Washington Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury Opens Up About New Role

The Washington Commanders' new offensive coordinator is staring at a huge opportunity and he knows it.

Jan 1, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury on the field prior to the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Commanders are going to look different this season for a variety of reasons. Not only do they have new ownership and a fresh roster, but the Commanders brought in a new coaching staff.

With Dan Quinn being the team's head coach -- a former defensive coordinator -- a solid offensive coordinator was always going to be needed for Washington to improve. They landed Kliff Kingsbury, who was, at the time, USC's quarterbacks coach, coaching Caleb Williams under Lincoln Riley's staff.

Kingsbury also has NFL experience, having been the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. The former head coach has quite a tall task, looking to revive an offense that has been a problem for the franchise for over a decade.

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Kingsbury seems to be the right guy for the job, too.

"He's one of the best offensive minds that I've been around," said Commanders tight end Zach Ertz, via ESPN.

Jan 1, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury on the field prior to the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

"He's one of the best offensive minds that I've been around,"

- TE Zach Ertz on OC Kliff Kingsbury

This isn't coming from Ertz just now as he works with him over the course of the offseason. He played for him in Arizona. This is a true compliment from the experience he's built with him over the years.

Led by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, the Commanders offense will have at least six new faces starting, and the returnees will be learning a new coaching staff all around, once again. Nothing about this will be easy, but it's a huge opportunity for the franchise.

Quinn, the team's new head coach, has experience playing against Kingsbury and being foes with the team's new offensive coordinator, so he has an understanding of what to expect from him.

"Going against Kliff, those same feelings you had, this is going to be tough, matchups, formations, speed, shots down the field, aggressiveness, boldness," Quinn said.

Coaching yet another dual-threat quarterback -- and a young one at that -- Kingsbury is headed to familiar territory, though he's grown as a coach and is taking more experience and knowledge into the situation this time.

"If there's a better way to do it, I'm all about it," Kingsbury said. "We will continue to take ideas and there's stuff that [Daniels] was really good at in college. That's a good starting point to build off that and get that comfort level going early and taking it from there."

Beyond just having a rookie quarterback with sky-high potential, Kingsbury is coaching an entirely new offense. He's starting to build an offensive identity from scratch, and these players are mostly learning the sytem for the first time.

"Every stop it's been different," Kingsbury said . "The one major thing I try to do is make sure this was Year 1 of the Commanders' offense, not year five of the Arizona Cardinals. You want to start back with a real base install and then build it and grow it and go from there."

This is a glaring opportunity for Kingsbury, too. The recent changes within the franchise has left the team with a sense of fresh air, and Kingsbury can take over with a clean slate.

"Being able to just focus on the offense will be great," Kingsbury said. "Dan has a bunch on his plate. I've sat in that seat and so you're dealing with the entire picture. With me now, it's focusing on that group and trying to maximize who we are."

Coming off a 4-13 season, the Commanders look to improve -- not even in the win column, but in showing promise and potential as a franchise.

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