Ticket to Thailand: Kliff Kingsbury Already Off Patriots Coaching Radar?

Kingsbury was among the most prominent names being discussed as the next offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots.

FOXBORO — Has Kliff Kingsbury already taken his name out of consideration for the New England Patriots search for a new offensive coordinator?

Apparently, the 43-year-old former Arizona Cardinals head coach has plans for his immediate future that do not include the gridiron. 

Though he was expected to be quite the hot coaching commodity in the coming days and weeks, FOX Sports reported on Saturday that Kingsbury has purchased a one-way ticket to Thailand, thus informing teams that he has no interest in a new job at this point.

After four seasons at the helm in Glendale, Kingsbury was fired by the Cardinals after a dismal 4-13 finish to the 2022 season. He concluded his tenure with the Cardinals with a 28–37–1 record, having led the team to a playoff appearance in 2021. He had signed a six-year extension last offseason.

Though Kingsbury’s reputation as an offensive guru was cultivated during his time as a collegiate coach (first with Houston, to Texas A&M, and ultimately with Texas Tech) he cut his teeth at the pro level as a player when he was selected by the Patriots with the 201st overall selection (sixth-round) of the 2003 NFL Draft. Though he spent the season on injured reserve with an arm injury, Kingsbury learned a great deal about New England’s offensive style from head coach Bill Belichick, offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and starter Tom Brady. In fact, Belichick praised his former pupil when the Pats and Cardinals met in Week 14, a game which resulted in a 27-13 New England victory. 

Both his familiarity with New England, as well as his success in guiding prolific quarterbacks such as Patrick Mahomes (at Texas Tech) and Kyler Murray made Kingsbury a logical candidate for the Pats opening. 

Earlier in the week, the team released a statement, announcing that they would be interviewing candidates for the offensive coordinator position. Kingsbury’s name was mentioned among candidates such as Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, Cleveland Browns assistant Chad O’Shea and current Pats tight ends coach Nick Caley as those likely to receive strong consideration.

The report also indicated that multiple teams have already contacted Kingsbury for their vacant offensive coordinator job. It should be noted that neither this, nor any subsequent report has mentioned whether or not New England was among them. 

However, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer revealed on Thursday that the Patriots had probably begun some exploratory reconnaissance on the ex-Pat as a member of their staff. 

“They absolutely made phone calls on him,” Breer said. “I know that they’ve done their research on Kliff. … It’s more background stuff. They haven’t contacted Kingsbury directly, to my knowledge. But I do know they’ve done some homework on him. I think Bill does have a level of fascination with what Kingsbury’s done. For as much criticism as he got for the way his offense runs, the Cardinals were as creative as any team in the league. They were very difficult to deal with because they did so many things differently than NFL teams do them.”

Yet, in his subsequent breath, Breer did foreshadow the idea of Kingsbury joining the Patriots this offseason as being a long shot, at best. 

“I think the issue is Kliff’s a little burnt out right now," he said. "I think the last year was really hard on him. He’s due $30 million over the four years. He can make that much money, if he wants to go globetrotting, whatever, won’t matter — he’ll make that money. So, I think Kliff might be more of the mind to take a year off. But I think he’s somebody the Patriots certainly have turned over rocks on.”

While the possibility of Kingsbury ending up in New England remains, his recent travel plans appear to indicate that the Patriots will be looking elsewhere as their search begins in earnest this week. 

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Follow Mike D’Abate on Twitter @mdabateNFL and Listen/Subscribe to his daily podcast: Locked On Patriots

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