It wasn’t long ago that Kliff Kingsbury was the Cardinals’ coach, but in the current NFL season he is on the sidelines for the Commanders.
Washington revamped its offense in April by selecting quarterback Jayden Daniels as its second pick, but previously the team had assigned Kingsbury to lead the offense.
The decision to hire Kingsbury likely had a lot to do with his experience working with talented quarterbacks, and his entire background is on the offensive side of the football.
Since some fans may not know that Kingsbury will be back in the league in 2024, here’s a look at his coaching history in college football and the NFL.
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Coaching Chronicles by Kliff Kingsbury
2008–2009: Houston Cougars, Offensive Quality Control Coach
After a career as a quarterback that included four record-setting years at Texas Tech, a signing by the Patriots and stints with five NFL teams, Kingsbury came to Houston in 2008 as a quality control coach.
At the time, Case Keenum was Houston’s starting quarterback. Keenum set all kinds of records during his time with the Cougars and the NCAA. He finished eighth in the 2009 Heisman Trophy voting.
To date, Keenum has the most completed passes, most passing yards, and games with over 300 passing yards in NCAA Division I history.
2010-2011: Houston Cougars, quarterbacks coach
The success of Houston’s offense and Keenum earned Kingsbury a promotion, and he was named quarterbacks coach in 2010. He was also given the job of co-offensive coordinator, which he shared with Jason Phillips in 2011.
With Kingsbury and Phillips on offense, Houston led the country in points per game (49.3) and total yards per game (599.1). Kingsbury proved to be a strong offensive player and continued to climb the coaching ladder.
2012: Texas A&M Aggies, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach
Kingsbury became offensive coordinator at Texas A&M in 2012, taking on the role full-time for the first time in his coaching career.
This season, he coached Johnny Manziel to the Heisman Trophy and the Aggies ranked in the top five nationally in points per game (44.5), passing yards per game (355.9) and total yards per game (558.5).
2013–2018: Texas Tech Red Raiders, head coach
Having led some of the best offensive teams in the country, Kingsbury was promoted to head coach after just one season at Texas A&M.
After the 2012 season, his alma mater, Texas Tech, hired him as head coach for five years. At just 33 years old, Kingsbury became the third youngest head coach in college football.
Kingsbury continued to coach quarterbacks who would go on to become big names in the NFL, and selected Baker Mayfield, then a walk-on rookie, as the starter for the opening game of the 2013 season. Mayfield was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week in the Red Raiders’ 41-23 victory, but an injury later cost him the starting spot.
The Red Raiders became a top 25 team in the AP poll in September 2013 and started the season 7-0 under the leadership of their new head coach. However, Texas Tech lost its final five games and Mayfield later transferred to Oklahoma.
Kingsbury signed a contract extension with Texas Tech in 2014 that paid him $3.5 million and expired in 2020.
Patrick Mahomes was the Red Raiders’ quarterback from 2014 to 2016, but the team’s defense struggled, resulting in several losing seasons over the next few seasons and a 7-6 record in 2015.
Kingsbury was released from Texas Tech after the 2018 season.
2019-2022: Arizona Cardinals, head coach
After originally joining USC as offensive coordinator but later resigning, Kingsbury was hired as the Cardinals’ next head coach in January 2019.
Despite Texas Tech’s overall struggles over the last few seasons, Kingsbury made the jump to the NFL. He was viewed as a top-tier offensive player and a perfect fit for the potential first-round pick Kyler Murray, whom the Cardinals ultimately selected.
The best finish Arizona had under Kingsbury came in 2021, when it went 11-6 and made the playoffs, but the Cardinals lost to the Rams in the playoffs that season. In 2022, Kingsbury signed a contract extension with the team, but after a 4-13 record the next season, the Cardinals released him.
2023: USC Trojans, senior offensive assistant
After serving as a head coach in college football and the NFL, Kingsbury spent a year at USC as a senior offensive assistant under Lincoln Riley.
With Kingsbury coaching another Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, Caleb Williams, the Trojans finished the season 8-5.
2024-present: Washington Commanders, Offensive Coordinator
Kingsbury was hired as the Commanders’ new offensive coordinator in February. He previously worked with Murray, a dynamic talent at the two-way quarterback position, and brings an experienced head as Washington adjusts to Daniels’ style of play.
MORE: How fast is Jayden Daniels compared to other quarterbacks?
Coaching record of Kliff Kingsbury
Despite having experience at two different levels of football, Kingsbury has a total record of 63-77-1He spent time as an offensive player for several other programs, but the teams with Kingsbury as head coach have an overall negative record.
Here’s the breakdown of that record in terms of Kingsbury’s experience as a head coach in college football and the NFL.
| team | Record | Years |
| Texas Tech (NCAA) | 35-40 | 2013–2018 |
| Arizona Cardinals (NFL) | 28-37-1 | 2019-2022 |
