Should the Colts Pursue Kliff Kingsbury as Next Head Coach?
On Monday morning, the Arizona Cardinals decided to fire head coach Kliff Kingsbury after four full seasons with the program.
Kingsbury was hired in 2019 after a six-year head coaching career at Texas Tech University that saw mixed results while he continued ascending. Through his four seasons in Arizona, Kingsbury compiled a rough 28-37-1 record with only one postseason appearance in 2021, losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams.
With Kingsbury now on the open market, the question must be asked, could the Indianapolis Colts turn to Kingsbury to be their next head coach?
Finishing dead last in your division is never a good thing, but that was the reality for Kingsbury’s Cardinals in 2022. There is a fair argument to be made that there were a series of injuries at quarterback, forcing a total of four starters to play for the year as Kyler Murray saw action in 11 games, Trace McSorley played in six, Colt McCoy in four, and David Blough in two.
This would make any head coach scramble for solutions, especially when you factor in the “air it out” style that Kingsbury likes. He also executes this style best with a mobile quarterback with a deep arm like Murray, who was sidelined for the year with an ACL tear in Week 14 against the New England Patriots.
Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins also only played nine out of a possible 17 games mostly due to suspension before the season. These injuries and suspensions led to a mediocre offense from Arizona and a lack of ability to run the ball. The Colts can relate to the struggles of Arizona, but with different reasons for why they happened.
Kingsbury’s offense would drastically change the Colts and how they would operate. It also would certainly warrant a mobile quarterback with some great arm strength to be drafted (likely). With a 2022 offense that was criticized by many members of the media for not throwing deep enough to dynamic weapons like Alec Pierce and Michael Pittman Jr., could we see owner Jim Irsay take the wildcard route and look Kingsbury’s way?
How would this affect the draft and who the Colts would (potentially) select as a quarterback? Would running back Jonathan Taylor have as big of a role in an offense that likes to favor the pass? So many questions to answer and yet, it is only the start of what will be a dramatic and exciting offseason for Indianapolis.
