head coach at his alma matter.
Kingsbury is the first major hire made by former NFL linebacker Antonio Pierce, who was promoted as the Raiders' full-time coach after going 5-4 as an interim in 2023.
The Commanders also reportedly hired Dallas Cowboys secondary coach and passing game coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. to be their new defensive coordinator, a position Quinn held while working with Whitt in Dallas prior to being hired by Washington, NFL Network's Steve Wyche reports.
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