Washington Commanders Veteran Excited About Reunion with Coach

Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury was the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals when Zach Ertz played there.

May 23, 2022; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury talks to tight end Zach Ertz (86) during mini-camp at Arizona Cardinals training facility. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY

Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and tight end Zach Ertz are very familiar with each other from their lone season with one another during their tenures with the Arizona Cardinals from 2021-22.

Then the Cardinals head coach, Kingsbury believed enough in the veteran Ertz to bring him in to help fill a void on the team. From there their relationship blossomed and they have both found themselves at the forefront of a franchise entering a new era now that they are in Washington.

When speaking to the media following Monday's first padded practice, Ertz communicated the differences he's seen from his former head coach from Arizona to Washington emphasizing the joy that Kingsbury has found after a few years of not knowing the direction his career was headed after being let go by the Cardinals two years ago.

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"Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen Kliff so happy," Ertz said. "He seems like he's refreshed every time he goes out onto the practice field. He is eager. He is eager. He is excited to work with the quarterbacks every single day. He's putting him through individual every single day. And so I truly believe that maybe that break from everything last year and him able to get this job and work with [QB] Jayden [Daniels] and [QB] Marcus [Mariota] and [QB] Sam [Hartman] and [QB] Jeff [Driskel] every day has really almost I would say rejuvenated him. I think I'm in the same boat, you know, it has been extremely fun to be here. I feel almost like I've gotten younger since I got here just cause how much fun I'm having every day and so I think Kliff and I are kind of in the same boat in that regard."

That is a positive sign for Commanders fans. Knowing that Kingsbury seems to be enjoying his job and the game once again can only breed the best from the signal-caller who was once thought of as one of the best offensive minds throughout football. Getting to work with four solid quarterbacks and being able to implement his offense should only heighten the abilities of both the coach and his offensive skill players.

Making the game fun is the upmost important aspect of football because if you take it too seriously you might not get the results you were initially looking for. According to Ertz Kingsbury is having fun again, and when speaking about the similarities between how Kingsbury used his tight ends in Arizona compared to now with the Commanders, Ertz points toward Kingsbury's acumen as a game planner as the one thing that stands out above all else.

"Yeah, there's some similarities," Ertz said. "The running game is, I would say very different. Obviously, we have a different o-line coach [Offensive Line Coach Bobby Johnson], but at the same time I've been in this league for so long, the schemes don't get too drastic no matter what kind of offense you're in, in terms of kind of the plays. It's how coaches want to call the plays in the game and how they want to put game plans together is how the average coaches are separated from the great coaches is in that game plan. And I think Kliff is one of the best in the league at coming up with a game plan to attack defenses. So, obviously he was a big part of the reason I'm here, and it's been really fun to be back with him. And not only him, but really this entire organization has been awesome to be a part of."

The familiarity with one another will pay dividends. The Commanders' offense is implementing a ton of newness from schemes, plays, and even players, and having a veteran on the same page as the OC is something they can lean on when looking to develop and learn the nuances that are being integrated.

The biggest takeaway from Ertz's comments however is the fact that both he and Kingsbury seem to be excited about what is being built in the DMV and are having fun throughout the process. Changing the culture is most definitely at the forefront of what the Commanders want to do, and if having fun and being excited are what coaches and players are feeling this early into the new era then that process of flipping the culture is off to a fantastic start.

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